Portland grid project

Feb 2019 - Portland Grid Project

Pat Bognar, one of the photographers in this show, remarks that Portland is both special and ordinary, and "like other ordinary places, it can be quite extraordinary if people take time to really look around them, especially the common places and neighborhoods where people live and work." 

The Portland Grid Project was born of that understanding. In order to see the whole city, and not just its scenic cliches, a group of local photographers in 1995 created a plan to explore the city methodically, one mile at time. They drew a grid in red ink on a Portland map, totaling 108 square-mile sections, enough to take up 9 straight years of photographic work. Phase one of the project began then and lasted until 2004.  A second phase followed. 
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The current exhibit at Gallery 114 represents the third phase, a testament to the creative energy of Portland's photographic community that keeps the project alive and thriving. Each photographer brings a unique vision to this collective effort. They shot within the same grid each month individually and got together once a month to share their work. The result is a collaborative exhibit by photographers Pat Bognar, Larry Cwik, Sarah Graves, Gary Gumanow, Philippe Justel, George Kelly, Nathan Lucas, Alberta Mayo, Jenny Olsen, Missy Prince, Steve Rockoff, and Jeffrey Thorns.