Cultural District

November 4, 2026

Powaqqatsi: Live with The Philip Glass Ensemble

Special Concerts

Overview

The Philip Glass Ensemble returns to Portland for Powaqqatsi, an artful cinematic experience that speaks to the impact of modernization and industrialization on traditional ways of living. Seen through the lens of communities across the globe, the narrative is amplified by compositions from Philip Glass that feature native, classical, and electronic instruments. Enjoyed alone or as the second in The Qatsi Trilogy, you won’t want to miss this thought-provoking performance from The Philip Glass Ensemble and conductor Michael Riesman.

po.waq.qa.tsi (from the Hopi language, powaq sorcerer + qatsi life) n., an entity, a way of life, that consumes the life forces of other beings in order to further its own life.

About the Show

• Michael Riesman Conductor
• Members of Portland State University Chamber Choir Ethan Sperry, Conductor
• The Philip Glass Ensemble
• Oregon Symphony

Info

This concert is part of the Special Concerts series, and is eligible for the Choose Your Own Series (Portland only). Concert length is approximately 1 hour 40 minutes. No intermission.

Concert begins promptly at the time listed.

Loading... Select a Date Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland Wed, Nov 4, 2026, 7:30 PM Promo Code Buy Tickets

Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (2026) Directed by Sasha Waters Freyer. 1hr 31min. Not Rated.

If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Best-selling poet and Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, queer and out but intensely private—Oliver’s poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites. She was America’s unlikely, contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself—and us, her readers—to the known and unknowable world. Sasha Waters’ beguiling portrait features poems read by Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Jesse Welles, and Oprah Winfrey.

This film is featured as part of Portland Book Festival’s Cover to Cover.

We do not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, and films exhibited don’t necessarily reflect the views of PAM CUT or the Portland Art Museum. In addition to the synopses, trailers, and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on sites like Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com.

Ornette: Made In America (1985) Directed by Shirley Clarke. 1hr 17min. Not Rated.

Guest programmed by Rob Lewis, PAM CUT @ The Whitsell presents Ornette: Made In America (1985). This freewheeling documentary is a portrait of Ornette Coleman’s life, legacy, and evolution over three decades. Featuring William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Buckminster Fuller, Don Cherry, Yoko Ono, Charlie Haden, Robert Palmer, Jayne Cortez, and John Rockwell, the film features a free-jazz approach and style, using video collage and experimental segments to tell Coleman’s story.

“I’ve always been interested in films about artists. I think because they end up being a conversation not just between filmmaker and subject in a traditional way but also between two uniquely creative people. This film is a really interesting study of that relationship and connection.” – Rob Lewis

Rob Lewis is an artist and art director living and working in Portland, Oregon with his wife Joy Alise Davis, M.A. who serves as the Executive Director of Portland based, Black advocacy organization, Imagine Black.

Co-presented by KMHD.

We do not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, and films exhibited don’t necessarily reflect the views of PAM CUT or the Portland Art Museum. In addition to the synopses, trailers, and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on sites like Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com.

Black Arts PDX is a display of ephemera and an extended documentary trailer that foregrounds the history of the Black visual arts community in Northeast Portland. Curated by Dr. Kiara Hill, this rotating installation sheds light on the practices of key figures who were instrumental in shaping the perception of Black arts and culture in Portland. Whether utilitarian or decorative, these materials highlight ways Black artists sought to beautify the city and utilize their technical skills to address the needs of Black people. Black Arts PDX stems from a collaboration between Dr. Hill and Cultural Bearers Archive, Inc., on an archival project dedicated to preserving the unique lived experiences of Black artists and cultural workers in Portland.

CREATE SPACE is an interactive environment within the Black Art & Experiences (BAE) galleries that invites visitors to slow down, reflect, and respond. Designed as a rest area, reading room, art studio, and community gathering space, it supports connection, creativity, and dialogue. Through artist-led programs, hands-on activities, and quiet areas for reading or reflection, visitors can engage with the Black Art and Experiences gallery in a personal, generative way. This first year, CREATE SPACE is activated alongside Conductions: Black Imaginings II, which centers Black performance art and its archives. Both spaces emphasize process — research, writing, improvisation, and experimentation — as essential to the creative journey.

If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Best-selling poet and Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, queer and out but intensely private—Oliver’s poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites. She was America’s unlikely, contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself—and us, her readers—to the known and unknowable world. Sasha Waters’ beguiling portrait features poems read by Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Jesse Welles, and Oprah Winfrey.

Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World (2026) Directed by Sasha Waters Freyer. 1hr 31min. Not Rated.

This freewheeling documentary is a portrait of Ornette Coleman’s life, legacy, and evolution over three decades. Featuring William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Buckminster Fuller, Don Cherry, Yoko Ono, Charlie Haden, Robert Palmer, Jayne Cortez, and John Rockwell, the film features a free-jazz approach and style, using video collage and experimental segments to tell Coleman’s story.

“I’ve always been interested in films about artists. I think because they end up being a conversation, not just between filmmaker and subject in a traditional way, but also between two uniquely creative people. This film is a really interesting study of that relationship and connection.” – Rob Lewis

Rob Lewis is an artist and art director living and working in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, Joy Alise Davis, M.A., who serves as the Executive Director of the Portland-based Black advocacy organization Imagine Black. Co-presented by KMHD.

Ornette: Made In America (1985) Directed by Shirley Clarke. 1hr 17min. Not Rated. Guest programmed by Rob Lewis, PAM CUT @ The Whitsell presents Ornette: Made In America (1985).