It’s that time again. Time to receive PICA’s perfectly designed TBA programs like one might accept a holy object. Time to crease the corners with interest and jam your fingers onto your phone, trying to figure out who half these artists are. Whenever I get a load of what TBA has planned, I feel completely out of my depth and then, after a little research, I’m so excited I can barely sleep.
For the first few years that I lived in Portland, I didn’t know that we had a Time-Based Arts Festival, and when I did learn about it I wasn’t clear on what it was. What were the parameters? Dance, installation, spoken-word, theater, music—it’s a pretty loose net. The great connection between them seems to be that the art works and performances the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art curates are all a little experimental, and try to engage with their audience on an emotional level. The festival is fun—and often funny—but it never fronts. I have been overwhelmed at TBA, but I have never been bored.
Here are a few picks that I’m hotly anticipating for this year. Due to the nature of the festival, it’s hard to anticipate what to expect, so keep an eye on our TBA blog for daily coverage of the Mercury TBA Crew’s impressions and critical recollections.
