A free, all-ages art show honoring the late hip-hop artist MF DOOM opens Thursday, Oct. 29, in Old Town Chinatown.
Operation: Doomsday runs four days at 140 NW 4th Ave., with a launch party from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Gallery hours continue Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, from noon to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 1, from 2 to 6 p.m.
DJ Ronin Roc, a Portland-based multidisciplinary artist originally from Chicago, curated the show. Unspoken and More Than February are presenting the exhibition, which a PDX Pipeline sponsored listing described as featuring work by more than 10 artists, with original artwork, installations, limited-edition merchandise, music, a raffle and a photo booth.
Visitors can get a flash MF DOOM tattoo by Como La Flor and hear Ronin Roc's new mixtape, Doomsday | Incursion: Revenge of the DOOM Bots.
Ronin Roc has shown work in Portland before. In early 2024, Portland Center Stage hosted his exhibit More Than February, a series of portraits honoring Black historical figures. He is also a DJ, photographer and creator of Your Morning Drip, which Portland Center Stage described as Portland's first Black morning show.
Sponsors of Operation: Doomsday include the Old Town Community Association (OTCA), Travel Oregon, Cal Skate and Orox Leather Co.
The art show is part of a broader Halloween weekend activation in Old Town. On Saturday, Oct. 31, OTCA closes NW Davis Street between NW 3rd and NW 4th avenues for the first Davis Street Night Market, a free street market running from 2 to 10 p.m. Local makers, Asian-inspired food vendors, GeekEasy Anime Cafe and the Society Hotel will line the block.
Ronin Roc DJs there too.
A costume contest at 6 p.m. offers a $100 cash prize for the winner and $50 for the runner-up. The Halloween market is the first of a two-event pilot, with a holiday market on the same block planned for Saturday, Dec. 5.
Council Vice President Olivia Clark has committed $20,000 to fund 10 Davis Street Night Markets in 2027, according to PDX Pipeline. The pilot markets are supported by a $3,000 Uniquely Portland grant from Prosper Portland's Portland Events and Film Office and $1,500 from Old Town Bank Trailhead Credit Union.
