The free, citywide art biennial Converge 45 is in full swing, with artists showcased across dozens of spaces in Portland, including college campuses, the Portland Japanese Garden, and the Center for Native Arts and Cultures. The biennial’s theme, Social Forms: Art as Global Citizenship, takes on topics of Amazon deforestation, indigeneity, citizenship, and immigration, and aims to amplify the voices and experiences of people of color, so you’re bound to find a cause you can get behind. 

Whether or not you consider yourself an “art person,” Converge 45 is worth visiting—the biennial brings together local and further-flung artists whose work will likely be new to you, offering a window into the contemporary art world from venues all over town. (Seriously, you’ll find them in each of the city’s quadrants—there’s no reason to miss out.) I popped by PNCA, Stelo Arts, Reed College’s Cooley Gallery, and the Lloyd Center to dive into the biennial’s plentiful offerings. Here’s what I recommend checking out for yourself.

Amanda Ross-Ho: ICE TIME
I was lucky enough to catch Los Angeles-based artist and one-time competitive figure skater Amanda Ross-Ho’s performance at the Lloyd Center ice rink on Converge 45’s opening weekend in August. The performance, which felt inextricably linked to the legacy of a certain infamous Olympian who learned to skate at Lloyd, saw Ross-Ho skate in a meditative figure eight formation. Her solo exhibition ICE TIME expands on this meditation with a further developed sense of repetition and muscle memory.
(ILY2, Pearl District, free, through Oct 28)

Lindsay is the Portland Mercury's staff writer, covering all things arts and culture. Send arts tips and pictures of birds to lindsay@portlandmercury.com.