Walking by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s newest exhibit on your way to class sparks many different questions—how do you get in, what are stuffed animals doing everywhere and why is your inner child smiling?
“Just Playin’ Around” is the newest exhibit at Portland State University and is curated by Nancy Downes-Le Guin and Theo Downes-Le Guin. It will be in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) at Portland State University for students and community members from Jan. 21 up until April 26, 2025.
After taking your first steps into the space, immediately a huge plushie case catches your eye. The warm look of it aside, being able to interact with it makes you feel like you’re in your adolescence again, and you can’t seem to stop yourself from smiling.
The majority of pieces at this exhibit are interactive. This allows the community to not only enjoy it visually, but to take a deeper look into what is being set up, and feel the different textures that are displayed.
While taking a look around the first floor of this exhibition, a classroom of middle school students made their way in, giggling and talking among themselves. They seemed to really enjoy the different pieces, and were particularly drawn to the tall spinning glass display of the popular stuffed animals “Tys.”
PSU Student Harrison Janicki had a chance to view the exhibit.
“It’s interesting that there’s a pretty wide variety of stuff in here,” Janicki said. “It’s cool that a lot of [the pieces] are interactive.”
The second floor of the exhibit offered a slightly different vibe than the first floor. Still keeping the playful and curious elements, it exhibited more intricate art pieces.
Immediately, the Takashi Murakami art display will catch your eye. Japanese Contemporary Artist and the Founder of the “Superflat” art movement, Takashi Murakami’s work added incredible additions to this exhibit. Traditional, yet vibrant and visually stunning pieces are lined up on the far wall by the staircase. One of which is “Kaikai Kiki, Flower, 2004,” a piece that depicts different sized smiling flowers, saturated colors, bold gradient patterns and an innocent and nostalgic aesthetic.
While looking around, you might notice the display of gorgeous traditional dresses, an elaborate bug display and a modern interactive virtual reality experience. The thought “dang, why didn’t I check this out before?” might enter one’s mind.
“Just Playin’ Around” has reeled in many different community members around Portland, including PSU Student Nona Tchintcharauli, who was drawn in while walking by.
After being asked what her favorite piece was, Tchintcharauli said, “Probably the one with pools,” referring to Artist Derrick Adams’ “Floater” series, inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. swimming.
“It’s beautiful, I think the idea is very powerful,” Tchintcharauli said. “It talks about underrepresented people not being able to use pools in the same way. And the idea of racism and all that being expressed in that. Then the unicorn wearing a chain. I thought it was pretty powerful, I love it so much. It’s very inspiring, the idea that everyone deserves to be able to play [in] whatever way they imagine.”
By the door, there is a playful handout with the names of all the creatives who worked on this exhibit as well as a word search—a spot the differences page and plenty of quotes and information in both English and Spanish. Make sure to grab one on your way out and bring a bit of the exhibit home with you.