Photography show captures ‘Oregon in extraordinary times’

For art institutions, museums and performance spaces, responding to all the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has made for a dizzying year. Not only has the general shutdown of normal life interrupted funding and public engagement, constant shifts in health and safety guidelines have also demanded a new level of nimbleness.

“We had to pivot to online as best we could, but it’s been a challenge,” admitted Oregon Society of Artists Executive Director Nancy Truszkowski. The nearly 100-year-old organization located in Portland’s Goose Hollow neighborhood is home to an exhibition gallery and classroom space for art instruction.

“Probably 75-80% of our student population are senior, so we want to be extra cautious about their health,” Truszkowski said. The dual complications of serving this vulnerable population and transitioning them to online learning took no small amount of creative problem-solving.

But after months of canceled events and juggling ever-evolving regulations, last summer OSA embraced the moment to highlight what art does so well; They put out a call to photographers to submit images for a show entitled “Oregon in Extraordinary Times.”

“It’s a lot harder to put on a show like this because who knows what the opening is going to look like? Will people be able to come to the opening?” said Mark Fitzgerald, whom OSA tapped to judge the exhibition’s photos. “But it made sense to do it now, during the time because there’s gonna be a lot more meaning to the images that are being shown.”