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Master of Fine Arts in
Contemporary Art Practices at
Portland State University
It’s the end of the term, which means today is O It’s the end of the term, which means today is Open Studios! Come to the PSU Art Building today from 4-6pm to see what we’ve been cooking up 🍲 Featuring interactive soft sculptures from @dogsighs__ , clothing items for sale by @home_grown_goods_ , an immersive video installation by @gilnotjill, PLUS the launch of PLANET LLOYD, a newspaper project about Lloyd Center Mall by alum @pedestrianvision with contributions from the entire Art + Social Practice cohort 😱 Open Studios Thu Nov 30, 4-6pm PSU Art Building 2000 SW 5th Ave Portland, OR
Interested in making art with people? Applications Interested in making art with people? Applications for our 3 year graduate program open this Friday, Dec 1! The Art + Social Practice MFA Program at Portland State University fosters creativity and an openness to the scope of social practice and therefore welcomes applicants from a variety of backgrounds and creative practices. These include but are not limited to performance, writing, conceptual or visual art, design, curation, and of course, those with an already established socially-engaged practice. Students' work focuses on relationships, and takes the form of public projects, performances, curation, collaborations, and community-engaging actions. To make sure we are a good fit, please visit our website to learn more about social practice and the types of work created within the program. Link in bio! Applications are due January 25, 2024.
We’re so excited to have these incredibly talent We’re so excited to have these incredibly talented artists teaching with us in Winter 2024! Here’s part 2 of 2. @la_pati_vg Patricia Vasquez Gomez’s art practice investigates the social functions of art, the intersections between aesthetics, ethics and politics and the expansion of community based art practices. She uses a variety of media to carry out her research: painting, printmaking, video, exhibitions, music and socially engaged art projects. She is deeply informed by her experiences working in the immigrant rights and other social justice movements in the US and Mexico.  @helloprettycity Laura Glazer is an artist whose work is socially-engaged and depends on the participation of other people, sometimes a close friend, and other times, complete strangers. Her background in photography and design inform her social practice, and her projects appear as books, workshops, radio shows, zines, festivals, exhibitions, installations, posters, signs, postal correspondence, videos, and sculpture. @emgracefitz Emily Fitzgerald’s practice focuses on the intersection of the social, political, and visual in order to inspire dialogue around complex issues and reframe our ways of relating to one another. Emily facilitates conversation and creates site-specific art installations in non-traditional, public, and unexpected places. She is the co-founder of Works Progress Agency, a socially-engaged art studio and consultancy. Alison Heryer is an interdisciplinary artist whose work combines costume, installation, performance, and community engagement. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, World Stage Design, and The Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space.  @rorysparks Rory Sparks is a visual artist who uses bookmaking, printmaking, and multiples as a way to engage the moment where the poetic nears abstraction. Invested in the hand and honoring age-old skills, Sparks has expanded her craft practice into performance and creating social spaces such as her current project, Working Library, in Portland, Oregon.
We’re so excited to have these incredibly talent We’re so excited to have these incredibly talented artists teaching with us in Winter 2024! Here’s part 1 of 2. Our current director, M. Michelle Illuminato @illuminato_studio creates public exchanges that help reveal the complicated and often contradictory relationship between people and the land they live on. Her project the Lost & Found Factory was honored by the Americans for the Arts and Public Art Network as one of the most compelling public artworks in 2015. @illuminato @lenkaclaytonstudio Lenka Clayton is an interdisciplinary artist whose work considers, exaggerates, and alters the accepted rules of everyday life, extending the familiar into the realms of the poetic and absurd. Clayton is the founder of An Artist Residency in Motherhood and was commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum for a major work with Jon Rubin, “A talking parrot, a high school drama class, a Punjabi TV show, the oldest song in the world, a museum artwork, and a congregation’s call to action circle through New York.” @mirkdrop Shay Mirk is a graphic journalist, editor, and teacher. She is the author of Guantanamo Voices (Abrams, 2020), an illustrated oral history of Guantanamo Bay prison. She is also a zine-maker and illustrator whose comics have been featured in The Nib, The New Yorker, Bitch, and NPR.  @publicwonderer Ariana Jacob makes artwork that uses conversation to explore political and personal interdependence and disconnection. Her work has been included in the NW Biennial at the Tacoma Art Museum, Disjecta’s Portland 2012 Biennial, the Open Engagement Conference, the Discourse and Discord Symposium at the Walker Art Center.
