Dinolandia
A dinosaur art pop-up museum in a former Portland department store.
Dinolandia was a temporary dinosaur-themed museum and art project created by Portland-based visual artist Mike Bennett. Housed in a vacant two-story, 22,000-square-foot former Banana Republic store inside the Fox Tower on Southwest Yamhill Street, it ran from late May to early September 2022. Admission cost five dollars, with free entry for children eight and under. Visitors followed a one-way path through the space and were required to wear face masks due to the pandemic. A gift shop was also on site.
The exhibit contained roughly 1,000 cutouts in Bennett’s signature style, including 67 painted dinosaur figures made from reclaimed plywood that represented about 50 species. KBOO described the display as “full of quirky, cute and often drooling wooden dinosaurs.” Among the figures were a Tyrannosaurus, multiple Velociraptors, two Stegosaurus, a purple-and-lavender Albertosaurus, and an armored Ankylosaurus. Oregon Public Broadcasting noted the cartoon reptiles were set in a “psychedelic-tinted prehistoric forest.” The Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus were the tallest, each standing 15 feet high.
One area, Professor Rex’s Collection Room, featured black-and-white cartoon fossils inspired by natural history museums Bennett visited as a child. This room connected to the second floor via an elevator decorated as a time machine, which opened into a green, brightly lit forest with a Stegosaurus. Other artists contributed as well. Julia Hunkler painted a mural of a prehistoric Columbia River and Mount Hood, designed so the river appeared to spill off the wall and down a hallway. Another display, Cretaceous Creations, showed dinosaur-themed works by eight artists in former changing rooms. Chase Castro’s installation depicted hatching dinosaur eggs using bamboo, feathers, polymer clay, parts of stuffed toys, styrofoam, and other materials. There was also an underwater-cave-themed display. The Art Closet let children create new artworks for the exhibit, and the Artist Hallway featured pieces by Brian Cook and other community members. Near the end of the route, seven rainbow-colored Brachiosaurus heads and necks were installed over a curved staircase.
Bennett aimed to make the exhibit both entertaining and scientifically educational. It included facts and timelines about dinosaurs, time-travel storytelling, an original soundtrack, and interactive videos featuring a ma
- field
- Visual art, pop-up museum
- nationality
- American
- artist
- Mike Bennett
- location
- Portland, Oregon, Fox Tower
- opened
- May 31, 2022
- closed
- September 10, 2022
- known_for
- Dinosaur-themed plywood cutout art project and interactive pop-up museum
Lore & Background
Dinolandia was created by American visual artist Mike Bennett, who announced plans for the exhibit in March 2022. Bennett was inspired by a dinosaur museum he had visited during a road trip with his wife. The exhibit occupied a two-story, 22,000-square-foot space that previously housed a Banana Republic department store on Southwest Yamhill Street in downtown Portland's Fox Tower, across from Pioneer Courthouse Square. Admission was $5, free for children eight or younger, and visitors followed a one-way route while wearing face masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A gift shop was also present.
The displays included approximately 1,000 cutouts in Bennett's typical style, with 67 painted dinosaur figures made of reclaimed plywood representing about 50 species. Among the artwork were a Tyrannosaurus, multiple Velociraptor, two Stegosaurus, a purple-and-lavender Albertosaurus, and an armored Ankylosaurus. The cartoon reptiles were displayed in a 'psychedelic-tinted prehistoric forest.' The Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus were the two tallest figures, each 15 feet tall. One display, Professor Rex's Collection Room, had black-and-white cartoon fossils. The Collection Room connected to the second floor via an elevator decorated as a time machine. Dinolandia also featured works by other artists, including a mural of a prehistoric Columbia River and Mount Hood by Julia Hunkler, and an installation by Chase Castro depicting hatching dinosaur eggs made from bamboo, feathers, polymer clay, and other materials.
Reader's Guide
Dinolandia garnered positive reception for appealing to a wide age range and for bringing art to an unused downtown retail space. Laurel Reed Pavic of Oregon ArtsWatch called it an 'experiment with art in abandoned retail real estate' and said it 'makes the case that filling abandoned retail spaces with art exhibitions is a good idea, one that can inject energy into flagging downtown sectors.' Meg Asby of PDX Parent said the exhibit appealed to a wide age range and characterized it as a 'joy-filled experience.' Kat Leon of the Portland State Vanguard praised the exhibit for its inclusive atmosphere, noting the provision of masks, gender-neutral bathrooms, and pronoun pins for employees. Suzette Smith of the Portland Mercury said Dinolandia was 'fun for youths and adults alike' and 'a sign of Portland's regrowth from the tangles of corporate doom.' The exhibit was designed to be both entertaining and educational from a paleontological perspective, featuring facts, timelines, and time travel themes. It was made with approximately 420 sheets of donated plywood and 120 gallons of recycled paint, with 33 friends, artists, and volunteers helping Bennett.
Did You Know?
- Dinolandia operated in a former Banana Republic department store in Portland's Fox Tower.
- The exhibit featured 67 painted dinosaur figures made of reclaimed plywood, representing about 50 species.
- Admission was $5, but free for children eight or younger.
- The Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus were the two tallest figures, each 15 feet tall.
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