Free First Thursday

Overview

Portland Art Museum invites the community to join a Free First Thursday event, offering free admission to the museum for all as we celebrate Disability Pride. Meet artist Michael Cantino and explore art through touch with his tactile graphics. Join a Look with Me tour facilitated by the museum’s Art in ASL team. Watch short films by Disabled artists and enjoy a screening of the documentary Complicated followed by a panel of individuals involved in the film and local experts on Ehler Danlos.This unique day includes a chance to explore the special exhibition David Hockney: Works from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation and the 2026 HeART of Portland exhibition, as well as PAM’s transformed campus and reinstalled permanent collection galleries with several recently rotated works.

Related Events

*This list of events will be updated as new events are scheduled. All spaces and events are accessible. For more info email access@pam.org or leave a message at 503-276-4284.

• 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Access Welcome Table and Drop-in Artmaking, Gallery 101
• 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Meet the Artist – Tactile Graphic Artist/Braille Transcriber Michael Cantino, Gallery 101
• 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sensing Art Tour for Blind and Low Vision Visitors, various galleries and Rental Sales Gallery, meet at Admission Desk
• 3 – 4 p.m. Screening of short films by Disabled Filmmakers – with captions and audio description, Whitsell Auditorium
• 4 – 6 p.m. Art in ASL Look with Me, various galleries
• 4:45 – 6:45 p.m. Screening of the documentary Complicated with captions, followed by a panel discussion about Ehler Danlos, Whitsell Auditorium

Tickets

Free First Thursday tickets can be reserved online one week in advance and are also available at the door. Tickets to Free First Thursday programs at the Tomorrow Theater are available online.

Free First Thursdays at the Museum and PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater aligns with the revitalization of the long-standing Portland art galleries’ tradition of opening their doors for openings, receptions, and events on the first Thursday of each month. In recent months art and culture organizations have joined to bring back this popular activity, including the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in the North Park Blocks.

Generous support provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.