Each year the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA) presents a world renowned festival here in Portland - this year the Time Based Art Festival is back with another lineup of artists who seem less interested in staying in their lane than setting the lane on fire.
We’re looking at four performances that caught our attention: two world premieres, a berserk one-person show, and a work-in-progress with possible rodeo implications. Consider this your personally curated shortlist for what to see when the festival kicks off.
Holland Andrews + yuniya edi kwon
How does it feel to look at nothing
Sept. 11 & 12 at 8:00 PM
Sept. 13 at 2:00 PM
PICA is hosting the World Premiere (!!!) of this new work by Holland Andrews + yuniya edi kwon - an interdisciplinary performance, this show is grounded in the couple’s “shared spiritual lineages and lives as partners, the opera explores the forces and conditions that compel life’s emergence, and the spiritual act of meaning-making during epochs of decay.”
What to Expect: Experimental operatic singing and sharp and moving violin. The music will be abstract but BOLD. Hand-sewn sets will be a stunning backdrop. Also, the Winningstad is a beautiful old theater with multi-level seating.
Alex Tatarsky
Sad Boys in Harpy Land
Sept. 11 & 12 at 8:00 PM
Sept. 13 at 2:00 PM
This is one of the TBA 2026 artists we’ve been hearing about for months from LCC friend (and PICA Co-Artistic Director) Kristan Kennedy.
To us it is giving performance-meets-sculpture-meets-comedy, with sources ranging from Goethe to Seinfeld. New York Theater Review says “Tatarsky is fearless, exciting, and unpredictable, leaning on the awkward and unflattering parts of the self and the body to mine both their funniest bits and most profound insights.”
What to Expect: Well, this work was self-described as “unhinged” so we are ready - we hear unhinged in a great way! One-person performance with music, with a fun surprise half-way through the performance. Most certainly breaks the fourth wall.
LINK TO TICKETS
Allie Hankins
By My Own Hand, Part 5: INVISIBLE TOUCH
Sept. 10, 11, 12 at 6:00 PM
Sept. 13 at 4:00 PM
Another world premiere, Hankin’s By My Own Hand, Part 5: INVISIBLE TOUCH is the final installment in Allie Hankins’ ongoing performance series, By My Own Hand, which queers autobiography through examinations of manipulation, self-effacement, and systems we use to define ourselves, including psychotherapy, astrology, and dream interpretation.
What to Expect: You can expect the strata of Portland’s dance community to come out! Smart, and forward thinking, Hankins is a hometown favorite in the art and dance community, and this is another show we keep hearing murmurs of.
LINK TO TICKETS
Symara Sarai
Untitled
Sept. 10 at 8:00 PM
Symara Sarai’s show is described as a “work in progress”, and in our current capitalist society polish and conformity, we are here for this type of vulnerability. Said to be drawn from “lived encounters and personal histories” this piece “considers how intimacy can manifest in unconventional, high-stakes, and spiritually resonant forms." The Brooklyn Rail described a recent performance by Sarai as a “rollercoaster of emotions,” which feels about right for us too after eclipse season.
What to Expect: A totally behind-the-scenes type experience. movement/dance based. Also, they’ve been studying with rodeo folks, so word on the street is that lassoing might be in the mix!
LINK TO TICKETS
