You are Invited to the C45 + Blue Sky Book Launch
Support your local art community by attending an upcoming book launch event co-hosted by Blue Sky and our friends at Converge 45.
Wed, Sep 18 from 6 - 9 PM
DeSoto Rooftop Terrace
720 NW Davis St. Portland, OR 97209
This event will celebrate each organization's newly released publications: the 2023-24 edition of the Blue Sky Yearbook along with the 2023 Social Forms: Art as Global Citizenship catalog from Converge 45's latest triennial program. These gatherings provide a much needed platform for artists to showcase their work with their local arts community. By showing your support, you are not only contributing to the cultural enrichment of your neighborhood but also helping to sustain creativity and innovation in the local artistic scene. This event offers a unique opportunity to engage with the creative process and gain insight into the inspirations behind the works presented in both publications.
We’re thrilled to be able to host this celebration which will include food, beverages, music, book signings, an opportunity to meet some of the artists behind these wonderful publications, and perhaps a few other surprises.
Make a difference in your community by participating in these enriching events and demonstrating your appreciation for the arts.
Ticket Info
General Admission - $28
VIP - $100
(VIP tickets include a tour prior to the event of the current exhibition on view at Blue Sky as well as a gift of both publications and your very own Converge 45 tote bag)
About Blue Sky Yearbook
Blue Sky, Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, is excited to release the most recent edition of the Blue Sky Yearbook. This has become a time honored tradition of the gallery that our supporters look forward to year after year. The Blue Sky Yearbook is a lovingly curated collection of images from the previous year’s exhibitions brought together by none other than artist and Board President Christopher Rauschenberg.
About 2023 Social Forms: Art As Global Citizenship
This publication catalogs Converge 45’s 2023 city-wide triennial program which supported the work of 60+ participating artists whose work was exhibited at 17 partner cultural institutions spanning the four quadrants of the Portland Metropolitan area, including here at Blue Sky.
Organized by writer and curator Christian Viveros-Fauné, Social Forms centers on the idea of art-as-a-social-form: contemporary and historical artworks that take the measure of their era in order to respond directly to the challenges of their time. Grounded in the current socio-political landscape as well as in regional and global histories, this expansive exhibition asks us to consider global power shifts taking place in contemporary society.
The artists in this book go a ways to immortalizing this era of massive social, political, climatic, cultural and demographic shifts through inspired artworks that visualize phenomena that remain stubbornly invisible or, more commonly, hide in plain sight. Theirs are views from the brink. They are gifted to you, dear reader, from fifty different purchases, by which I mean fifty different countries, cities, neighborhoods and, ultimately, artist studios. What they have in common is empathy, coherence and critical vision—that and the fact that they are all shared from the same dramatic overlook that is Portland, Oregon, in the year 2023.
–Christian Viveros-Fauné
About Converge 45
2023 Social Forms: Art As Global Citizenship exhibition Occidental by Richard Mosse
Converge 45 is a non-profit arts organization that produces a contemporary art triennial in Portland, Oregon. In collaboration with a dynamic community of artists, organizations, galleries, corporate partners, alternative venues, and a guest curator, Converge 45 develops a citywide exhibition across the metropolitan area every three years. The triennial intersects regional, national, and international perspectives around art and the futures it seeks. Outside of the triennial program, the organization works in continued collaboration with community partners to build strength and resiliency within the Portland arts ecosystem.
About Blue Sky
2023 Social Forms: Art As Global Citizenship opening at Blue Sky
Founded as the Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts by a group of five young photographers in 1975, Blue Sky quickly established itself as an important venue for local photography. In a short period of time, the organization expanded its offerings to include national and international artists, many of whom exhibited at Blue Sky early in their careers.
Blue Sky’s special endeavor continues to be the exhibition of emerging and established artists that exemplify the finest in photographic vision and innovation. As such, Blue Sky has earned the accolade as having “the best record of discovering new photographers of any artists’ space in the country.”
Today, from its 3,700-square-foot facility in Portland’s historic DeSoto Building, Blue Sky presents 20 - 25 exhibitions annually, maintains a public research library, showcases regional photographers in an annual juried exhibition of original works in its Pacific Northwest Drawers, and offers artist talks and programs — all free to the public.
