Multnomah County Library (MCL) and Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) are teaming up to bring artwork to libraries throughout Multnomah County. This effort is part of the voter-approved 2020 Library building bond which will build, rebuild or expand nine library buildings while providing smaller upgrades to 11 libraries as part of the Refresh projects.
Since the bond passed, Multnomah County Library has been hard at work on major updates, with the Operations Center and Holgate and Midland libraries leading the way as some of the first projects.
The first real estate purchase with the bond, the Operations Center is the heart of the library, where every item placed on hold is sorted in addition to being the first stop for new books and materials. This 73,000 square foot building opened in January 2024.
Albina Library will be renovated and greatly expanded, resulting in a 30,000 square foot library for the surrounding community. The design, led by LEVER Architecture, preserves and seismically upgrades the historic Carnegie structure on Knott Street, while providing four times the current space, making it one of the largest libraries in Multnomah County. Albina is scheduled to reopen in 2026.
Holgate Library will be a brand new two-story building, triple the size of the current space for a total of 21,000 square feet. It will be one of the largest libraries in Multnomah County. To begin on this new building, Holgate Library closed to begin construction on December 5, 2022 and will reopen in 2024.
Midland Library will undergo important renovations and an expansion to add 6,000 square feet of space, or an increase of about 25 percent. To complete these exciting upgrades, Midland Library closed to begin construction on December 23, 2022 and will reopen in 2024.
North Portland Library will also be renovated and expanded, adding 1,500 square feet to make the library 10,200 square feet. The renovated building will highlight the diversity and history of the community. The design by LEVER Architecture preserves the historic Carnegie building on Killingsworth Street with an opportunity for community gatherings in the new Black Cultural Center.
Community-centered art
Local artists are creating unique installations at each of these sites that represent the community’s history, culture and diversity.
This artwork is developed in coordination with the Regional Arts & Culture Council through the Multnomah County Percent for Art Program, allotting 2% of the construction budget for all county-funded improvement projects toward the investment in public art. Artists are awarded projects as part of a robust public process, which includes selection panels led by local residents, business owners, artists, library staff and project partners.
Community engagement is a core value for the building projects. Selection panels prioritized artists with demonstrated experience and expressed interest in embedding community into their practice and work. Most artists selected for these projects are expected to create and host community engagement opportunities as part of their design phase. Some of these arts-focused events have already taken place and more are on their way in the coming months.
Albina, North Portland and the new East County Library are next up for public selection panels to choose artists that represent the community.
Meet the artists
Operations Center: Exterior entrance
A new, large-scale, 2-dimensional permanent exterior artwork at the Operations Center entrance will be created by artist Tenya Rodriguez (they/them). The site-specific original artwork will greet staff and visitors alike with vibrant colors and energy as they enter the new building, which is considered the heart of the library system. The artwork will also be visible to vehicular and pedestrian traffic along NE 122nd Avenue, capturing the attention of those who pass by. Tenya is a queer, Latinx, self-taught artist whose practice centers on mark-making and layering as a way to communicate through experimental expressionism. Photo credit: Tenya Rodriguez
Albina Library: Exterior sculptures
The Albina Library Sculpture Series is one of three new permanent public artworks at the renovated and expanded location. Local artist Greg A. Robinson will create a sequence of site-specific exterior sculptures which will greet library patrons, staff and visitors as they approach and enter the new building from the Russell Street entrance. As an enrolled member of the Chinook Indian Nation, Greg’s work centers and uplifts the histories, experiences and stories of the Indigenous peoples who originally lived in the Greater Portland area. Greg uses his artwork as a tool for education, inclusion and inspiration. Known for working in a variety of materials, including wood, stone, glass, metal and cement, this commission will add to a number of other public art installations Greg has created in the Pacific Northwest. Photo courtesy of the artist
Holgate Library: Interior/exterior wall
The Interior/Exterior Wall public art project at Holgate Library is multi-dimensional in name and practice. Salomée Souag’s (she/her) artwork will be etched onto exterior panels of the building's façade creating a permanent sculptural drawing on the outside. Elements of these exterior panels will be replicated inside along the full length of the ground floor lobby wall as part of a large-scale, site-specific, 2-dimensional digital mural. Salomée is a muralist, designer and creative from Switzerland who holds her Peruvian and Algerian ancestors closer to her heart, her community and her work. In her consistent and continuous evolution and artistic practice, she creates revolutionary work to give power to the people, youth and artists. Salomée’s bold and powerful work encourages everyone to break down boundaries and borders and to imagine expression. Photo credit: Haley Busch
Holgate Library: Exterior site enclosure
