Where to find Street Art in Portland Oregon

Hilary

5 years ago

The amount of street art going up in cities around the world is simply staggering, so you might think finding it would be easy, but strangely that’s not the case. It’s always a lovely surprise when you come around the corner and are greeted by a larger than life mural, but with limited time in a city wandering aimlessly and hoping to get lucky just won’t do.

Artist: Kevin Ledo Portland Oregon

As luck would have it I noticed the reflection of this Kevin Ledo mural in another building.

Table of Contents

Street Art Scavenger Hunt

I think of finding street art as a giant scavenger hunt. I use clues from Google searches and Instagram to try and work out where I can find multiple murals or a specific piece within a city. Still, I can’t tell you how many times we have walked right by a piece, or simply can’t find it at all. I will even admit that I’ve walked within feet of amazing art, and never knew it was there until it was too late.

Artist: Faith47

I found this Faith47 piece just prior to leaving the city, it was around the corner from my hotel.

Once I do find a piece it’s not always easy to work out the artist’s name, but I will always do my best to share with you not only the artist’s name, but the mural’s exact location.

Artist: Unknown 125 NW 4th

During our recent visit to Portland we visited art in four different neighborhoods, including, Downtown Portland, The Alberta Arts District, the Central Eastside and SE Division.

Artist Unknown Invader?

Bad lighting, fencing, trash, dumpsters and parked cars can all get in the way of snapping an unobstructed photo of street art murals. Still, I was able to “collect” a large amount of art on this trip, and if you can believe it these are just the photos I deemed acceptable for sharing.

Pasteup Wall Portland Oregon

Street Art Walking Tour

To help make my Portland street art scavenger hunt successful I reached out to the Portland Street Art Alliance (PSAA) and arranged a walking tour in the Central Eastside Industrial District. Unfortunately it was 95 degrees out the day of our tour, making it difficult to stop and enjoy the art, but we did our best.

Artist Unknown

During my visit I learned of Forrest For the Trees a nonprofit organization that organizes and facilitates public art in the city of Portland. You’ll find a gallery of murals on their website, however the locations and murals aren’t listed together…

Downtown Portland

Artist: Rone
Location: SW 12th Avenue

Artist: Rone Portland Street Art

Artist: Michael Reeder
Location: NW 12th & SW Stark

Artist: Michael Reeder

Artist(s): Troy Lovegates & Paige Wright
Location: NW 12th & SW Stark

Artist: Troy Lovegates & Paige Wright

Artist: Unknown (#handyeyemovement)
Location: Glisan Street

Artist: Unknown

Artist(s): Caratoes & Smithe
Location: NW 4th & NW Everett

Artist(s): Caratoes & Smithe

Artist: Ashley Montague
Location: 11th & Hoyt

Artist: Ashley Montague

Artist: Kevin Ledo
Location: SW 2nd & SW Stark Street

Artist: Kevin Ledo Portland Oregon

Artist: Unknown
Location: Dante’s W Burnside & NW 3rd Street

Keep Portland Weird

Central Eastside Industrial District
Location: South of I-84 to Powell and the Willamette River to SE 12th.

Though still very much an area of industry the Central Eastside is also dotted with hip eateries, trendy bars, and one-of-a-kind shops. It’s also a hotspot for murals!