LEAVE YOUR IMPRINT, AS SHE LEFT HERS.

It has been TEN YEARS since Kristy Edmunds convinced a small group of friends and a small town to open their hearts to the new and untried, the strange and the beautiful and the possibilities that lie in supporting the work of artists. She founded PICA in 1995 when she was 29 years old. Ten years later, with the circle of friends, artists, audiences in the thousands, and our town not-so-small or small-minded, it is time to move forward without her. As we send her off to her new home in Melbourne, Australia we want to remind her how she changed the creative landscape here, how she moved us, and most of all to thank her for making all of this inspired activity real.
If you had an inspired moment at PICA in an audience, on stage, in the resource room, at a lecture, in those famous DADA Ball port o’ potties, we want to hear about it. Tell us your stories and leave a note for Kristy wishing her well, thanking her for her words and her way.

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28 Responses to LEAVE YOUR IMPRINT, AS SHE LEFT HERS.

  1. Thom Trick says:

    I wish you all the best with this year’s TBA and beyond. PICA is such a strong and necessary force in the arts in Portland and such a beacon of light for those further away. Kudos for the work you do to keep the lighthouse shining!
    cheers,
    thom trick

  2. Bernadette Speach says:

    My dear friend…I can remember you helping us to rebuild an organization in Chelsea, a team…and then inviting me to share my art with your people. ALL of the above were remarkable experiences…every meeting, talk, drink…but, especially your amazing energy and smile. May your life continue to be a walk in the sun…building and rebuilding…living and loving! Stay in touch…Bernadette

  3. Justin Miller says:

    The TBA festival totally transforms Portland into the funnest magic playground for its little more than a week life span. The first TBA introduced me to new kinds of dance and performance that I had never experienced before, in addition to the magic playground bit. And apparently its all thanks to you. So thanks to you!
    Justin Miller

  4. Anney Bonney says:

    What might have been (a little sigh for the kitchen) casts a pale glow next to the fireworks of your actual achievements (PICA 10 years later)…
    On to the next continent!
    ..love to you in all adventures, Kristy,
    Anney

  5. Bob Speltz says:

    Kristy,
    Thank you for bringing life to an extraordinary entity for nearly a decade. Your impact, vision and creativity has forever changed and enriched this community and so many others. I am proud to have worked with you, to call you a friend and colleague. All the best to you in your new journey. You will be missed.

  6. It’s been well over a decade since Kristy walked into an interview to be a 1/8th time curator of performance for a local art museum. As volunteer chair of the committee, I sat in on the process.
    Kristy’s enthusiasm, fearlessness, and creative spark marked her as a special talent. She transformed the vision, transcended the position, and made good art too.
    Thanks, Kristy. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
    – Helen

  7. Ethan Swan says:

    Hopefully all of Kristy’s amazing stories will be told through this process; about the unheated house she lived in with ice shelves, about the day she left the Portland Art Museum, about her etchings….. they’re not mine to tell, but every one makes me feel like there’s still wonder, bravery and hope in this world. Amazingly, with all that she’s accomplished in the world and specifically in Portland, she’s always had time for friendship and love in a way that no one I know has matched, and that time and responsibility has only increased. There’s no one else in the world like her, obviously. It’s an honor to have worked with her, and the small bits I did to help out rank among the brightest moments of my life

  8. kristy,
    amazing that such vision, artistry, generosity, and practical savvy could be combined in one human. I’ve always admired you immensely, thank you for supporting my work, and wish you all the best in your continued life adventures.
    much much love,
    stephanie

  9. Tom Manley says:

    Kristy,
    We walk the art streets easier for all the work you did. Thanks from all at PNCA.
    Tom Manley/Susanne Hashim

  10. Dearest Kristy,
    it has been so long. Thank you for all of your years of fantastic work, leadership and generosity. We are sad that
    you will no longer call Portland home and wish you all the best Down Under.
    With all of our love,
    Susan and Steven

  11. kristan Kennedy says:

    This is a note for Kristy Edmunds:
    Kris- I still remember the time you came to the
    Center for Endangered Arts:MUSIC, 10 years ago.
    It’s been a delight to have your essence and energy in the metro art mix. Best Always to
    you. —Theonie
    Posted by: Theonie Gilmore at September 8, 2005 07:37 AM

  12. Cassie Wieden says:

    I’ll never forget the tremendous fear you ever so gently helped me dismantle. Thank you for the mind blowing work you’ve helped us come to, for the fantastic agility in organizational development and the hundreds of inspiring, motivational words that have moved many of us to action…somehow thank you doesn’t seem enough. My dear friend, you broke the mold and changed our life.
    Oceans of love

  13. Michele Dion says:

    It was sometime in 1995 – a fiercely independent and significant energy filled a warehouse space somewhere in the Pearl . . . having just moved from the east-coast Portland to the west-coast Portland, I was unfamiliar with this ‘singular’ Kristy Edmunds character. Her vision seemed a bit ambitious to me at the time – yet all the while, I marvelled at the passion and determination which animated her. Ten years later – clearly, Kristy has walked her talk.
    Hey, Kristy . . . . well done.

