Multnomah Arts Center Gallery
Now showing in the gallery:
“Ancestors” – a group exhibition curated by Steph Littlebird and Kanani Miyamoto.
On display June 21 – July 27, 2024.
Artists participating in this group exhibition include Amber Kay Ball, Anthony Hudson, amoqiix-araceli, Molly Alloy, marvin parra orozco, Arie Beston, Marybel Martin, Amie Pascal, Jerome Alexander Sloan, Nica Aquino, Christina Martin, Kitana Connelly, Lucas Cantoni Jose, and Sunset Suh. Through their work, they are exploring how their identities are impacted or influenced by their ancestors. “Clear and strong self-identity comes from being in constant communication with our ancestors,” say Kanani and Steph. “This exhibition explores the ways in which different communities maintain their connections. For many, being in relationship with one’s ancestors is an act of survivance and through sharing our stories we can start to imagine a collective existence.”
The opening reception for this exhibition will be held on Thursday, June 27 from 6-8 p.m. in the gallery. Light refreshments will be served, and many of the artists will be present. There will be an artist talk via Zoom on Saturday, July 13th at 10:30 a.m. The curator talk will be held via Zoom on Saturday, July 20th at 11 a.m. Pre-registration is required to attend the online events, and can be completed by clicking on the links provided. All events are free and open to the public.
Kanani Miyamoto is an artist, curator, and educator. She is originally from Honolulu, Hawai`i, and is currently living in Portland, Oregon. Kanani holds an MFA in Print Media from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and a BFA in Art Practices from Portland State University. Her artwork has been shown nationally. As an individual of mixed heritage who identifies most with her Hawaiian and Japanese roots. she uses traditional printmaking techniques to create large-scale print installations. Important to her work as an artist is “sharing and celebrating her unique mixed background in our contemporary art world in hopes of representing her community and the beauty of intersectional identities.” Kanani is also an advocate for art education and a passionate community worker. She works at p:ear as the Art Coordinator.
Steph Littlebird is an artist, curator, writer, and a member of Oregon’s Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes. She received national recognition as curator of This IS Kalapuyan Land (2020), an exhibition at the Five Oaks Museum in Portland which was featured by ArtNews and PBS NewsHour. Other curatorial projects include Untold Parallels, Mata Art Gallery, L.A. (2020), which re-examined colonial histories of the so-called Philippines and Filipinx-American diaspora, and colonized people Indigenous to “North America.” Most recently, Pʰot-Choch, an exhibition held at Anita, Astoria OR (2021) presented traditional and contemporary art of the original Chinook inhabitants of the North Coast. Her visual work engages issues related to contemporary Indigenous identities, marginalized histories, and responsible land stewardship. Littlebird earned her B.F.A. in Painting and Printmaking from the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) in Portland.
On display in the lobby exhibition area:
The Columbia Basin Basketry Guild is pleased to announce its group show, “Baskets Naturally” at the Multnomah Arts Center in Portland, Oregon.
This show will run from March 20-June 14, 2024, with an opening reception on April 6, 1-3pm.
“Baskets Naturally” highlights the work of around 20 Guild members who make use of various basketry techniques including coiling, plaiting, and twining, as well as random weave and knotless netting. We also work with a wide range of materials such as willow, cedar, rattan, wire, waxed linen, flax, cording, seaweed, yarn, handmade paper, and recycled materials.
The Columbia Basin Basketry Guild began with a small group of weavers in 1989. Today, we serve more than 200 members at all levels of skill and experience. From gallery-represented artists to new students learning basic techniques, all members are enthusiastic makers who find joy and satisfaction in the act of creating traditional or contemporary pieces.
For more information about the Guild go to www.basketryguild.org.
2023-2024 GALLERY SCHEDULE
Jessica Poundstone – archival pigment prints
Leondra Brackett – watercolor paintings and book arts
Exploring the colors, shapes and abundance in nature.
May 5 – June 10, 2023
Tatyana Ostapenko – acrylic paintings
Celebrating the strength & resilience of the Ukrainian people.
June 15 – July 22, 2023
Community Group Exhibit, featuring sculptures by Nyasha Madamombe
“Black History IS History”
July 28 – September 2, 2023
MAC Instructors Exhibit – brilliance in a broad range of media
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Center.
September 9 – October 14, 2023
Karen Russo – stoneware sculpture
Jason Greene – acrylic paintings
Meditative, grounding, and spiritual in nature.
October 20 – November 25, 2023
Eleanor Klock – drawings, risograph prints, comics
Erick Leonardo Martinez – ceramic sculpture
Feeling your way through: growing up in a multicultural household, finding purpose, being human.
January 5 – February 10, 2024
Mariane Zenker – acrylic paintings on paper
Jenn Demonte – ceramic sculpture
A practice in seeing the effects of climate change, from altered ecosystems to forced global migration.
