HALLIE FORD MUSEUM OF ART

Featuring works by Pacific Northwest and Native American artists, a diverse collection of traditional European, American, and Asian art, and antique artifacts. The galleries are closed on Sunday and Monday. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for seniors (55+). Children and students (0-17) and students (18+ with ID) are admitted free of charge, and Tuesday is a free day. 

Through June 20, 2026
Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts Biennial highlights a selection of contemporary prints created over the past two years at the renowned printmaking atelier on the Umatilla Reservation. Founded in 1992 by artist James Lavadour, Crow’s Shadow has grown into one of the nation’s premier print studios, fostering artistic opportunity and cultural exchange for Native and non-Native artists alike. 

June 13, 2026, through March 13, 2027
Handmade Revolution: Craft in the Pacific Northwest is the first exhibition to feature the museum’s significant holdings of both historic and contemporary craft. The exhibition features over 60 artworks created in ceramics, textiles, glass, wood, and metal made by artists such as Rudy Autio, Frank Boyden, Dale Chihuly, Betty Feves, Heidi Pruess Grew, Linda Hutchins, Clay Lohman, George Rodriguez, Sara Siestreem, Ken Shores, Peter Voulkos, Patti Warashina, Marie Watt, Nancy Worden, and many more.

Free Related Event: Tuesday gallery talks with curator Jonathan Bucci will be held on June 23, July 21, and August 18 at 12:30 pm in the Maribeth Collins Lobby and Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery.

SALEM ART ASSOCIATION

The Salem Art Association (SAA) aims to actively engage the community in the appreciation of the arts through contemporary art exhibits and events, and arts education for youth and adults. Bush Barn Art Center & Annex, 600 Mission St SE | 503-581‑2228, salemart.org

Through June 28
Jew& is an exhibition featuring award-winning and contemporary Jewish artists in the Willamette Valley region. The theme of duality in Jewish identity invites artists to share work that informs and challenges understanding of the experience of Jewish artists and the identities experienced by Jewish artists, and features art from multiple genders and generations of Jewish artists in visual, written, and performance arts. Curated by Jessica Rehfield.

The exhibition will also feature a series of public programs expanding on its themes through talks, workshops, readings, and performances:

• June 7 – Leila Wice, Jewish Studio Project workshop (1–2 p.m.)
• June 14 – Art Conversation with ahuva s. zaslavsky and Shoshana Gugenheim Kedem (1–2 p.m.)
• June 18 – Poetry Reading and Book Talk: Tkhines by Eve Bernfeld and Naming Lake Esther by Nikki Schulak (6–7 p.m.)
• June 25 – Joseph Linahon, Jewish Irish musician, talk and performance (6–7 p.m.)
• June 28 – Jennifer Gwirtz, dance performance (2–3 p.m.)

Through June 13, 2026
Conjunto | Francisco Rangel and Stephanie Juanillo — This collaborative exhibition brings together the artistic practices of Francisco Rangel and Stephanie Juanillo, whose shared exploration of culture, identity, and heritage forms the foundation of Conjunto.

The act of preserving one’s culture, traditions, and language is a form of resilience and celebration. Past, present, future, displacement, belonging, and memory lived and experienced through an immigrant lens, are themes we hope to explore in this body of work. Art has served as a window and portal to stay connected to our roots, traditions, and family histories while navigating life across cultures and generations.

Through June 28, 2026
My Third Childhood — Limei Lai combines mixed media art, writing, and projection to reflect on her life between two cultures. She is curious about how history, memories and art inform one another. This body of work translates her findings from Asian American history research and interviews with Asian immigrant women, focusing on women’s life experiences, intergenerational communication, and cultural conflicts.

Makeup Artistry: It’s Not Lipstick and Powder, You Know! | Scott Ramp — Makeup Artistry encompasses every aspect for the film actor, from basic powder and cosmetics to the most detailed special effects imaginable. Scott Ramp is a Salem native who worked in the industry in Los Angeles for 40 years and now supplies his products to large-scale Halloween events at amusement parks worldwide. Come enjoy the Special Effects world and feel free to touch the displays of some of Scott’s work.

SALEM ON THE EDGE

From fine art by established and up-and-coming artists to graffiti artists, Salem on the Edge features work by PNW artists in a variety of media for purchase. Shows change each month. 156 Liberty St NE | salemontheedge.com

STEFANI ART GALLERY

Showcasing modern, contemporary, and abstract art from local and internationally recognized artists. We offer original artworks, fine art photographs, and limited-edition prints for collectors at every level. Art should be accessible to all, and we’re here to help you find the perfect pieces for your space. 305 Court St NE | stefaniartgallery.com

Through June
Confluence: where forms coverage is a joint exhibition of woodwork by renowned artist Monica Seitzol and her collective, alongside new work by popular painter Jude Morales. This pairing promises a dynamic and memorable show. Jude’s work explores the relationships between people and place, from Oregon’s coastal landscapes to the Willamette Valley, through layered color fields, translucent acrylics, patterns, and metallic elements that create atmospheric, almost three-dimensional experiences.

