The Elk - A Film Screening and Walking Tour

The Portland Art Museum is hosting a screening of The Elk on Sunday, October 25, from 4 PM to 6 PM, followed by a walking tour of downtown Portland. The whole thing is part of ADX Fest, and it's free.

The Elk is a 30-minute documentary by Portland journalist Erika Bolstad about the Thompson Elk, that bronze sculpture the city pulled for safekeeping during the 2020 protests. It went back to its spot on Main Street in early April 2026, nearly six years after it was removed. It's the first of the city's damaged monuments to return, and so far the only one to do so without controversy. The film grew out of a ten-minute pitch and has since picked up a few awards: it was an official selection of the Austin Film Festival and won Best Documentary Short at the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology. It also serves as a preview of Bolstad's feature-length documentary Monumental, which she's filming across 2026 and 2027.

Once the screening wraps, the event moves outside. Sarah Gilbert of Around Portland Tours leads a walking tour that passes the empty pedestals of the Lincoln and Roosevelt statues on the way to the elk itself. It's a good way to see the gaps left behind by the other monuments that haven't come back yet, and to see the one that did in person.

The screening is in the Whitsell Auditorium at the museum, 1219 SW Park Ave, from 4 PM to 6 PM. Admission is free.