Thursday, March 2 | 5pm-9pm

The Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at Pacific Northwest College of Art is excited to invite the public to the March First Thursday Art Walk in the North Park Blocks for a series of exhibition openings, live music, drop-in activities and refreshments!

Closing Reception for Hallowed Be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done by Ollie Kearney – PNCA Library, Tiny Thumb Gallery | 4-5pm

Join the PNCA Community at the PNCA Library for a closing reception of Ollie Kearney’s solo exhibition informed by “Pornography and Difference” by Kaite Berkeley and queries into anti-queerness, and an ever-looming/inescapable male-gaze. Curated by Genesis Turris, Fall 2023 Graduate Curatorial Fellow.

Live Music with DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid +
DJ Timothy Bee!

DJ Timothy Bee representing the Portland natives and spinning nothing but the best music, come dance, groove and feel your best!

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DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid have spent more than twenty three years igniting dance floors with cutting edge music not limited by borders or language. They host the longest-running Bhangra and Bollywood party in the world (Andaz est. 2002), co-founded the Pacific Northwest’s first Global Bass dance party (Atlas 2003-2013) and spent years hosting two weekly radio shows (CHOR BAZAAR on XRAY.FM and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Kush on KBOO.FM.) In 2013 Anjali and The Kid initiated TROPITAAL! A Desi Latino Soundclash, which they host monthly at The Goodfoot.

Photobooth with Photographer Ash Stone

Bring some friends, lovers, family, yourself, maybe some strangers to strike your best poses for some stellar portraits with a bit of seasonal flare! Ash Stone (she/they) is a queer latinx visual artist based in Portland, Oregon. Her work, driven by the transformative power of play, serves as a method of healing and self-discovery. Ash’s creative practice works in tandem with community building, collaboration, and advocacy for art and education accessibility.

Participatory Art Installation by Charlie Wilcox

Do YOU know how to get $53,823.24? Do YOU have any good ideas? Look for THE $53,823.24 QUESTION BOX at First Thursday, where you can respond on one of the survey cards (maybe you’ll respond with an illustration?) and Charlie will compile the responses in the form of an animation that will hopefully reveal the answer, because he really, really, really needs to know where to find that cash!

Rebeca on view (on a loop) in PNCA‘s Mediatheque – In Collaboration with LANDDD

“Winding aimlessly through the Santo Domingo carnival, seeking to get lost in the noise and colors of the party, we find Rebeca, with more questions than answers.”

https://landdd.org/Ricardo-Screening

https://landdd.org/Events

Outdoor Projection Installation w/ PNCA‘s Creative Technology Lab!

The Creative Technology Lab joins March First Thursday events by augmenting the PNCA building with projection! We’ll be showcasing experimental film, generative design, and new work by students in Marilyn Zornado’s Hybrid Moving Image class and the Creative Technology Lab.

Thank you to Megan McKissack in the CTL!

Yo Buri with FREE warm beverages and refreshments!

Visit Yo’s food & beverage cart in front of PNCA for free coffee and tea and come inside for more free nibbles and alcoholic and NA beverages!

by Avantika Bawa

511 Gallery

Avantika Bawa, Centro Roberto Garza Sada de Arte Arquitectura y Diseño, Monterrey, Mexico., 2023, Silkscreen and lithograph on paper, 16.5”x21.5”. Edition of 6. Printed at the Watershed Print Center at PNCA by Matthew Letzelter, marvin parra orozco, Denyse Stawicki, Lauren Voigt, Sam Orosz, Will Mairs, Olive Ritson, Freyja Kohler, Lucas Jose Cantoni, and Maritza Galvan.

The Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at PNCA is thrilled to announce A Brutal Affair, a solo exhibition by Portland-based artist Avantika Bawa on view from March 2 – April 6, 2024. All events and exhibition viewing are free and open to the general public.

A Brutal Affair displays new works on paper and large-scale installation centered on Avantika Bawa’s queries into the intersections between drawing and sculpture, minimalist traditions and affects of space, place and site.

This exhibition merges selections of two ongoing bodies of works by the artist: A Brutal Affair and The Scaffold Series. A new series of four silkscreen and lithograph prints, published at the Watershed Center for Print Publishing and Research during Avantika’s 2023 Artist Residency, exemplify the artist’s ongoing explorations on Brutalist architecture. Bawa writes, “The formal and architectural qualities of these buildings, along with their histories, functions, and cultural impacts, fascinate me, and I want to remind the viewer how lines, hard edges, and uncomplicated geometry can be beautiful.”

Selections from the Watershed Center for Print
Publishing and Research Archive

Ed Cauduro and Dane Nelson Collection Studies Lab +
Dorothy Lemelson Innovation Studio

Modou Dieng Yacine, Palais Royal, 2020, Four color silk screen print, 21”x28”. Edition of 50. Printed by Matthew Letzelter, Edson Rosas, and Isabel Campos Bedard.

The Center for Contemporary Art & Culture in collaboration with the Watershed Print Center at PNCA is proud to present Social Production: Selections from the Watershed Print Archive, displaying print publications from 2010 to 2023, on view February 21 – May 25, 2024.