This show places layered color and hand-carved wood in direct conversation. Morales builds atmospheric landscapes through color and structure, while Setziol-Phillips, continuing the legacy of Leroy Setziol, and the Carvers Collective carve form directly into wood, emphasizing texture, depth, and rhythm.

Seen together, the works share a quiet yet striking common ground: balance, repetition, and the shaping of space. It’s a show that really rewards time and attention.

Through July
Emily Somoskey — In her layered mixed-media paintings, Somoskey constructs a world in flux, where fragments of the familiar drift through shifting atmospheric fields. Pools, nests, and architectural traces intersect with diagrammatic marks and cosmic structures, forming compositions that feel at once intuitive and analytical.

Working between abstraction and representation, her surfaces hold moments of collision and quiet suspension, suggesting a universe that is continuously expanding, folding, and reconfiguring. Through paint and collaged imagery, Somoskey explores how we locate ourselves within systems too vast to fully grasp, yet deeply felt.

Based in Walla Walla, Washington, Somoskey brings a materially rich and conceptually expansive practice to this new body of work, inviting viewers into a space where perception remains fluid, and meaning is always in motion.

Free Related Event

• Receptions: 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 5

Gallery 444

Framing shop and art gallery featuring a variety of art, including work by members of Artists in Action. 444 Ferry St SE | elsinoregallery.com

June
Small Works Show features more than 30 works — all 12″ x 12″ or smaller — by 11 artists in a variety of mediums. 

Free Related Event

• Reception and Awards Presentation: 6 p.m. Friday, June 5

Cultural Exhibits

OREGON STATE CAPITOL

View curated exhibits, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 900 Court St NE. oregoncapitol.com

Through June 4, 2026
The Hellenic-American Cultural Center and Museum (HECCM) presents Master Penworks of Tom Stefopoulos: The Hellenic Artist of the Lovejoy Columns.

Athanasios (Tom) Efthimiou Stefopoulos was a factory worker, railroad man, commercial artist, and a champion penman. Art was his first love, but pursuing this was difficult for a young immigrant in an adopted country where he did not even speak the language. In 1945, he was employed by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad as a crossing watchman at the Lovejoy Ramp of the Broadway Bridge in Portland, Oregon. It was here that the artist created the iconic “Lovejoy Columns.” This exhibition considers the range of Stefopoulos’ art, from pen drawings to the murals that graced the Lovejoy Columns. His style is a unique blend of calligraphic lines and Art Nouveau, and his themes span from Ancient Greek philosophy to contemporary world events. In style and theme, Stefopoulos blended myriad influences, a result of a life lived in multiple places and among many people. Despite a life characterized by movement and synthesis, the Lovejoy Columns represent a sense of belonging to a specific place—in this case, Oregon. Stefopoulos’ art gives insight into how the artist envisioned himself in this new home.

WILLAMETTE HERITAGE CENTER

14 historic structures house permanent and changing exhibits, a research library and archive, a textile learning center, and rentable event spaces over a five-acre campus, which also has retail shops, art galleries, artist studios, and offices. 1313 Mill St SE | 503-585-7012, willametteheritage.org

Through August 1, 2026
Echoes of ‘76: An Exhibit — In 2026, the United States marks its 250th birthday with the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence. What did the events of 1776 mean to the people living in the Mid-Willamette Valley? This multi-part, multidisciplinary exhibit will explore how echoes from 1776 continue to be heard in our community.

Explore how we can understand more about who was living in the Mid-Willamette Valley in 1776 through the languages spoken in this area at the time and the place names we continue to use today. Although the revolutionary events of 1776 didn’t happen here, explore the way they have been observed in this community the past 200 years. Make your voice heard and participate in the Wish Wall – sharing your hopes for how words written in the Declaration of Independence in 1776 might ring forward into the future.

WORLD BEAT GALLERY

The World Beat Gallery gives local cultural communities a space to share their heritage. 390 Liberty St SE | 503-581-2004, salemmulticultural.org

Through June

Pacific Islanders: Navigators of the Sea — Learn about the Pacific Islands through their art, dance, music, and settlement as explained by people from this enchanting area of the world.

We run on coffee, curiosity, and community. Fuel our next story (and our next cup) by supporting Press Play Salem.  buymeacoffee.com/pressplaysalem

Author: Carlee Wright

Carlee Wright is a community instigator with a grand love for Salem and notably fashionable shoes (Hello, John Fluevog!) who turns waste into wearable art in her "spare" time.