Hey y’all, it’s first year student Clara Harlo Hey y’all, it’s first year student Clara Harlow here (@all_corndogs_go_to_heaven). As my Instagram takeover comes to an end, I wanted to share some of my favorite invitations I’ve made for various events from the past 2 years. Not only do I love to design, exchange, and receive invitations, I also like to think of my practice functioning as its own invitation of sorts. One that is always coming back in one way or another to the question - Wanna play? Thanks for letting me share some of my projects with you this week, and don’t forget to fill out my party survey if you have any urgent party reflections (link in bio)!
We recently took a trip to Lloyd Center Mall, the We recently took a trip to Lloyd Center Mall, the storied local shopping center in Portland, OR famed for its indoor ice rink where figure skater Tonya Harding got her start. Celebrated as the largest mall in America when it opened in 1960, Lloyd is now facing the contemporary economic challenges familiar to many brick and mortar retail spaces across the country. But in this case, shuttered anchor stores and vacancies throughout the sprawling building have made way for quirky independent businesses, community organizations, art galleries, a comic book store, a pop up risograph press— even a diy Halloween museum!— to take up shop, birthing a unique mall experience that lets Portlanders lead the way. We explored the mall with a tour led by Mall Artist and program alum @pedestrianvision, who has been hosting dance parties in front of empty storefronts at Lloyd through their project @deptofpublicdance. Next, we conducted field research that considered Lloyd Mall a neighborhood and civic space. We talked to environmental activists, photographed shoppers’ fashion, asked an ice skater to fly a balloon, and spoke with @ily2.too gallery founder Allie Furlotti about her artist residency space in a former Super Shots portrait studio. Our findings will be published in a newspaper which we plan to distribute widely throughout Lloyd Center Mall. Stay tuned!
Our annual program retreat to the Oregon Coast! We Our annual program retreat to the Oregon Coast! We cooked family recipes, flew kites on the beach, doodled on the dinner table, polar plunged into the ocean, and made plans for an exciting year to come 📝✨
A class at KSMOCA, “Art with kids, Museum at Pub A class at KSMOCA, “Art with kids, Museum at Public School” is a community based art and social practice project. Today’s highlight was definitely mentees meet their mentors! This year, King School’s 3rd graders will be working with PSU students. Each pair will be working collaboratively for an hour each week. All mentors, PSU students are from various majors including art history, graphic design, education, and studio art practice. We are all excited to see how their relationships will be built. #artandsocialpractice #mentorandmentee #ksmoca
The first day of “Art with Kids: Museum in publi The first day of “Art with Kids: Museum in public school” class! In this class, students become “artists-in-residence” at the school on collaborative project with Dr. MLK Jr. students to operate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA). #ksmoca #museumtours #artandsocialpractice
That’s a wrap on Assembly 2023! Thanks for joini That’s a wrap on Assembly 2023! Thanks for joining us, what a way to close out the year 🌞 Just a selection from the weekend ~ more to come ✨ 🖋️ What’s Your Name with @midorisees 🖼️ Other People’s Pictures with @morganhornsby_ and Nadine Hanson 🦺 Crosswalk Spectacular with @pedestrianvision @momobirdie and Dr MLK Jr School Safety Patrol 🌱 Stem Song with @gilnotjill 🪞 A House in an Alternate Universe with @liv__bliss 🥗 Make a Salad with @dogsighs__ and assistant Raven
⭐️TOMORROW⭐️ join us for Assembly 2023 thi ⭐️TOMORROW⭐️ join us for Assembly 2023 this weekend! Tomorrow at @ksmoca, Saturday at PSU, Sunday at the King Farmers Market⭐️ we’re excited and we hope you are too⭐️
Interviews by @lillyannepham with @vietnamemes__, Interviews by @lillyannepham with @vietnamemes__, @dogsighs__ with @mirandajuly, @marissa_perezzzzz with Ruth Eddy, @midorisees with Lyno Vuth, @morganhornsby_ with @wendytewald and Pernell Fults, and @liv__bliss with @arborarmor of @artandsocialpracticearchive 🌀 Link in our bio to read all of our incredible interviews!
