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Suzette Smith

Suzette Smith is the arts & culture editor of the Portland Mercury. Go ahead and tell her about all your food, art, and culture gripes: suzette@portlandmercury.com. Follow her on Twitter, Bluesky, and Letterboxd.
Posted inArt Snack

Art Snack: Vegan Paczki Promises, Frog Brigade Franchises

This week in Portland art and culture news, two reopenings and a barbeque.
Avatar photo Suzette Smith

Welcome to Art Snack. This round-up is a continuation of a newsletter I wrote during the pandemic, which started out focused on remote art before softly transitioning to short updates on local arts and culture scene happenings. The idea was: Would you like a short, digestible culture news snack?  Portland’s arts and culture scene has […]

Posted inCulture

Literary Portland for Palestine Plans Readings, Still Asks Literary Arts To Divest

A call for Portland Book Festival to reject corporate bank funding coalesced into a collective that seeks to raise awareness with the written word.
Avatar photo Suzette Smith

At Portland Book Festival, in November, you may have noticed an icon on t-shirts, posters, and social media of Literary Arts’ red umbrella dropping bombs. The graphic read “Drop Wells Fargo” and “Literary Portland for Palestine.” The shirts were a next step in a call to action, which grew loud in late summer and shows […]

Posted inGood Morning, News!

Good Morning, News: Jessica Vega Pederson Will Not Seek Another Term as Multco Chair, Portland-Area Wind and Flood Warnings, and Another Awkward Trump Speech Contradicts Itself

Avatar photo Suzette Smith

If you appreciate the Mercury‘s interesting and useful news & culture reporting, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. Your donation is tax-deductible. You can also subscribe and have our papers delivered! Good Morning, Portland: Y’know, sometimes it doesn’t rain in Portland. BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE RIGHT NOW OR FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE. […]

Posted inVisual Art

Portland Art Museum Wants to Be Used

Once hidden galleries can now be found; Rothko Pavilion presents a new way to see what was already there.
Avatar photo Suzette Smith

“We always want to respect our donors,” says Julia Dolan, Portland Art Museum (PAM)’s senior photography curator. “But we’re trying to orient directionally.” Dolan was leading a tour group through the new Rothko Pavilion, walking us into the north wing, which happens to house the now more accessible rooms dedicated to photography. Like several of […]

Posted inWinter Guide 2025

How Making Nonfiction Comics Changed My Mind

Shay Mirk and Eleri Harris have created the only primer on ethical comics reporting.
Avatar photo Suzette Smith

[What follows is one of the many merry articles in the Mercury’s Winter Guide 2025. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous this holiday season, support us here.—eds.] From the jump, I should admit that I have been skeptical of comics journalism. The method […]

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