  14. Brian Elliot says:

    My Dearest Kristy
    You are not so far away. Not to me.
    Thank you for the chance of a lifetime, I will never give up on trying to live up to it. You believed, I believed, you forever altered the course of my life.
    Thank you for the gift you have given this city.
    I wish you and family happiness good health and love,
    Brian

  15. kristan Kennedy says:

    Kristy,
    You have raised the bar tremendously for Portland’s cultural vitality. Thank you SO much for that and all that you are. You will be greatly missed by many in this community. Best of luck with your next exciting chapter!
    Elise
    Posted by: Elise Wagner at September 8, 2005

  16. Kristy,
    Thank you, thank you, thank you.
    Much Love, Rebecca

  17. Linda Austin says:

    Kristy–Hooray! and thanks for all the opportunities to stay connected to the bigger wider world of art-making while living in this beautiful city. Beyond the very real pleaures of experiencing the work, I treasure the great conversations and personal connections that have arisen as a result of PICA’s programming…the dots connecting.
    Abrazotes–
    Linda

  18. Minh Tran says:

    Thank you for your vision and determination to put Portland on the national art scene. Without you I wouldn’t even know what’s out there beyond our city. You have given the city a beautiful gift. Personally, I wouldn’t have the recognition as i have today without your advocacy and support in the national / international platform. I am blessed to know you and appreciate your tireless support through the years. Best wishes on your new journey and I know you will always come home!!!
    We will see each other again.
    Love,
    Minh

  19. Emily Stone says:

    Thanks for helping me see that presenters and artists can be curious, passionate, generous, human, and heroic. Thanks for your openness and sharp mind without the sharp exclusivity. Thanks for coming to my senior thesis. Thanks for being in the audience and making spaces for new audiences. Thanks for opening your house and your art up to all of us and thanks for being yourself, unapologetically. You are amazing. And this town is lucky that we have a good role model to remember as we get down to business while you are elsewhere. Good luck, have a safe journey and I’ll be thinking of you — Love, Emily

  20. Carrie says:

    I’ve been here for only 5 of your past 10 years, and I don’t think I knew how good it’s been. I hope the decades (!) to come are as fruitful a vision for Portland as what has become apparent to me in 5.

  21. Michael Griggs says:

    Kristy,
    Thank you so much for all you have brought to our city, as a curator, as an arts advocate, as a wonderful artist in your own right, as a visionary, and as someone who has had the insight and guts to challenge all of us to think in new and expansive ways about how we integrate art into the fabric of our lives and our community. You have energized us, you have inspired us, you have given us wonderful gifts. I will miss your heart, mind and spirit, and yet i look forward to many uears of PICA. Best wishes in your new endeavor–and don’t be a stranger to Portland.
    With admiration and affection, your friend,
    Michael

  22. Wouter Bouchez says:

    Kristy,
    Since three years I speak about my life in terms of a pre- and a post-pica era. It’s like everything changed after those 5 months in Portland. And I realize that during this adventure, you were always there -at the side or in the center. From being my ‘boss’ and ‘master’ to being the silent mediator in my complicated love affairs… I know that if there is one person to thank for this great experience, it’s you!
    The way I would like to thank you is with a by now legendary quote in Belgium that our friends Gregg and Gary like to shout after great day… It’s a ‘Thank you’ for the past, a ‘Yes’ to the future, an ode to a city, an ‘I love you’ to the world. It’s maybe THE three words that connect me with Portland and maybe they are also the three words that connect you with the world. Kristy, here’s…
    TO THE DOGS !

  23. Jeff Stuhr says:

    Kristy,
    Rather than a long good-bye…let me say I can’t wait until you return someday, still wise, still wry, and still intense as ever.
    Kick ass in Melbourne!
    Jeff Stuhr
    p.s. We never had dinner here. Maybe the other side of the big pond?

  24. Eloise Damrosch says:

    Kristy: What a journey it has been. From those long ago days at the art museum to blocks of ice melting and being belted to the big adventure which is pica. Portland cannot thank you enough and I bet those good folks down under appreciate the treasure they now can claim. I wish you and your family a wildly happy life and know that you will stay in touch.
    My very best to you,
    Eloise

  25. Gigi Rosenberg says:

    Kristy: I remember meeting you for the first time when you came to talk at a film class I was taking and I thought: Wow! Who’s that?! I’ve gotta meet her. Thanks for saying yes to coffee, for introducing me to your mother and for being such a inspiration to me. Until soon, Gigi.

  26. Todd C. says:

    Education and tolerance will save us from tyranny.
    -Todd

  27. Todd C. says:

    Kristy,
    Seems that I may have stumbled, however, if you know “who I suspect to be” the first person to post in this thread, could you please say hello from Todd and tell him to shot me an email. I can be reached at *.etcoutdoors.com and would love to catch up. Anyways, if this post is misdirected, peace and the best to to yourself and the community that makes Portland such a cool place to be.
    -ETC
    I

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