Matt Henderson, owner of Virtua Gallery inside Lloyd Center, is looking for a new space for his gallery as the mall is closing to the public. Henderson told What Now Portland he does not yet have a new location secured, though he has already toured several spaces and is weighing what direction to take the gallery next.
Henderson’s connection to Lloyd Center goes well beyond his own business. Over the past several years, he became the public face of the Save Lloyd Campaign, an effort that grew out of what he described as watching the mall shift from a struggling, half-empty property into a genuine creative hub. He said he began noticing real foot traffic and a sense of curiosity and admiration from visitors as small, independent businesses like his own started filling the space. That shift, paired with two decades spent organizing within Portland’s creative community, pushed him to fight for the mall rather than watch it disappear quietly.
The campaign gathered more than 10,000 signatures across related petitions and took its case all the way to Portland’s City Council, arguing that the mall’s current version made long-term sense for the city rather than requiring full demolition to make way for new housing. Henderson proposed an alternative that would have preserved a portion of the mall, including its ice rink, while still allowing new development around it. Ultimately, the council said it lacked the authority to block the redevelopment plan, and Lloyd Center’s closure moved forward.
Virtua Gallery focuses on artists exploring humanity’s relationship with technology, often through mediums like virtual reality, with an added thread of questions around sustainability and what it means to live a virtuous life today. He said the gallery started almost by accident, as a short term pop up for a solo show of his own work, before turning into something he decided to stay and build out.
