Portland State University MFA Art & Social Practice

Approved or Denied? Depends who is asking! Join us for live performances at @psu_museum_of_art Fri, May 29th 3-4pm and Sat, May 30th 1-2pm as part of the fictional travel consultancy- Public Agency of Travel Planning for the Overwhelmed, a socially engaged art project by artist Simeen Anjum, Free admission to all! #liveperformance #socialpracticeart #museum #visaoffice #performance

Save the date! Assembly 2026: No Context June 4–7 Four days of projects, conversations, gatherings, experiments, grad talks, and ways of being together from the MFA in Art and Social Practice community. More details soon. Come spend some time with us!

KSMoCA produces publications in collaboration with PSU’s Art+Social Practice Program. All of the MFA students conduct interviews related to their research each academic term during the 3 years of the program, which are then posted as part of the Social Forms of Art (SOFA) Journal. The graduating students compile them together as part of this book series. The PSU Art+Social Practice Program’s 2026 graduates had their opening yesterday evening at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA). We encourage you to visit, experience their work, and browse their SOFA conversations alongside their own self-made publications!

What Remains: 2026 BFA/MFA Exhibition is officially open! 🎉⁠ ⁠ We are so excited to be hosting the work of over 40 graduating artists in the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design! This exhibition will be on view for only 4 weeks! Don’t miss it. ⁠ ⁠ —----⁠ Image 1: Ryleigh Macdonald, Smoke and Mirrors, 2026, Film photographs printed on watercolor paper, 📸: Mario Gallucci⁠ ⁠ Image 2: David Brothers-Handwerk, 25lb-4-12g#00b10y, 2026, Mid range porcelain, glaze, 12gauge #00Buckshot projectile shrapnel, 📸: Mario Gallucci⁠ ⁠ Image 3: Lou Blumberg, Repair Process/Process Repair,2026, Video, digitally printed script, wood panel, letterpress cards, natural rope, tape

You’re invited to the opening reception of What Remains: BFA/MFA Exhibition! Join us in celebrating the graduating cohort at the museum and enjoy some new art.⁠ ⁠ ⏰ Thursday, May 14, at 4:00 PM⁠ 📍JSMA at PSU, 1855 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201⁠ 🎟️ RSVP at the link in bio⁠ ⁠ See you there!⁠ ⁠ —----⁠ Image 1: Tricky Moody, I Did Not Die, 2026, Oil on wood panel⁠ ⁠ Image 2: Tyler Arnette, Relieving Oneself, 2026, Mixed-media installation⁠ ⁠ Image 3: Clara Harlow, Swim Blocks (detail), 2026, Pool towels⁠ ⁠ 📸: Mario Gallucci + Clara Harlow⁠

Our MFA thesis exhibition opens this Thursday, May 14th from 5-7 pm at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, if you can believe it!! I’m so excited to share some of the work I’ve been scheming up as the Artist-in-Residence at Matt Dishman Community Center swimming pool in my neighborhood of Northeast Portland this year. To document the dynamic community of the Dishman pool where photography is heavily restricted, I’ve looked to the motif of swimmers’ pool towels as a stand-in for the diversity, reciprocity, and social nuance of the pool. Here are some of a my favorites from the project as a sneak peak! Curious to hear more about my year of turning the public pool into a studio? Come to my artist talk on 💧Friday, June 5th at the Matt Dishman auditorium at 6 pm💧. Thank you to all the incredible swimmers and staff at Dishman that have made the pool feel like home. Special thanks to Madeleine Hanlon-Austin and Teresa O’Loughlin for believing in me and my nutty ideas! Pool towels featured belong to Laura, Kirk, Marjorie, Nayeli, Mary Anne, and Cynthia. The exhibition runs through Saturday, June 6th. I hope to see you there 🩵

Opening Thu 5/14 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU! Catch the live performances on Fri May 29, 3-4pm and Sat, May 30 1-2pm.

MFA Candidate Alex Deets here. I learned recently of an annual Grief in Public Day started by death doulas that falls on a weekend in late April. It seemed a fitting day to try out my project Sing Into the Void, Community Care-aoke. In advance of this gathering, I collected songs from the public on the subject of loss and made a karaoke song book. A small group gathered in King School park. We sang, we laughed, we cried, we had technical difficulties. Along with karaoke there was a grief tree to collect our group losses. One of the last slides is the void i brought for us to sing into. I will be doing a different iteration of this project for Assembly this year. Please come!!! 99% of these pics by Dawn Riddle. PS For some reason on the account I can only add certain songs, but if I could add a song of my choosing it would be ‘Love Will Save the Day’ by Whitney Houston.

