The Front & Center Galleries
April 4 - May 10, 2025
“Shift Work: Queer Artists in Tectonic Times” in the Center Gallery
“Holding Our Own: Works by LGBTQIA2S+ Ceramic Artists & Potters” in the Front Gallery
“Shift Work: Queer Artists in Tectonic Times” in the Center Gallery
“Holding Our Own: Works by LGBTQIA2S+ Ceramic Artists & Potters” in the Front Gallery
Artwork by Zephyr Kim (top left), Areem Rose (top right), Michael McDonald (bottom left), Marne Lucas (bottom right).
Related events:
- Reception: Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. at MAC.
- Artist talk: Saturday, April 19, 1-2:30 p.m. via Zoom with featured artists and curators from “Shift Work.” Sign up here to attend.
- “Fractals: A QT Poetry Reading”: Saturday, April 26, 2-4 p.m. in person at MAC with Ami Patel and several additional queer/trans writers from the region. No signup required to attend.
All events are free and open to the public.
Artwork by Robert Sumner, Marne Lucas, Areem Rose, Zephyr Kim, and Michael McDonald.
There is a power to witnessing and being witnessed. These exhibitions, which include work by over 50 regional artists, are an invitation to connect to it and to each other.
“Shift Work: Queer Artists in Tectonic Times” explores the emotional complexity of the rapidly shifting social and political landscape for LGBTQIA2S+ people. How do we navigate through uncertainty? How do we nurture joy and hold space for grief? How do we find ways to connect amidst it all? Featured artists in this show include Ami Patel, Areem Rose, Robert Sumner, Zephyr Kim and Tommy Bruce. Across differences in media and style, their work speaks to these questions with authenticity and a sense of agency. The exhibition also includes a large communal piece that was created by the curators out of photographs submitted by additional LGBTQIA2S+ artists from the region. These artists were invited via a call for art to share images that communicated what they are feeling, or feeling for, right now. Titled “We Take Care of Us,” the piece intersperses their 5” photographs with 5” mirrors, inviting viewers to be active participants in the work. Sale of the individual photographs from this piece will benefit the work of p:ear, a local organization working creatively and collaboratively with unhoused youth. This show was curated by Pablo V. Cazares and Megan Hatch.
“Holding Our Own: Work by LGBTQIA2S+ Ceramic Artists & Potters” features artists Marne Lucas, Gwynn Goodner, Jay Holtman, Jesse King, Josi Colbert, Katie Lynn Howard, Lalo Perez, Mychelle Moritz, Rose Covert, Vector Benoit and Michael F. McDonald. Through both medium and form, their work is an evocative response to the curators’ discussion of “our capacity to hold space, hold the line, and hold onto hope.” Curators for this exhibition are Lux Harris and Megan Hatch.
Related events:
- Reception: Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. at MAC.
- Artist talk: Saturday, April 19, 1-2:30 p.m. via Zoom with featured artists and curators from “Shift Work.” Sign up here to attend.
- “Fractals: A QT Poetry Reading”: Saturday, April 26, 2-4 p.m. in person at MAC with Ami Patel and several additional queer/trans writers from the region. No signup required to attend.
All events are free and open to the public.
2025 Exhibition Calendar
January 10 – February 15, 2025
Menka Desai – works on paper
Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA) Oregon – “Biophilia: Threads of Natural Wonder”
Reception: Saturday, January 18, 1-3 p.m.
February 21 – March 29, 2025
Katsuyuki Shibata – nature photography
Julie Johnson – plant-based fiber art
Reception: Saturday, March 1, 1-3 p.m.
Artist talk: Saturday, March 29, 1 p.m. in the Center Gallery
April 4 – May 10, 2025
Two companion exhibitions with work by over 50 regional LGBTQIA2S+ artists, co-curated by Pablo V. Cazares, Lux Harris and Megan Hatch.
- “Shift Work: Queer Artists in Tectonic Times” – a group show in the Center Gallery featuring work by Zephyr Kim, Tommy Bruce, Robert Sumner, Areem Rose, and Ami Patel.