Interviews from @cereza699 with @chemi_rosado_seij Interviews from @cereza699 with @chemi_rosado_seijo, @pedestrianvision with @jeremydeller, @levelyellowproblemchild with Janet Aasness, @gilnotjill with Sari Rubinstein, Alana Miller, and Mississitti Rivaaah, @kiarajwalls with @jodiecavalier, Nadine Hanson with Nate Hill @00000000000000oo00000oo and @helloprettycity with @ninakatchadourian ✌🏼 Link in our bio to read these and all of the other great interviews from this issue.
Our spring issue of The Social Forms of Art (SoFA) Our spring issue of The Social Forms of Art (SoFA) Journal is out now! Link in our bio to read 💌 Cover by Luz Blumenfeld and Gilian Rappaport Cover image from Laura Glazer’s interview with Nina Katchadourian: Gallery attendant looking at Nina’s exhibit at The Morgan Library. Photo by Laura Glazer. Interviews by @levelyellowproblemchild, @pedestrianvision, @helloprettycity, @kiarajwalls, @cereza69, @dogsighs__, @liv__bliss, @gilnotjill, @lillyannepham, @morganhornsby_, @midorisees, @marissa_perezzzzz and Nadine Hanson 🩵 The Social Forms of Art (SoFA) Journal is a publication dedicated to supporting, documenting, and contextualizing social forms of art and its related fields and disciplines. Each issue of the Journal takes an eclectic look at the ways in which artists are engaging with communities, institutions, and the public. The Journal supports and discusses projects that offer critique, commentary, and context for a field that is active and expanding. Created within the Portland State University Art & Social Practice Masters in Fine Arts Program, the SoFA Journal is now fully online.
Join us for Assembly this weekend! A three day art Join us for Assembly this weekend! A three day art and social practice gathering in Portland, Oregon presented by the students of our MFA program. 👀 Peep the schedule here 👆👀 And grab a gorgeous program designed and risographed by @marissa_perezzzzz @dogsighs__ @liv__bliss when you come in person ASSEMBLY AT A GLANCE 📘 Friday June 9 at Dr MLK Jr School 4906 NE 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97211 Saturday June 10 at PSU Art Building, Room 200 2000 SW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97201 Sunday June 11 at King Farmer’s Market 4906 NE 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97211 Full schedule on our website 🐬 SEE YOU AT ASSEMBLY!
Pics from the opening of our graduating cohort’s Pics from the opening of our graduating cohort’s MFA exhibition! The show’s up til June 9, go check it out this week at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on PSU campus 👀 @cereza699 @levelyellowproblemchild @kiarajwalls @helloprettycity @pedestrianvision
The 2023 cohort MFA exhibition at the Jordan Schni The 2023 cohort MFA exhibition at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art opens next week! Join us at the opening Thursday, May 25 from 5-7pm, or stop by any time May 23-June 10, 2023 to see art and artifacts from socially engaged projects by @cereza699 @levelyellowproblemchild @helloprettycity @_k_j__w and @pedestrianvision. Diana Marcela Cuartas, Still Life with Reynolds Caryn Aasness, Can I Borrow a Feeling? Laura Glazer, Let the City Serve Knowledge Kiara Walls, Sovereignty Becca Kauffman, Crosswalk Fantasy Lab May 23-June 10, 2023 @psu_museum_of_art 1855 SW Broadway, Portland OR
