Two community grants are helping transform Pittman Addition HydroPark into a sculpture space.

You may already know the story of Pittman Addition HydroPark, and how the open space was developed through a community design process and opened in fall 2009. (Or maybe you just recall the giant carrot that was spotted at Pittman Addition last spring). From the very beginning, community members really wanted to create a sculpture space for temporary art, but the bare-bones budget for adding basic amenities to the park wouldn't cover the expense. So, community members agreed to form Friends of Pittman Addition HydroPark, which is fiscally sponsored by North Portland Community Works (an umbrella non-profit through the Office of Neighborhood Involvement). The group of neighbors and artists has been working together since 2010 to bring art to the park.

This week five sculpture pads are being poured, thanks to a $11k Community Livability Grant from the Portland Development Commission. Through a partnership with the Columbia Slough Watershed Council the park will be further transformed in March, when the whole southern sound wall will be planted with native plants. The planting labor will be done by Verde, a local non-profit that provides employment and training opportunities.

More good news came this week when we learned that the project was awarded a Community-Based Grant from the Union Pacific Foundation for $2500 to provide artists with stipends to install sculptures. A call-to-artists will be done this spring, and a community celebration of the new sculpture space will be planned for June.

This will be the first public sculpture space for temporary art in Portland.

Darcy Cronin

Sr. Community Outreach and Information Representative