He received his MA from Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies (2001) having undertaken his summer internship with the Bronx Museum of Art.
In 2008 he collaborated with the Images Festival to bring the work of Charles Atlas to Toronto.
After completing his MA in New York he worked with Lynne Cooke at the Dia Art Center.
Before undertaking his MA, Portis founded the annual No Music Festival at the artist-run Forest City Gallery (co-founded by Greg Curnoe) in London, Ontario.
The No Music Festival featured the work of Curnoe's group, the Nihilist Spasm Band, and released CD box sets of recordings.