PORTLAND, Ore. (Portland Tribune) — Big changes are coming to the downtown Portland art scene, although the largest decision — the future of the city-owned Keller Auditorium — is not scheduled to be made by the City Council until later this year.
Portland State University announced a $10 million gift from the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation in support of its arts programs on April 2. Jordan Schnitzer, the real estate developer and philanthropist behind the donation, said he hopes the money will benefit not only PSU students, but also residents across the Portland area.
The donation will help fund the construction of the Schnitzer School of Art, Art History and Design in the South Park Blocks, help operate PSU’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and cover new signage, lighting and outdoor art on the university’s campus.
“My grandparents, my late parents Harold and Arlene Schnitzer and I believe in the importance of education,” Schnitzer said. “An arts education is the best background to think creatively, to learn to be innovative, to help build our workforce and economy, and most importantly, help solve society’s great challenges.”
The Portland Art Museum then announced that its ongoing campus expansion and renovation project will be open to the public in late 2025. The project will create a new 24,000-square-foot Mark Rothko Pavilion on the South Park Blocks, named after the late renowned abstract expressionist painter who spent his childhood in Portland.
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