Arts activist Crystal Meneses (she/her) will be creating a 2-dimensional wall-mounted artwork for Holgate Library’s Exterior Site Enclosure. The artwork will wrap the enclosure, creatively anchoring the north entry outdoor patio. Located between the new library and the new parking lot, the artwork will be highly visible from SE 79th Avenue as people arrive at the library. In addition, the artwork will act as the backdrop to ground floor flex spaces that will be used by library staff and patrons for classes and events. Crystal creates from a communal perspective, centering connection and relationship and ensuring inclusion. Her mission is to inspire arts activism in the community, supporting others in discovering their passions and talents. Crystal’s expansive approach and ability to cultivate community is, in itself, a work of art. At the heart of everything Crystal generates is the desire to elevate collective healing, particularly amongst marginalized communities. Photo credit: Alberta Akins
Midland Library: Exterior canopy
As part of the overall building renovation, Midland Library will acquire a new entry canopy, framing the redesigned entrance and exterior public plaza. The underside of the canopy, spanning the width of the building, will feature artwork by local artists Lillyanne Pham (LP) and Paola De La Cruz (she/her). Lillyanne is a second-generation Vietnamese artist and cultural organizer who creates through a systemic consciousness framework and lens, specifically place-based justice and racial equity. Paola, originally from the Dominican Republic, interweaves digital and analog media, patterns, stitching and shape-based illustrations to evoke intimacy while challenging the themes of cultural identity, coming of age and interpersonal growth. Together, Lillyanne and Paola conceive and actualize socially engaged projects which blend one another's strengths, passions and creativity. Photo credit: Keanu Narciso
Midland Library: Gathering Circle
Kanani Miyamoto (she/her) has been selected to create an original 2-dimensional wall-mounted artwork which will frame Midland Library’s interior Gathering Circle, a communal seating area that encourages and fosters connection. The artwork will be located directly across from the new main entry doors and will be one of the first things visible as people arrive at the library. Kanani is a practicing artist, curator, adjunct instructor and teacher whose work focuses on sharing and celebrating her unique mixed heritage in the hopes of representing her community and the beauty of intersectional identities. Through Kanani’s community-centered work she brings awareness to the damaging effects of capitalism and settler colonialism on Pacific Island people and land. Photo credit: Kayla Wiley
Midland Library: Large-scale exterior sculptures
International Ukrainian-Canadian artist team, HYBYCOZO, will create a series of large-scale exterior sculptural artworks for Midland Library, providing a sense of welcome and belonging well before entering the building doors. HYBYCOZO is the collaborative studio of artists Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk. Their work consists of larger-than-life sculptures that celebrate the inherent beauty of geometric form and pattern, composed in ways that harmonize the experience of sculpture, light and shadow. Much of their work draws on inspirations from mathematics, science and patterns in nature and acknowledges diverse cultural influences in pattern making and design. For this project, the landmark sculptures, with dynamic day and nighttime presence, will be installed prominently throughout the new south side plaza. Greeting patrons and staff upon their arrival to this revitalized and beloved community space, these artworks will create a renewed sense of place, inspiring connection and fostering curiosity. The artworks will mark the library as a destination and create a significant beacon for the building which the local neighborhood, and wider community, can feel aligned with and proud of. Photo credit: John Nguyen
North Portland Library: Glass artwork
At North Portland Library, artist Sadé DuBoise has been selected to create a site-specific, artist-designed glass wall which will create a backdrop for the west side of the new Black Cultural Center. This permanent glass artwork, measuring 12 ft. high and 16 ft. wide, will be based on an original painting DuBoise will create, grounded in her North Portland upbringing and influenced by North Portland Library community engagement events. Her work is currently featured in the Black Artists of Oregon Exhibition at the Portland Art Museum, curated by Intisar Abioto.
In collaboration with Multnomah County Library and RACC, Sadé DuBoise will host two visioning sessions to welcome the community into the process of developing artwork for the Black Cultural Center. Photo credit: Olivia Renee
North Portland Library: Wooden relief sculpture
The architectural details and art of the Black Cultural Center at North Portland Library will reflect the mission of that space. This will include Melanie Stevens' site-specific wooden relief sculpture surrounding the interior window sill facing North Commercial Ave. The artwork will build upon Melanie’s practice of printmaking and graphic novel works that explore the powerful legacy of Black narrative and cultural reclamation. For the Black Cultural Center, this will include four portraits of Afrofuturism's forebears: Octavia E. Butler, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston and Sun Ra.
These artworks are developed in coordination with the Regional Arts & Culture Council through the Multnomah County Percent for Art Program, allotting two percent of the construction budget for all county-funded improvement projects toward the investment in public art. Artists are awarded projects as part of a robust public process, which includes selection panels led by local residents, business owners, artists, library staff and project partners. Photo credit: Mario Gallucci
