The renovated Whitsell Auditorium at the Portland Art Museum will reopen on January 10, 2026, as PAM CUT @ The Whitsell, marking the final phase of the museum's $116 million campus transformation. The 293-seat auditorium features upgraded seating, cinema projection, sound, and streaming capabilities, and is paired with the new Blair Family Gallery, which opens with Marco Brambilla's exhibition "Maximalist Dreamscapes." The space will host weekly screenings curated by Amy Dotson and Joanna Sokolowski, with guest curators including Carrie Brownstein and Lance Bangs, and partnerships with Criterion.
This reopening matters because it completes a major expansion that adds nearly 100,000 square feet of public and gallery space, creating a dedicated hub for media arts in downtown Portland. By integrating film, new media, and visual storytelling into the museum's core programming, PAM CUT @ The Whitsell positions the Portland Art Museum as a vital cultural commons, expanding access to diverse audiences and pushing the boundaries of cinematic storytelling within a traditional museum setting.