ASSEMBLY is coming! Friday June 9 to Sunday June 1 ASSEMBLY is coming! Friday June 9 to Sunday June 11 in Portland, OR 👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏾👩🏿‍🤝‍👩🏼👩🏽‍🤝‍👨🏾👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏽👩🏾‍🤝‍👨🏽 Join us to partake in a collection of experimental and experiential offerings from the 15 artists of the Art + Social Practice MFA program working in socially engaged forms. Free and open to the public! Assembly is our annual three day gathering of participatory events, workshops, and presentations highlighting the collaborative work and inspirations of our MFA cohort. From a roving social practice archive to an edible exploration of the art of the sandwich to a crosswalk parade with a group of fifth graders to a cumulative installation in a tree, there’s something for everyone at this year’s Assembly. Plus, artist talks from the graduating 2023 cohort, Laura Glazer, Diana Marcela Cuartas, Caryn Aasness, Becca Kauffman, and Kiara Walls. @helloprettycity @cereza699 @levelyellowproblemchild @pedestrianvision @_k_j__w We are also excited to present Portland artists Kayin Talton-Davis and Cleo Davis with our first-ever Art + Social Practice Collaboration Award, which recognizes and celebrates an artist team for their outstanding work rooted in collaboration. The award ceremony will take place Friday June 9 at 11:15am at Dr MLK JR School. Come in person to any or all of the weekend’s events. ASSEMBLY-AT-A-GLANCE FRIDAY JUNE 9 11am-5pm Student Workshops + Events Inside and outside at Dr MLK Jr School (@ksmoca) 4906 NE 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97211 SATURDAY JUNE 10 10am-5pm Graduate lectures at PSU Art Building 2000 SW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97201 SUNDAY JUNE 11 10am-2pm Student Workshops + Events at King Farmers Market outside MLK School (@portlandfarmers) 4906 NE 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97211 4pm-7pm Video Screening at 5th Avenue Cinema (@5thavecinema) Illustration by @marissa_perezzzzz
Open call for Moe’s photography collection! Moe Open call for Moe’s photography collection! Moe is a fifth-grade student who has worked with KSMoCA in a variety of roles—artist, curator, lecture MC, documentarian, spokesperson, etc. Moe is also very interested in photography. As a project, KSMoCA has worked with Moe for over a year to help them research and develop a personal photography collection. As part of that, Moe has visited with galleries and museums, met with photographic artists and curators, and acquired a photo book library and a variety of prints. KSMoCA is now asking photographers globally to add to Moe’s photography collection by sending a print of their choosing to Moe. The prints will be posted on KSMoCA’s website along with crediting information and comments from Moe. As Moe moves onto middle school and beyond, the collection will function as a personal cultural asset to assist Moe in various ways on life’s journey. If you or someone you know is interested in participating, send a photographic print to: Dr Martin Luther King Jr School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA), Dr Martin Luther King Jr School c/o Moe 4906 NE 6th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97211. Donated prints need to be appropriate for a fifth-grader and will be approved before being given to Moe by a school counselor. Pic of Moe in front of Alex Soth’s photograph series, “Cherish”, part of the KSMoCA collection. @littlebrownmushroom
Miranda July @mirandajuly recently spent time with Miranda July @mirandajuly recently spent time with the Art and Social Practice MFA program with visits to @ksmoca and @somepeoplepress along with a very engaging conversation with the MFA students. Thanks Miranda!
Third year student Laura @helloprettycity continue Third year student Laura @helloprettycity continues her guest takeover for @10x10photobooks. She’s sharing books that inspired her book about her practice and recent project at the NYPL Picture Collection. Pop over to their feed to read the full posts!
