The State of the Arts

It is not hyperbole to say that Portland is home to some of the most talented and inventive artists in the country. We have incredibly talented musicians, actors, writers, painters, crafters, comic book artists, and innovators in nearly every discipline currently creating in and around our fair city. And yet, our art community is in shambles. Again, not hyperbole. With the cost of housing and groceries at all-time highs, creatives are struggling to afford the materials needed to make their art, and often can’t budget the time to create, many individuals juggling two and sometimes even three jobs just to get by. Exhibition opportunities are disappearing, with far fewer galleries in operation now than there were just a few years ago, and the galleries that do still exist are prioritizing known and established artists, not allowing developing artists a chance to showcase work and build a fan base. Local art criticism is on life support, with our biggest institutional publications barely even talking about art outside of big-budget corporate events, Hollywood films, and famous touring musicians, all but ignoring visual artists, playwrights, and just about any creatives outside of the most popular local bands. Third spaces essentially don’t exist anymore — places where like-minded creatives can congregate in public to share ideas and work without needing to spend money just to exist. Almost everything necessary to support and foster new and developing artists is all but inaccessible in modern Portland.

In order to turn this around, artists need support from local leaders and investments from patrons of the arts, both at the personal level (the single artist), and as collectives and nonprofits such as 4ARTSAKE.

Where Artists Need the Most Help

By talking to wide range of artists across a variety of mediums, and through artist open-house events with the collaboration of Mudd Palace Gallery (a community-minded private gallery in inner SE), 4ARTSAKE has identified 5 major Pain Points facing local creatives.

PAIN POINT - The local gallery scene is modeled for investor-collectors, and gallery owners act as financial advisors first and foremost, keeping many talented artists out of gallery spaces, and preventing galleries from offering a true reflection of the PNW art scene as a whole.
WHAT THIS MEANS -
THE SOLUTION -

PAIN POINT - The majority of local papers and magazines have very little arts coverage in general, and due to the political investors of said publications, these sources are reluctant to discuss and uplift artists working in counter-culture and provocative spaces, leaving marginalized voices silenced, and challenging artists ignored and overlooked.
WHAT THIS MEANS -
THE SOLUTION -

PAIN POINT -
WHAT THIS MEANS -
THE SOLUTION -

The WUNK Magazine Project

ELEVATOR PITCH

WUNK is a brand new arts and culture magazine that mixes the high-brow with the low-brow, and celebrates Pacific Northwest artists and creators working at the edges. The rag will feature as many art forms as we can cram into its pages, including fiction, poetry, satire, gonzo journalism, comics, illustration, paintings, photography, collage, and anything else we can figure out how to print. Issue one will come out Fall 2026.

SHORT-TERM GOALS

THE MAGAZINE - WUNK is designed to be a spotlight for over-looked, unknown, and developing artists working in Portland and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our primary goal with the magazine is to provide artists with exposure to potential audiences for their work, and to provide a publication credit for artists who normally do not have access to print media in order to help them advance their careers. Our secondary, but equally important goal is to provide the community with access to artists that they will love, but that they have yet to encounter through the previously established points of entry for interacting with art in the Portland Metro Area (namely local gallery spaces and publications such as The Willamette Week and The Portland Mercury).

EVENTS - Our events are multi-media variety shows, with a focus on performance. We include readings of fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction, comedy, sketch, music, animation, music, and anything else that we can cram into a show. At many (if not all) of our events, there will also be a visual art element, with paintings, illustration, et cetera from WUNK artists decorating the space. All events are free to the public, and at least 25% of them will be all-ages with guardian accompaniment suggested. Right now our target is 2 to 5 shows a quarter.

PAIN POINTS / SOLUTIONS

In this section, we will discuss the current needs of the local art community, and how WUNK addresses those needs.

PAIN POINT - The local gallery scene is modeled for investor-collectors, and gallery owners act as financial advisors first and foremost, keeping many talented artists out of gallery spaces, and preventing galleries from offering a true reflection of the PNW art scene as a whole.
WUNK’S RESPONSE - We prioritize platforming working class, student, and outsider artists, completely dismissing the idea that an artist’s value is in any way tied to the dollar value that their work can generate. For many artists, our magazine will be their first-ever fully public showing of their work.

PAIN POINT - The majority of local papers and magazines have very little arts coverage, and due to the political investors of said publications, these sources are reluctant to discuss and uplift artists working in counter-culture and provocative spaces.
WUNK’S RESPONSE - We allow our artists a great deal of creative freedom, giving a platform to marginalized voices and viewpoints, and helping audiences connect to new and challenging points of view.

PAIN POINT - Local art is often inaccessible, even when it is on display. Galleries have weird hours, and are not inviting places to working class and marginalized people, and a majority of non-gallery art spaces are places of commerce where there is pressure to purchase goods and services in order to occupy space. Though there are already a small number of independent publications operating in and around Portland, in order to cover their printing costs they charge between $8 and 60 per issue, keeping the work out of reach for low-income consumers.
WUNK’S RESPONSE - Our magazine is distributed for free, and will be available at a wide range of locations, including book stores, coffee shops, bars, head shops, clubs, et cetera, and all of our partners make it clear that accessing the magazine does not require financial patronage, making the art truly free for all.

LONG-TERM GOALS

A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE - We want to have WUNK be always in production, that way we can keep up with the scene as it changes. Each issue can support between 30 to 60 artists, and though we will have a handful of consistent contributors, we will prioritize expanding the stable of featured artists with every issue. As a quarterly publication, we will become something that the public can rely on, and look forward to, and over time, trust. As we build our readership, we will be able to shift some of the focus to the future, and point people towards upcoming events and experiences, bringing an ever-growing community in direct contact with new and cutting-edge art happenings.

EXPANDED, MONTHLY EVENTS - We plan to sponsor a minimum of 1 to 3 live events per month, prioritizing mixing various art forms into single events. We are planning for readings, gallery exhibitions, stand-up comedy, live music, film screenings, plays, and performance art to be a regular part of our quarterly programming, bringing artists from all over the PNW and across mediums into a shared space, and exposing our audiences to art that they otherwise would not encounter.

CONTRIBUTOR COMPENSATION - Our current model as a free magazine is that all art is donated to the magazine for single-use (the print-life of an issue). As we raise money from donors and secure grants, and as more advertisers come on board, our plan is to start artists off at $50 per contribution, and scale up as the magazine grows.

PAID STAFF - Through 4ARTSAKE, our associated nonprofit partner, we plan to eventually pay up to 4 part-time staff members, including up to 3 Editors and 1Marketing Coordinator.