Featured Artists:
Sandow Birk, Pat Boas, Melanie Cervantes & Jesus Barrraza, Chris Chandler, Wayne Coyne, Modou Dieng, Nina Elder, Joe Feddersen, The Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation, Yoshihiro Kitai, Nikki McClure, Dennis McNett, Paintallica, Alison Saar, Regina Silveira, Eli Sudbrack (Assume Vivid Astro Focus), Storm Tharp and Samantha Wall.

The Quiet Season

LRVS MFA Group Exhibition
PNCA Atrium

Don’t let the name fool you, the Quiet Season for Low-Residency Visual Studies is not what it seems. We may not be alongside students in full-res MFA courses, but we are working hard at art and at life on “the outside.” Our cohorts are located all across the United States, working, teaching, cooking, carpooling, and actively learning through mentorships and studio time. We have intellectual conversations but we also tell funny stories about our kids, share recipes, and ideas.  We maintain relationships with each other via video chats we call “beach balls.” We share our work, our goals, our struggles, and, sometimes, cat memes.

This exhibition showcases our experiments in new materials, ideas, and directions in the Low-Res program. Through research,  mentorships, and a lot of trial and error off-campus, each of us will return this summer with this work as the basis for further experimentation.

spirit sisiw: let’s play!

Razel Mari
157 Gallery

spirit sisiw: let’s play! is an exhibition that delves into the whimsical world of the spirit sisiws, endearing characters crafted by Filipino artist Razel Mari. These creatures reflect on the lives of the colored chicks yearning for perpetual playfulness despite their imposed destinies, immortalizing lives trapped in a system that perceives them merely as toys.
This exhibition is a sanctuary for the spirit sisiws, offering a happy space where they can recount their tales and sustain their playfulness amidst the chaotic reality they were thrust into. It poses profound questions about finding joy in a harsh world and navigating the intricate complexities of our existence. Through the lens of these animated beings, the exhibition invites visitors to ponder the resilience of playfulness, even in the face of adversity. As viewers engage with the spirit sisiws’ narrative, they are prompted to reflect on the essence of fun as
a coping mechanism, a rebellion against the somber aspects of life. spirit sisiws: let’s play! becomes a testament to the enduring spirit of joy, providing a refuge for those seeking solace and inspiration in the midst of life’s intricate dance.

love letters to
las vegas

jacob reppetto
B10 Gallery

the city of las vegas is a place of grit but glamour. a city of escape, and for some, a city that heals.

las vegas became a second home to me, as it was the last place I was before I returned home to a personal hell that changed my life forever. I runaway to there often to reconnect to myself and reignite my drive for life and creation.

love letters to las vegas is the debut solo exhibition of photographer and multimedia artist, jacob reppeto. this is a collection of work that celebrates the light from their darkness. a love letter to all the people, places and things that kept him going in time of chaos. an escape from hell, an expression of gratitude to those who saved him more than they could ever know. it’s also to encourage audiences to remind those inside their own las vegas how important they really are.

uncovvvered

Ansley Gwin
Holt Project Space

here i saw them fly and reduce their wings to bone
on the other side
sea

bare cartilage basked
uncovvvered

spine held by ghost tendons
wash by shoreline
cave in time before this
designed to pause
hath froze

wrapped in storms
sunlight
caught by hook and throat

in climes beyond
the covvvered stones

The Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at PNCA is please to present It Begins with a Question: 2024 Merit Scholars Exhibition. This show represents the first of an annual showcase celebrating all of the yearly awarded Merit Scholars across PNCA’s Undergraduate Studies.

Exhibiting Artists:
Anna Volk, KeanuNarciso, Oscar Dierker, Elena Olmos Guerrero, Casper Mayberry, Abby Pajeau, Xochitl Nuno, Tyler Solomon, Nicholas Calhoun, Jonah Zayas, Mint Gabriel, Lainey Collado, Otis Aiello, Devon Martinez, Rosie Christopher, Fio Ballerini, Marcus Mastrud and Myah Wyse.

Image design and promotional materials courtesy of Anna Volk

Tom Prochaska, The Back of Her Head, Oil on panel, 16″x20″, 2024. Image courtesy of Froelick Gallery.

The Fullness of the Seeming Void – Adams and Ollman

With the River by Sally Cleveland – Augen Gallery

Still Life of Lives Made Still by Malique Pye – The Black Gallery by DSPDX

Personal History by Sarah Malakoff + Queer in Utah by Fazilat Soukhakian – Blue Sky, Oregon Center for Photographic Arts

Bennington Suite & Color Studies by Lee Kelly + Elements and Objects by Anna Von Mertens – Elizabeth Leach Gallery

Another Go by Tom Prochaska + New Landscapes and Townscapes by Kevin Kadar – Froelick Gallery

Illuminations: A Blackfish Member Show | Form and Abstraction by Clint Brown | Ritual Texture by Benjamin Mefford – Blackfish Gallery

Small Forwards: Paintings of Girlhood in Basketball by Paul Xavier Rutz – Laura Vincent Design and Gallery

First Thursday at RACC (Art Viewing, Q&A + Vendor Fair) – Regional Arts and Culture Council

Of Heart and Hand by Ruth Hunter – Waterstone Gallery

Weather Patterns by Barb Burwell – The Writers’ Block