Interviews with Dr Christa Mcdermott, Ruby Bontrag Interviews with Dr Christa Mcdermott, Ruby Bontrager, @liv__bliss @psuviks (Viktor E Viking) Talisman Saunders @k3tellem and Albert Spencer by @levelyellowproblemchild @leaky_rat @dogsighs__ @pedestrianvision @_k_j__w and Nadine Hanson Link in our bio to read all these wonderful interviews 💌
Interviews with @bruisedfroot Dr Tina Burdsall @li Interviews with @bruisedfroot Dr Tina Burdsall @linda_k.johnson @emgracefitz Anri Zama @kacy.mckinney Amara H. Pérez Phd and @jeffordssusan by @leaky_rat @liv__bliss @gilnotjill @morganhornsby_ @midorisees @marissa_perezzzzz @lillyannepham and @helloprettycity Read these interviews and more in our Winter 2023 SoFA Journal. Link in our bio 💌
Our Winter 2023 SoFA Journal is out now! This issu Our Winter 2023 SoFA Journal is out now! This issue features interviews with the greater PSU community. Link in our bio to read! Interviews by @dogsighs__ @gilnotjill @cereza699 @pedestrianvision @helloprettycity @levelyellowproblemchild @_k_j__w @liv__bliss @leaky_rat @lillyannepham @manfredpunky @morganhornsby_ @midorisees @marissa_perezzzzz and Nadine Hanson Cover design by Luz Blumenfeld and Gilian Rappaport featuring Linda K. Johnson’s ‘Finding the Forest’ project with Tim Warner’s frame installation. Conceived and Directed by Linda K. Johnson. 1991. Forest Park in Portland, OR. Photo by Julie Keefe. ________________________ The Social Forms of Art (SoFA) Journal is a publication dedicated to supporting, documenting and contextualising social forms of art and its related fields and disciplines. Each issue of the Journal takes an eclectic look at the ways in which artists are engaging with communities, institutions and the public. The Journal supports and discusses projects that offer critique, commentary and context for a field that is active and expanding. Created within the Portland State University Art & Social Practice Masters in Fine Arts Program, SoFA Journal is now fully online.
The third year MFA students are collaborating with The third year MFA students are collaborating with PSU @psu_artanddesign group @ad.projects on their graduate interview publications! Special thanks to Edwin and Bryce for their design work!
@ksmoca has a show at PSU’s @littmanandwhite gal @ksmoca has a show at PSU’s @littmanandwhite gallery opening this week! Welcome to My Happy Place 💖 is an exhibition curated by Rose, a fifth grader at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and Dr. Kiara Hill, a professor in the School of Art + Design at PSU through @ksmoca See the show @littmanandwhite Gallery Feb 1- Mar 17 Reception Feb 9 from 5-7pm Or stop by the gallery Monday-Friday noon-5pm in Smith Memorial Student Union (SMSU) 250 @mlk_school_pdx @psu_arts @psu_core @psu_artpractice @psuartandsocialpractice @portlandstate
Big congrats to our students @_k_j__w and @pedestr Big congrats to our students @_k_j__w and @pedestrianvision along with alum @momobirdie for receiving grant funding from @precipicefund for their projects Kitchen and HI-VIZ! Keep an eye on both of these exciting new works 👀 💈🦺💈🦺💈🦺💈🦺💈🦺💈🦺💈🦺💈🦺💈 Kitchen explores the relationship between hair and intimacy while centering the experiences of Black clientele and natural hair practitioners. The project will celebrate stories told by Black voices to archive the oral histories surrounding the physical space, care, and intimacy that is cultivated through hair styling. Kitchen will provide artistic form to the processes of this culture by sharing the perspectives of clients and beauticians while recognizing the historical/political context surrounding this specific experience. HI-VIZ is a social practice art project with the student crossing guards of the Dr. MLK Jr. School 5th Grade Safety Patrol at @ksmoca. Through monthly visual, performing, and interdisciplinary arts workshops, we explore the crosswalk as a stage for creative expression and civic agency. This series of workshops builds skills and understanding that will culminate in our end-of-the-year public, participatory pedestrian parade, the Hi-Vizibility Crosswalk Spectacular.
Wise words from alumnae of the Art + Social Practi Wise words from alumnae of the Art + Social Practice Program, pt. 2. @elizagregory @_lo_and_behold_ @gabrielrey4 @constancehockaday @mjmenjivar @avalonkalin @illia.yakovenko as told to @helloprettycity @dogsighs__ @lillyannepham @gilnotjill @levelyellowproblemchild @pedestrianvision @cereza699
Wise words from alumnae of the Art + Social Practi Wise words from alumnae of the Art + Social Practice Program. @saltythunder13 @zephxfish @singleparentarchive @justinmeadmaxon @amandaleighevans @patriciavazquezmx, as told to Nadine Hanson, @oliviadelgandio @morganhornsby_ @marinamarialopez @midorisees @manfredpunky Read student interviews with graduates of our program in the Fall 2022 issue of SoFA Journal. Link in our bio.
