Friends of Congress Square Park

The organization is the non-profit place manager of congress square park, located at the heart of Portland's arts district. The organization seeks to create a thriving public place where civic life flourishes through the arts, public access, and community involvement. We advance our mission through free temporary public art installations, interactions and events in Congress square park, and by providing free public amenities, such as caf tables and chairs, benches, wi-fi, shade umbrellas, and landscaping. The organization formed in 2013 to activate what had become an unused and unwelcoming public space. We began to implement what project for public spaces, the NYC based non-profit global leader in placemaking, calls "lighter, quicker, cheaper" experiments, drawing on the strengths of our community and fostering collaborations with artists and arts organizations. In 2014 the organization launched its first season of free public arts programming in partnership with space. Our creative placemaking and in the-square programming is at the core of the park's transformation from a neglected space into a community gathering place.