- “Holding Our Own: Works by LGBTQIA2S+ Ceramic Artists” – a group show in the Front Gallery.
Related events:
- Reception: Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. in the Front & Center Galleries
- Artist talk: Saturday, April 19, 1 p.m. via Zoom
- Reading by regional LGBTQIA2S+ writers: Saturday, April 26, 2 p.m. in the MAC Auditorium
May 16 – June 21, 2025
Heidi Keith – figurative ink paintings on paper
Jennifer Rabin – mixed media sculpture
Reception: Saturday, May 31, 1-3 p.m.
June 27 – August 2, 2025
Re Pinter, Molly Lecko Herro and Phoebe Mol – cartoon-based arts
Gesine Krätzner – ceramic sculpture
Reception: Saturday, June 28, 1-3 p.m.
Artist talk: Saturday, July 12, 1-3 p.m. in the Center Gallery with Re Pinter, Molly Lecko Herro and Phoebe Mol
August 8 – September 13, 2025
Avery Nielsen Webb – large-scale photography
Allana Nagy – ceramic sculpture
Reception: Thursday, August 14, 6-8 p.m.
September 5 – October 25, 2025
Portland Zine Symposium – historical and contemporary zine art
Related events: TBD
September 19 – October 18, 2025
Biennial MAC Instructors’ Exhibition – works in a variety of media
Reception: Thursday, September 25, 6-8 p.m.
October 24 – November 29, 2025
Jere Grimm – a retrospective featuring ceramics, textiles and works on paper
Related events: TBD
December 12, 2025 – January 10, 2026
Gili Rappaport – bronze sculpture installation
Related events: TBD
January 10 – February 15, 2025
Menka Desai – works on paper
Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA) Oregon – “Biophilia: Threads of Natural Wonder”
Reception: Saturday, January 18, 1-3 p.m.
February 21 – March 29, 2025
Katsuyuki Shibata – nature photography
Julie Johnson – plant-based fiber art
Reception: Saturday, March 1, 1-3 p.m.
Artist talk: Saturday, March 29, 1 p.m. in the Center Gallery
April 4 – May 10, 2025
Two companion exhibitions with work by over 50 regional LGBTQIA2S+ artists, co-curated by Pablo V. Cazares, Lux Harris and Megan Hatch:
- “Shift Work: Queer Artists in Tectonic Times” – a group show in the Center Gallery featuring work by Zephyr Kim, Tommy Bruce, Robert Sumner, Areem Rose, and Ami Patel.
- “Holding Our Own: Works by LGBTQIA2S+ Ceramic Artists” – a group show in the Front Gallery.
Reception: Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. in the Front & Center Galleries
Artist talk: Saturday, April 19, 1 p.m. via Zoom
Reading by regional LGBTQIA2S+ writers: Saturday, April 26, 2 p.m. in the MAC Auditorium
May 16 – June 21, 2025
Heidi Keith – figurative ink paintings on paper
Jennifer Rabin – mixed media sculpture
Reception: Saturday, May 31, 1-3 p.m.
June 27 – August 2, 2025
Speck Collective (Re Pinter, Molly Lecko Herro and Phoebe Mol) – cartoon-based arts
Gesine Krätzner – ceramic sculpture
Reception: Saturday, June 28, 1-3 p.m.
August 8 – September 13, 2025
Avery Nielsen Webb – large-scale photography
Allana Nagy – ceramic sculpture
Reception: Thursday, August 14, 6-8 p.m.
September 5 – October 25, 2025
Portland Zine Symposium – historical and contemporary zine art
Reception: Thursday, September 25, 6-8 p.m.
Reading: Thursday, October 9, 7-8:30 p.m.
September 19 – October 18, 2025
Biennial MAC Instructors’ Exhibition – works in a variety of media
Reception: Thursday, September 25, 6-8 p.m.
October 24 – November 29, 2025
Jere Grimm – a retrospective featuring ceramics, textiles and works on paper
Related events: TBD
December 12, 2025 – January 10, 2026
Gili Rappaport – bronze sculpture installation
Related events: TBD