In this fall arts issue:
The Mercury‘s 2026 Fall Arts Issue: Why Is the Theme Clowns?
Reality is chaos. The theme is clowns.
Anthony Hudson Puts Down the Clown
Anthony Hudson retired Portland’s premier drag clown, Carla Rossi, but she’s in every part of his debut book, Lamp Back: Plays and Other Grievances.
Clowns, CoHo, and the Legacy of Philip Cuomo
The Cuomo Theatre Fund builds on his legacy to create stability for local theaters.
Wildwood’s Portland Roots
Laika’s most ambitious stop-motion film includes 136 locations, many of which you’ll recognize.
Twelve Movies To Put on Your Calendar This Fall
Video game adaptations, vanity biopics, and vore’s back on the menu!
ADX Fest Wants Portland to Create and Play Together
ADX will put Portland’s indie art scene on display in a month-long festival.
Shaking the Tree Celebrates Spooky Season With Four Short Plays
To read Caryl Churchill is to wonder how she can see the future. This fall, Shaking the Tree adapts a quartet of her one-act plays.
Time-Based Art as a Wild Weekend
PICA’s 2026 TBA Festival makes Portland a destination for weird art.
Portland’s Fall Gallery Shows Get an A+
Many of the season’s most exciting exhibitions are going up at colleges, universities, and libraries around town.
Fake It ’Til You Make It
Prop maker Olivia Vavroch can teach you to make everything from medieval appetizers to creepy charcuterie.
A Lloyd Center Elegy in Photos
On August 8, the Portland mall brimmed with a final energy that reminded us of its heyday.
In Search of Portland Reveals an Evolving, Ever-Changing City
A new book by journalist and architecture writer Brian Libby offers walking tours of Portland’s west side.
A New Look at Elliott Smith
Nobody Broke Your Heart draws on over 140 interviews to explore the beloved singer-songwriter with new depth.
Tape Op Magazine Releases a New Book, Making Music
The book is a collection of interviews about recording music from the Portland-based magazine.
How to Talk About Art
(When you know literally nothing about it.)
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