The JSMA at PSU is thrilled to announce What Remains: 2026 BFA/MFA Exhibition! ⁠ ⁠ Featuring the work of the 2026 graduating BFA/MFA cohort in the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design, the exhibition opens on Thursday, May 14 and will be on view through June 6, 2026! ⁠ ⁠ BFA in Art Practice:⁠ Tyler Arnette (@arnettepdx ), Luciné Asadorian-Myers (@lucy.goose ), Amelia Asder (@a.m.e.li.a ) , Rui Barajas, Lari Bodi (@Lari_Bee_Art ), James Brady (@bradyjam_pdx ), Lindsey Bross (@LindsBross ), David Brothers-Handwerk (@masterhandwerk ), Evie B. (@evievart ), Mel Castaneda Sanchez (fatalearthbender), Shirley Castillo Ku (@sckarts ), Allison Chastain (allison_chastain), Maisee Collett (@maz_draws_things ), Rebecca Jane Demorest (@rjhd.art ), Setaria DePue (@froggy_illustrations ), Yakelin Echeverria Garcia (@gemy_illustrates ), Olivia Jean (@ithink_isaw )​​, Lucas Figueiredo (@art_account_lucas.zip ), Lily Fisher (@tigerbunny0 ), Alondra Gomez Barajas, Ember Gulden (@ember.visarts ), Annie Hall, Lola Haynes, van hopper, Iyla Ingalls (@chirpyburd ), Katie Jacobs, Clara Johnson (@cla4ra ), Rachel Kang, Stacey Korn (@staceykornisstillalive ), Dylany Kvetny (@dylanyyart ), Jovan La Grotta, Anders Larson, Rain Le (@rain.fullbuster ), Ryleigh MacDonald (@ryesphoto ), Alex Merg (@chromaticart333 ), Tricky Moody, Say Wah Paw, Audria Oakes (@missduck101 ), Rey Platero (@Reynpll ), Joel Rapp, Andi Ruth (@vrailaru ), Anya Talbert (@theanyastar ), and Jun Tellez (@jun_art_t )⁠ ⁠ MFA in Contemporary Art Practice: ⁠ Simeen Anjum (@loadingwaitt ), Lou Blumberg, Clara Harlow (@all_corndogs_go_to_heaven ), and Nina Vichayapai (@nvichayapai )⁠ ⁠ —----⁠ Image 1: James Brady, Reflections Required, 2026, Reused vanity, copy paper, 📸: Mario Gallucci ⁠ ⁠ Image 2: Olivia Jean, Counting to 600 by Threes, 2026, 35mm film, my mother’s pillowcase (turned mine), silver gelatin print, presentation matte paper, tracing paper, waxed hemp string, 📸: Mario Gallucci⁠ ⁠ Image 3: Simeen Anjum, Public Agency of Travel Planning for the Overwhelmed, 2025, Interactive installation, 📸: Ame Morrison⁠

New Date Yall!!! Now happening on Thursday May 7th, 11am at Community for Positive Ageing! . Airports are the capital of goodbyes but we rarely think about the different ways that we say them. Join us for an experimental workshop exploring the ways that we part ways with eachother, investigating how the ritual shifts depending on the context, the relationship, the borders we are about to cross or the deployment of ICE at your local airport. Hosted by travel enthusiasts Simeen Anjum and Djodi Deutsch who have been to airports multiple times. Boarding begins May 7, 11am at Community for Positive Ageing (1820 NE 40th Ave)

We were honored to host the artists and facilitators of “If We Could Talk” for an opening reception at the COE yesterday. This socially engaged multimedia project explores the profound meaning of “home” for members of North and Northeast Portland’s Black community — many of whom have reclaimed their roots through the city’s N/NE Preference Policy and now reside in the Dr. Darrell Millner Building. The workshop was led by @psuartandsocialpractice students Dominic “Dom” Toliver and Gwen Hoeffgen. Dom noted the significance of having the work on display at the Vanport Building, which holds a deep history of survival and rebuilding. “This work continues that story; and not talking about the past, it’s talking about what’s happening right now,” he said. Artist Yolanda Denise-Lampkin, who was born and raised in Portland, described how the project became a bridge between generations. After more than 20 years away from the city, she returned with her daughter, who she’d raised in Texas. They participated in the workshop together.  “It was like a gift that I was able to give my daughter,” she shared. “She was able to express her feelings through a poem of her experience. I didn’t know what she saw through our journey. So now it’s like, it’s here. It’s solid. It’s written, it’s in pictures... this is history.” Stop by the COE to experience these moving reflections on displacement, reclamation, and the enduring love for community. @psu_arts @psu_artanddesign #ifwecouldtalkexhibition #PortlandState #CommunityHistory #WhatIsHome psucollegeofed@

Join us this Friday for a Mayday special song circle. Find us in the south park blocks at 12:30pm. #songsofresistance #wewhobelieveinfreedom #antifascismo #liberation