Shifting Platforms: The Decentralization of Art Education
Wednesday, September 29th | 4pm – 5pm PST
Zoom Link: https://wsu.zoom.us/j/94939839846
Watch a Live Stream of the Event on YouTube
Please join us online as artists and educators Heidi Schwegler, Karl Burkheimer, and Christine Clark come together to discuss visions and actions towards more accessible art education. Through a discussion of their own experiences, they’ll inform participants on creating spaces that reach a wider range of potential artists as well as ways to support marginalized artists through access to spaces, equipment, and supplies needed in order to create.
Heidi Schwegler, a former instructor at the Oregon College of Art & Craft (OCAC), will be talking about her installation, "Uncertain Placement," (includes "Property: Saratoga Springs" pictured above) currently on display in the library through coordination with WSU Vancouver’s Art Gallery Committee. She will also discuss her work on the Yucca Valley Material Lab as well as the scholarship and workshop series she recently held in support of veterans. Karl Burkheimer and Christine Clark, also former instructors at OCAC, will discuss their efforts to continue art education within Portland. Burkheimer will be discussing his work as a founding board member of the Rainmaker Craft Initiative and Clark will be talking about her work in forming Ninety Twenty Studios. The panelists will be accepting questions following their presentations as time allows. Artist biographies are below.
This is the inaugural event for the WSU Vancouver Library’s event series, “Our Communities: Actions Towards Justice.” Join us throughout the year as we hear from those taking action towards justice for our local and intercultural communities. Our next event, "Why Environmental History Matters: A Case Study in Washington State's Indigenous Laws," will be held on October 19th at 4pm; more information to come. For questions about this event or the series, please contact Sam Buechler: sam.buechler@wsu.edu
Artist Biographies:
Heidi Schwegler explores a wide range of materials in the service of her subject matter. Drawn to the peripheral ruin, she deftly incorporates found objects with traditional craft and sculpture media. Schwegler’s accolades include an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission, Hallie Ford Fellowship and two MacDowell Colony Fellowships in the Visual Arts. She was artist-in-residence at MacDowell, Pilchuck, VCCA, Yaddo, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and Bullseye Glass Company, among others. Notable exhibitions of her work include the 2018 Bellevue Art Museum Biennial, Portland2016: A Biennial of Contemporary Art, curated by Michelle Grabner and presented by Disjecta Contemporary Art Center; her 10-year retrospective, Botched Execution, at The Art Gym at Marylhurst University, OR and the Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, NE. Schwegler holds a BFA from the University of Kansas and MFA from the University of Oregon. She divides her time between Portland, OR and Yucca Valley, CA where is the founding director of Yucca Valley Material Lab.
Christine Clark is an artist living and working in Portland OR. Her work focuses on public art, installation art and abstract sculpture in steel, steel wire and mixed materials. She has had numerous solo and group exhibitions locally and nationally. She is a two-time recipient of the Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship Grant as well as a Professional Development Grant. She has been awarded residencies such as the John Michael Kohler Arts and Industry residency and the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. She is a former Professor and Head of the Metals department at Oregon College of Art and Craft. Clark is a member of the Nine Gallery, an alternative art gallery that exhibits experimental and installation-based work and is co-owner of Ninety Twenty Studios, a maker/education space in Portland.
Karl Burkheimer is the former Chair of the MFA in Craft at Oregon College of Art and Craft. His teaching career includes faculty positions and assignments in Virginia, Qatar, Turkey, Uganda, and China. Burkheimer earned his MFA from the Department of Crafts and Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture from North Carolina State University. His artistic practice is rooted in a utilitarian simplicity that fore-fronts the objects in relation to, and often interacting with, the body. His work has been exhibited nationally, including exhibitions in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Portland. His critical writing has been published in Ceramic Monthly, and he has received several awards of recognition as well as institutional funding including, The Contemporary Northwest Art Awards at the Portland Art Museum; the U.S.-Japan Creative Artist Fellowship; and the Ford Family Fellowship in Visual Art.
If you have a disability that requires special materials, services or assistance, please complete the online accommodation request form as soon as possible to help us better understand your specific needs. If you have additional questions, contact the Access Center at 360-546-9739 or van.access.center@wsu.edu.