The Fall 2022 SoFA Journal is out! Peruse conversa The Fall 2022 SoFA Journal is out! Peruse conversations between our current students and program alumni in this issue of our interview-centric online publication, Social Forms of Art. Link in our bio 📗 Interviews by @levelyellowproblemchild @marissa_perezzzzz Nadine Hanson @oliviadelgandio @pedestrianvision @helloprettycity @morganhornsby_ @midorisees @manfredpunky @gilnotjill @lillyannepham @marinamarialopez @dogsighs__ @cereza699 with 14 program alumni from the past fifteen years. Cover design by Gilian Rappaport and Luz Blumenfeld. Image from Tia Kramer and Amanda Leigh Evans project with students and staff at Prescott Elementary School, “When the River Becomes a Cloud,” 2022-2024. Walla Walla, WA. ________________________ The Social Forms of Art (SoFA) Journal is a publication dedicated to supporting, documenting and contextualising social forms of art and its related fields and disciplines. Each issue of the Journal takes an eclectic look at the ways in which artists are engaging with communities, institutions and the public. The Journal supports and discusses projects that offer critique, commentary and context for a field that is active and expanding. Created within the Portland State University Art & Social Practice Masters in Fine Arts Program, SoFA Journal is now fully online.
SEEKING PARTICIPATION! Portland State University’s Art and Social Practice Program is a flexible residency MFA program that focuses on the art of social engagement. Interested in social practice? Apply to our program! Explore our program projects: @ksmoca @artandsocialpracticearchive, our program publication SoFA Journal (see our website). Links are in our bio! Applications for Fall 2023 are due on January 27, 2023, 11:59pm PST. If curiosity strikes and you have any questions, reply here, DM us, or email our program director Harrell Fletcher at harrell@pdx.edu.
📡📖📡📖📡📖📡📖📡 Introducing 📡📖📡📖📡📖📡📖📡 Introducing Art & Social Practice Radio! ▶️ Mondays 1-2pm PT on @kpsu_radio Hosted by MFA student (and professional voice over artist) Becca Kauffman @pedestrianvision 🗣️ Listen 🔊 on kpsu.org and @psuartandsocialpractice instagram live Call: (503)-725-5669 ☎️ Art and Social Practice Radio is a new weekly radio show broadcasting live from Portland State University’s student station, KPSU. Each episode opens with a working and subjective definition of “social practice art,” followed by a live reading of a published text on socially engaged art, and a ten minute call in time at the end! This week’s episode features a live reading of performance studies scholar Shannon Jackson’s book, Social Works: Performing Art, Supporting Publics. This book critically investigates the “social turn,” or the turn towards the social, in contemporary experimental art and theater. 🔊 Live stream at kpsu.org and right here on our Instagram Live. 💡 About Shannon Jackson @shannonjacksonucb is a Professor of Rhetoric and Theater, Dance and Performance Studies at University of California, Berkeley. Jackson’s research focuses on two broad, overlapping domains: 1) collaborations across visual, performing, and media art forms and 2) the role of the arts in social institutions and in social change. Her most recent books are Back Stages: Essays Across Art, Performance, and the Social (Northwestern University Press, 2022), and The Human Condition: Media Art from the Kramlich Collection (Thames & Hudson, forthcoming). Other recent projects include the guest-edited Valuing Labor in the Arts with Art Practical, a special issue of Representations on time-based art, and a new online platform of keywords in experimental art and performance, created in collaboration with the Pew Center for Art and Heritage, In Terms of Performance (intermsofperformance.site). Jackson’s writing has also appeared in dozens of museum catalogues, journals, blogs, and edited collections. Flier by @pedestrianvision with major guidance from @helloprettycity
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