Oregonians love to spend time outdoors, so it makes sense that some of our finest works of art can be found outside for all to view, day or night. In many cities across the state, you can find murals illustrating historic events; cultural themes and symbols; or gorgeous depictions of local flora, fauna and industry. In Eugene a recent citywide project brought world-famous street artists to town. You can also see murals celebrating diversity in places across the state like Medford or Vale, plus a number of whimsical “Oregon Is Magic” murals. Here’s where you’ll find some of Oregon’s finest, representing community creativity and civic pride.
Honoring Global Street Art in Eugene
Eugene is a major hub for street art in Oregon, largely thanks to the 20x21EUG Mural Project, a community arts initiative that’s responsible for bringing muralists from all over the world to Eugene to help infuse the city with art.
The unusual name of 20×21 came about because when the project was started in 2016, Eugene was scheduled to host the World Athletics Championship in 2021. The goal was to bring in diverse artists from around the world to create 20 murals in an ode to the global community that Eugene would soon be welcoming. COVID postponed the championship until 2022 but the name stuck.
The city’s Public Art Committee got to work, identifying world-class artists to bring to the city. While all artists were paid, many were world-famous and could easily command fees higher than the budget allowed. But the team decided to reach for the stars. Much to their surprise, it worked.
Among the first artists to accept was Blek le Rat, a Parisian artist who’s considered the godfather of stencil graffiti. Another street-art pioneer, New York artist Dan Witz — who is famous for his mastery of 3D optical illusions — followed soon thereafter. “Dan really talked about artist equity, and that he’d never worked with Blek le Rat before,” says Debbie Williamson-Smith, communications manager at Eugene’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and one of the project’s founding members. “He said yes because of who else said yes.”
Momentum kept building, and more and more famous artists began to descend upon Eugene, invigorating bare walls with thought-provoking and often colorful imagery. By the time of its completion in 2019, the project had brought in artists from five different continents to create 22 murals and 45 works of art.
Even after the project wrapped up, efforts to beautify Eugene with art continue to this day: “20×21 seemed to give everyone permission to start making art, and businesses started creating art on their buildings,” says Williamson-Smith. “And the city, brilliantly, launched a program called Urban Canvas that created a roster of local artists who want to learn to paint big or who have painted big. It’s like a matchmaking service for artists and businesses … the whole concept is ‘Local artists, local walls.’”
How to See the Murals in Eugene
While guided mural tours are sometimes available — especially if you come during Visual Arts Week each fall or attend a conference — most people visit the murals independently as a self-guided tour, either by following an interactive mural map on their phones or printing a paper map. Although pieces are numbered in the order in which they were created, visitors can choose an area to start and take it from there. Williamson-Smith also offers private group tours — book ahead and ask about accessible options by emailing her at [email protected].
A few downtown highlights include a lifelike mural of an elderly man created by Nepal’s Kiran Maharjan (an artist better known as H11235) and “Sidewalk Games (and Kindness)” by Robézio Marqs and Tereza Dequinta of Brazil’s Acidum Project, a vibrant mural that uses colorful shapes and forms often associated with cubism.
Eugene-based muralist Kari Johnson’s powerful statement about global warming pays tribute to Indigenous stewardship of the Willamette Valley in the foreground as buildings burn on the horizon. This piece on the FOOD for Lane County Dining Room building is one of many she’s done in town. Another must-see is a massive portrait of track-and-field phenomenon Jesse Owens, fabricated entirely from upcycled materials by U.K. artist Matt Small.
As you stroll, look out for city grates that appear to have tiny hands peeking out of them. Despite their freakishly real appearance, they aren’t grates at all but paintings that exemplify Dan Witz’s celebrated knack for optical illusion.
Although not on the mural trail, it’s also worth checking out the “We Rise” mural on downtown’s Mary Spilde Center. This mural — by acclaimed muralist Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith — was created in partnership with the We Rise Committee, which works to provide cultural leadership opportunities for Black youth in Eugene.
While every mural artist has helped invigorate the Eugene cityscape with beauty and creativity, one that Williamson-Smith was particularly excited to host was Shamsia Hassani, an art professor at Kabul University and the first woman graffiti artist in Afghanistan. “Her art is very focused on the female voice — or the lack of female voice, and how the arts can become that voice,” says Williamson-Smith. “Oftentimes, the figures in her work are reading, playing the piano or [as is the case with Hassani’s Eugene mural] playing the guitar. Her figures rarely have mouths because the arts become their voice.”
Self-Led Mural Tours in Portland and on the Oregon Coast
Eugene is just one of many destinations in Oregon with world-class murals that celebrate diversity. Portland has some incredible street murals, some of the finest of which have been made possible through the Portland Street Art Alliance. This alliance offers community tours for private groups, as well as downloadable street-art maps for those who prefer to choose their own adventure. Don’t miss works by Black artists such as Portland legend Isaka Shamsud-Din, whose 1989 “Now Is the Time, the Time Is Now” is among the city’s oldest murals. This mural, which depicts Martin Luther King Jr. among others, is located on the north side of Northeast Portland’s Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon building. On the south side is a newer mural that features some of Portland’s prominent Black business owners.
Your best bet for navigating the abundance of art on the Coast is by checking out the Oregon Coast Public Art Trail, an interactive map of more than 800 examples of public art open to all. In Seaside check out Roger Cooke’s recently renovated mural honoring the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes. In Lincoln City, don’t miss the rainbow-hued ground mural “Ice Cream and Waves,” created by artist Crystal Meneses along with a team of youth artists from her nonprofit arts organization, Activate Arts.
Murals Celebrating Community and Culture Elsewhere in Oregon
Southern Oregon’s art scene is burgeoning, particularly in its cities. Downtown Medford’s murals celebrate the history and diversity of the area, from Casillas Oliver‘s vibrant “Everyone Is Welcome” mural on the OnTrack building to “Mahal,” by Adrian Chavez, which honors the strength of women of color in the Medford community. Grants Pass has a self-guided walking tour that takes you past works such as “The Climate” — a multihued mural bursting with West Coast flora and fauna (plus a Bigfoot) — by Ever Galvez and the “Garden Mural” by Judy Davidson and Valente Ornelas. In Ashland be sure to visit “The BIPOC of the Rogue Valley Celebration” mural on an exterior wall of Ashland High School. This dynamic series of portraits was created by the school’s Truth to Power Club, a student-led initiative working for social justice, safety and inclusivity.
Many of Oregon’s smaller communities are filled with incredible murals, too, including the Eastern Oregon city of Vale, which has an impressive 28 murals around town. The murals collectively tell the story of Oregon Trail settlers, and many highlight the people from around the world — including Basque, Chinese, Japanese and Mexican vaquero settlers who were instrumental in shaping the future of Oregon. In the Columbia Gorge, The Dalles has 33 mapped-out murals — including an “Oregon Is Magic” mural — that collectively tell the city’s story, from the Indigenous people who lived in the area for generations before European settlement to a mural that recounts how the city got its name.
