October 31, 2025 - February 8, 2026

Lead Curator: Theo Downes-Le Guin

A Larger Reality: Ursula K. Le Guin offers a biographical and poetical portrait of one of Oregon’s best known artists. Examining important moments and themes in Le Guin’s life and oeuvre, the exhibition encompasses a rich variety of media, immersing guests in the ideas, playfulness and hope that course through Ursula K. Le Guin’s art. The exhibition is curated by Theo Downes-Le Guin, the author’s son, with contributions from many others who knew the author or her work.

A Larger Reality honors many facets of this complex artist, intermingling contemplative and open-ended experiences with texts, images, audio, video, interactive experiences, and ephemera, places to lean back and unwind, and places to lean in and engage. The exhibition offers different levels of engagement for fans and Le Guin novices alike.

During the three month exhibition run, A Larger Reality will be punctuated by programming that brings in other elements of Le Guin’s art including music, activism, and community engagement. An accompanying book, published by Winter Texts (Port Townsend) offers a series of texts by Le Guin and others.

The exhibition The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K. Le Guin, with curation led by Sarah Shin and Harriet Jennings and design by Standard Deviation, runs concurrently from October 10th through December 6th, 2025 at the Architectural Association in London. It is accompanied by the book The World for World: The Maps of Ursula K. Le Guin published by Spiral House (a new imprint of Silver Press) and AA Publications and edited by So Mayer and Sarah Shin.

A Larger Reality: Ursula K. Le Guin is supported by Oregon Cultural Trust, Autzen Foundation, The Kinsman Foundation, and The Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation. Other businesses and individuals provided additional support.

Additional Programming, more programs to be added soon:

Sunday, November 2nd
Event: Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin with Dir. Arwen Curry
Time: 7:00pm
Location: PAM CUT Tomorrow Theater
Description: Join us for an evening celebrating one of the most influential voices in science fiction and fantasy. Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin offers a rare, intimate journey into the life and imagination of the legendary Portland-based author, whose groundbreaking works, including The Left Hand of Darkness and the Earthsea series, forever reshaped the genres she loved.

Oregon Contemporary is supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, the City of Portland's Office of Arts & Culture, and the Oregon Arts Commission, a state agency funded by the State of Oregon and the National Endowment for the Arts. Other businesses and individuals provide additional support.