Contact: Liz Sauer, Multnomah County Library Capital Building Projects Communications Manager, elizabeths@multco.us
Contact: Meech Boakye, Communications Lead, Regional Arts & Culture Council, 503.823.5111, mboakye@racc.org
PORTLAND, OR. — October 15, 2025
Multnomah County Library (MCL) and the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) are expanding their efforts to bring community-centered artwork to libraries throughout Multnomah County. This work is part of the voter-approved 2020 Library building bond which will build, rebuild or expand eight library buildings. Smaller upgrades to 11 libraries are also mostly complete as part of the Refresh projects. Since the bond passed, Multnomah County Library has undergone exciting and transformative updates, including renovating and expanding Belmont and St. Johns libraries.
Belmont Library will more than double in size to approximately 15,000 square feet, keeping the original 1924 brick building (last updated in 2000 and not a Carnegie building) and adding a new, two-story addition. The design, led by Bora Architecture and Interiors, includes a brand new teen space and community rooms.
St. Johns Library is growing to approximately 8,500 square feet, preserving the original Carnegie building and adding a new addition. With design led by Bora Architecture and Interiors and St. Johns-based Convergence Architecture, the expanded St. Johns Library will feature a large play and learning space for kids and their families as well as a new teen space.
Public art for the community
As part of these new features, local artists are creating unique installations that represent Belmont and St. Johns’ history, culture and diversity. These exciting art pieces are thanks to the Multnomah County Percent for Art Program which is stewarded by the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC). RACC advocates for equity, inclusion and access within the arts and connects artists and creatives to opportunities throughout the region.
Meet the artists
Belmont Library: Suspended artwork
Photo by Robbie Augspurger
Local artist Britt Howard prides herself on bringing big idea energy to creative projects. Over the years, Britt has brought to life countless extraordinary and collaborative fabric-based and multimedia wonders. For Belmont, Britt will create an interior, site specific, 3D soft sculpture which will be suspended from the ceiling of the teen area within the new building addition. Britt’s personal history with this revitalized space has come full circle, from a teen who grew up spending time at the Belmont location herself to now, in adulthood and parenthood, creating a permanent art installation for the space. Britt hopes to tap into her personal experiences as well as those of young people in the neighborhood today to create a memorable and meaningful artwork for the library. While installed in the teen area, the artwork will be viewable from across the second floor and therefore enjoyed by many. The suspended artwork will instill a sense of place and belonging, creating a warm, inviting and welcoming environment where imagination and interests can be explored and inspired.
Belmont Library: Reading room wall artwork
Photo by Ryan Warner
Also on the second floor of the new Belmont addition is the main reading room, an area where technology, community space and comfortable seating areas can be enjoyed by all. These activities will be framed by another beautiful new artwork this time by regional artist Emily Counts, who currently lives and works in Tacoma, Washington but has connective threads throughout the Pacific Northwest. Emily is creating a site specific project adjacent to the suspended artwork which will extend along the full length of one of the interior walls within the main reading room. Emily creates ceramic and mixed media sculptures that engage with craft traditions and explore connectivity, identity and relationships to nature. Staying rooted in these ongoing themes of her practice, Emily is also layering them with inspiration found in the rich feedback collected through the community engagement efforts of Multnomah County Library and Bora Architecture and Interiors. Emily’s artwork will feature rich colors, exquisite textures and symbolism which ignites memories, stories and meaning.
St. Johns Library: Exterior sculpture series
Photo courtesy of the artist
For St. Johns, Portland-based artist, arts worker and educator Sharita Towne is conceiving a series of small site specific sculptures which will adorn the exterior of the library. Sited within the refreshed landscaping and along the entry paths, the sculptures will create moments of pause, reflection and engagement. These artworks will greet library patrons, staff and visitors alike as they approach the new building, establishing a sense of permanence, placemaking and welcome well before you enter. The exterior sculptures will be informed by community stories and experiences, fostering kinship, civic pride and echoing the unique fabric of the St. Johns neighborhood. Born and raised on the West Coast of the United States, along Interstate 5 from Salem, Oregon to Tacoma, Washington and down to Sacramento, California, Sharita’s practice is multidisciplinary and community focused. She is most interested in engaging local and global Black geographies, histories and possibilities. In her work, a shared art penetrates and binds people–artists, audience, organizers, civic structures, sisters, cousins and landscape–in collective catharsis, grief and joy.
Libraries Centering Community-Engaged Art
Community engagement is at the center of the library’s building projects. Each library’s artist selection panel, made up of residents of the neighborhood, artists, architects, and library staff, considered many artists, including those with demonstrated experiences of engaging communities in their work. This includes multicultural understanding and representation as well as the ability to create meaningful connections to, and for, the community around each library.
###
About Multnomah County Library
A treasured community institution since 1864, Multnomah County Library is one of the nation’s busiest public library systems, providing social, educational and cultural programs, resources and services, online and through its 19 public locations. With an eye toward the future of community-centered spaces, the library is working to build, rebuild or expand eight libraries through a voter approved capital bond. In addition to being Oregon’s largest provider of free internet access, the library offers millions of print and digital resources, in multiple languages for people of all ages. From early learning to job training, computer-assisted design and 3D printing, the library supports all people in their pursuits to connect, learn and create. Learn more at multcolib.org
About Regional Arts & Culture Council
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) enriches communities in Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties through equitable access to arts and culture. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization we work to elevate the voices and visibility of individual artists, culture bearers, and arts nonprofits, amplifying their impact through funding, professional development, and other vital resources. Our nationally acclaimed public art program enlivens parks, government buildings, libraries, and health clinics, bringing people and communities together and making our region a more welcoming place to live. Through strategic partnerships, our team is working to build coalitions, crafting a shared vision for economic vitality in our region. Learn more at racc.org.