PICA supports artists working in all genres of the performing and visual arts, including dance, theatre, music, installation, exhibition, and hybrid forms. With a focus on provocative and category-defying work, PICA presents innovative artists that address the aesthetics, issues, and ideas of today. From 1995 through 2002, PICA's annual performance series featured performances by artists from a variety of disciplines and geographies, including Miranda July, Donna Uchizono, Philip Glass, Lucy Guerin, dumb type, Diamanda Galas, 33 Fainting Spells, Carl Hancock Rux, Gobsquad, and Elizabeth Streb. In 2003, PICA began curating the annual Time-Based Art Festival, a 10-day convergence of visual art and performance that fans out to venues and spaces all across Portland, Oregon.

Outside of the TBA Festival, PICA's programming continues year-round with workshops, lectures, residencies, and special events. In recent years, PICA has presented work by Mike Daisey, Cloud Eye Control, Holcombe Waller, Ethan Rose, and Philip Glass to audiences throughout Portland. Through its residency and commissioning programs, PICA provides space, time, and resources to emerging and established artists to support the creation of new work. In partnership with local businesses and organizations, and with funding from the National Performance Network Creation Fund and the Kristy Edmunds Fund for New Work, PICA has been able to commission pieces from artists including Bebe Miller, Miguel Gutierrez, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Allen Johnson, Kalup Linzy, Deborah Hay, Jennifer Monson, Diana Szeinblum, Matthew Day Jackson, Lizzie Fitch, and Ryan Trecartin.