First Thursday Open House Celebrates Art and Technology

Portland, OR, Feb 23rd 2005 Concrete CMS, a provider of web content management solutions invites the public to explore their new offices which feature a small art gallery called ‘Concrete the Studio'. Located in the Merchant's Hotel Building at 222 NW Davis in the heart of Old Town , Concrete the Studio will feature one artist each month as part of the First Thursday gallery walk.

"For years we've been making art that works online and we're happy to have the chance to give back to the creative community with our new space," says Franz Maruna, Director. "IT shops don't usually get a reputation for being passionate about the arts, but we've worked hard to integrate creative sensibilities into each of our projects and believe our agency partners value that breadth of experience during the collaborative development process. We hope that by participating in First Thursday and showcasing great talent, we'll break down some of those barriers between engineering and design, reinforcing the positive role that creativity has in all industries."

From March 3rd until April 1st, local Portland artist Justin Gorman's digital photo compositions will be on display at Concrete the Studio. "With his brilliant use of vivid color, imagery, and light, Justin reveals beauty in urban typography without it looking mundane," says Cory McMahon, Studio Manager. Touted as a First Thursday ‘after party', Concrete the Studio's reception will be open from 7pm until 11pm.