February 16 – March 23, 2024
Maren Salomon – cut paper & mixed media
Jingzi Zhao – photography
Moving work made during the COVID pandemic, creating a vantage point from which to look back and to feel our way forward.
March 29 – May 4, 2024
Lisa Brinkman – ecoprints
Hilary Pfeifer – sculpture made from reclaimed materials
Using what’s at hand to create beauty.
May 10 – June 15, 2024
Community Group Exhibition
“Ancestors” – a group show curated by Kanani Miyamoto and Steph Littlebird
June 21 – July 27, 2024
Arielle Brackett – metalsmithing & mixed media
Britt Block – pastel paintings
An invitation to reverence & rescue – from bees to species facing extinction in the Tillamook Forest.
August 2 – September 7, 2024
Gwynn Goodner – oil paintings
A heart-full conversation about gun violence.
September 13 – October 19, 2024
Paula Champagne – Illustrations
Betsy McCarthy – fused glass sculpture
Work exploring the intersection of Blackness, nature and rest exhibited with organic sculptural shapes the glow in the light.
October 25 – November 30, 2024
Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) – a juried group exhibit
Biophilia – Threads of Wonder
January 12 – February 24, 2025
Gallery Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 9:00am - 9:30pm
Friday & Saturday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday: Closed
The Multnomah Arts Center (MAC) Gallery opened in 1982. It serves as an educational venue for the community and a supportive environment for artists to share their work. Artists who show here are residents of Oregon and southern Washington near Portland.
Exhibiting artists are selected by a group jury process each year. The resulting shows reflect the artistic dynamism of the area, with an emphasis on the following:
- a wide spectrum of media is shown throughout the year
- diverse subject matter is explored
- unique perspectives are shared
- multidisciplinary and intersectional approaches are appreciated
As a community-based gallery, we seek to grow our collective ability to create, connect and share beauty in its many forms. Towards that end, some of the current equity practices at the Multnomah Arts Center Gallery include:
- We embrace and encourage artists with differences in age, color, ethnicity, race, language, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, family or marital status, gender identity, political affiliation, veteran status, physical and mental ability, and socio-economic status.
- We show work by artists based on the merit of their work. Artists who exhibit here may not be represented by commercial galleries, or some do not have formal arts training.
- Exhibiting artists receive 65% of any sales they make. The remaining 35% is used by our nonprofit organization, The Multnomah Arts Center Association, to support equity and access to arts education through MAC programming.
- Community artists who are BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, immigrant or refugee, and/or disabled are invited to be a part of the group jury each year. Jurors receive an honorarium for their work.
- The jury helps to identify a theme for a community exhibit each year. This group show is juried through a separate call, and the selection of work is led by the members of the community being called to participate (i.e. the Latinx PDX exhibit of 2022, which was juried by members of that community).
- The annual Call for Artists encourages the submission of work that expands opportunities for participation by gallery visitors. This might take the form of music by a local musician playing on loop in the gallery, 3D work that is meant to be touched, or a reading by a local poet that includes sign interpretation.
- Barriers to participation are address by a) ensuring that there is no application fee when submitting work for jurying, b) providing transparency in how decisions are made and who is making them, c) offering access to adaptive supports as needed in the application process, and d) providing translation services when requested (see below). Additionally, we recognize that matting and framing artwork for display can present a significant financial burden to artists when their work requires it and welcome the opportunity to explore possible solutions with those artists.
View this year’s Call for Art. This year’s Call for Art curators:
Kanani Miyamoto is an artist, curator, and educator. She is originally from Honolulu, Hawai`i, and is currently living in Portland, Oregon. Kanani holds an MFA in Print Media from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and a BFA in Art Practices from Portland State University. Her artwork has been shown nationally. As an individual of mixed heritage who identifies most with her Hawaiian and Japanese roots. she uses traditional printmaking techniques to create large-scale print installations. Important to her work as an artist is “sharing and celebrating her unique mixed background in our contemporary art world in hopes of representing her community and the beauty of intersectional identities.” Kanani is also an advocate for art education and a passionate community worker. She works at p:ear as the Art Coordinator.
Pablo V. Cazares is an artist, curator, and community organizer in Portland, Oregon. In 2022, he created the t4t Art Collective, an art group focused on giving transgender artists opportunities to show work and build resilient community. In his own art he explores memory and self-creation through the lens of his overlapping neurodivergent, mixed-race, and transgender identities. Pablo holds a BFA in Art Practice from Portland State University, as well as an associate degree in Apparel Design. He’ll be attending the Rhode Island School of Design to begin his MFA in Sculpture this fall.
For more information about MAC’s Gallery and Exhibitions, please contact us at gallery@multnomahartscenter.org.
To view our previous gallery shows, click here.
Forms:
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All shows end at 5:00pm on the final date listed