Spring catalog is out and can be found online. Registration began on Wednesday, March 8 at 12:30pm. Registration can be done online, in person, or by phone at 503-823-2787.
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Exhibits are currently being scheduled for the remainder of 2023 and through 2024, based on results of our recent Call to Artists. We are thrilled to announce that our selection committee this year was led by Steph Littlebird and Daren Todd, two talented artists and curators with strong connections to the area. |
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Daren Todd is a Portland, Oregon based muralist, illustrator and designer. He is also the owner of Art Larger Than Me, a gallery and creative studio serving clients from residential real estate to the commercial film industry. Daren’s work currently focuses on abstract expressionism and graphic portraiture, and the juxtaposition of both styles into cohesive paintings and designs.
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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.
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MAC's Studio Theatre Presents: Frankenstein |
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Spring Arts & Crafts Sale |
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Presenting works from MAC Students, Staff & Instructors
May 5 – 6, 2023
Friday 9am – 9pm
Saturday 9am – 4pm
MAC’s halls will be filled with a wide range of beautiful work for sale, just in time for
Mother’s Day! MAC students, staff and instructors who have taken a class or worked at the Center in the past 3 years are eligible to participate. Sign up will occur online via our website or in person at MAC’s front desk, and will start on Friday, April 7. More information can be found here.
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MAC Launches On-Site Piano Lab |
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MAC Programmers are always trying to think of ways to thoughtfully grow our arts programs and better serve the Portland community. One of our most recent accomplishments that we are excited to share is the launch of an on-site piano lab classroom in the west hallway at MAC. Starting winter term, we began offering group piano classes at MAC for the first time ever!
A space with high-quality instruments dedicated to group piano instruction is something staff have been dreaming about for years. Last year, MACA was approached by the Joyce Miller Owens Charitable Foundation and from that connection funding was provided for the purchase of nine weighted electronic pianos. Staff worked hard to transform Room 8 into a multi-use music classroom to allow for the installation of the keyboards while also still allowing for other programs to take place (group guitar, youth choir, private music lessons, etc.). In addition to beginning youth and adult piano group classes, staff are planning to add in a group lab dedicated specifically to beginning senior students in the spring term, taught by MAC Instructor Meg Currell.
Huge and heartfelt thanks to the Joyce Miller Owens Charitable Foundation for their generosity in supporting the funding of nine full-size digital pianos, MAC Music Instructor Jessica Bartlett for designing and instructing our first group piano classes this term, and MACA for their continued support in enhancing our studio spaces and providing quality arts education experiences for our students.
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MAC in Partnership with SACOO |
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We are proud to partner with Somali American Council of Oregon (SACOO) in programming regular drop-in arts activities at their SE Portland location every other Thursday from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. The program kicked off on February 16 with a group of youth Somali participants ranging from 5-year-old to teenagers. MAC arts instructor Sandra Oberdorfer has been busy helping these kids learn and create various art forms, from bracelets and necklaces to cardmaking and drawing to sewing. Future projects may include clay explorations, painting, and structure designs. The number of participants grew from 10 in the first week to 15 in the second. “I spoke with a couple of kids after the event was over, and they had a lot of good feedback and new ideas of things to do for the upcoming sessions,” said Asiyo Ali who is a secretary at SACOO. Project manager, Amina Afrah, also shared her appreciations, “Thank you so much for giving the opportunity. The kids had fun and I can't wait what is next.” We are excited about maintaining this transformational relationship and continuing to support and grow arts-focused youth enrichment programs like this for the Somali community.
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Introducing Jennifer Rabin |
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The Multnomah Arts Center is excited to welcome Jennifer Rabin (she/her) as our new Recreation Leader in the Visual Arts. He work will focus on the day-to-day needs of the visual arts programs at MAC including administration, instruction, and facility needs. She is a writer, sculptor, and arts activist. Her writing has appeared in Kenyon Review, the Sun, the Rumpus, Harvard Review, and Hyperallergic. She was the visual arts writer for Willamette Week and is a contributing writer for Oregon ArtsWatch.
Fifteen years into her writing career, she took her first sculpture class on a lark and has never looked back. Since then, her studio practice has been full of adventures: from bronze pouring to slip casting, wood working to welding, dry felting to stone carving. She is happiest wearing coveralls and safety goggles, surrounded by other creative people.
She's been active in Portland's visual arts world for over ten years and is passionate about making art spaces welcoming to all members of the community. She can't wait to meet you.
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The Multnomah Neighborhood Association (MNA) Street Art Project was recently approved for sponsorship money to fund a series of events through August 2023 geared around the planning and execution of volunteer-driven neighborhood art (e.g., street intersection murals). We are sharing info and recruiting volunteers at a March 12 Info Open House event at Level in Multnomah Village. Join them to learn more about how they are promoting civic engagement and the creation of safety-focused placemaking art projects in highly traveled pedestrian areas of the Multnomah Neighborhood through their partnership with the City Repair Project and 6 other partner organizations. We are seeking artists and volunteers for a variety of roles: more info in our Volunteer Sign up Form.
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LiveSET (Sound Engineering for Teens) |
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This is a one-of-a-kind chance for young musicians, music fans, engineers, technical artists and creative types of all kinds to learn a valuable, interesting and employable skill: how to make live music and amplified audio sound its best in performance settings. The spring cohort of LiveSET runs April 15-30 at the Multnomah Arts Center, culminating in a live concert with Friends of Noise. Applications close March 27 at 8:00am.
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The Multnomah Arts Center Association (MACA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which supports the vibrancy and health of the Multnomah Arts Center. Its mission is to advocate for equity and access to arts education.
Thank you for your support!
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