Thursday, February 21, 2019

OCAC

I moved to Oregon years back in order to attend OCAC, Oregon College of Art & Craft, and it was a pivotal time in my life for so many reasons. So it was with intense dismay that I heard the recent announcement that they are going to stop granting degrees. A bunch of people rallied swiftly to see what could be done to save the day, and I've gathered the links here.

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Save OCAC
Edited February 28 to add--this is the current letter to sign; we're trying to get the Board to delay voting March 1 on bids to sell the campus so that other options can be considered--people are putting in a lot of effort to find a solution; until now, alumni and the community have been left out of the process.
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OCAC website
If you're in the Portland, OR area, check out the community workshops! I've taken as many as possible since I graduated, and there's a great lineup for the spring. Some workshops still have openings.

Friends of OCAC
Follow for information (also on Facebook) and sign this letter to show support--it is going to be presented to the OCAC Board again on February 21, 2019.

Two things that came up in last week's meeting of Friends of OCAC, alumni, and students:

* Friends of OCAC have also started a "Made at OCAC" campaign that we think would be great to keep promoting. Post pictures of your work, whether in a gallery, collaboration piece on youtube or portfolio photos with the tag line "Made at OCAC #SAVEOCAC" and describe the work, the influence of OCAC on your craft and how you carry it with you in your practice.

* Start writing about why OCAC matters to you. 1-2 paragraphs accompanied by a photo of your work, or a 1-3 minute video explaining what makes OCAC so special and worth preserving. Send to counciltosaveocac@gmail.com.

Feel free to share! It would be especially wonderful if you know patrons of the arts that would love to help financially.

Here is one of my favorite pieces done during my time at OCAC, in a class with Michelle Ross. This drawing was one of the pieces that won me an award from the Local 14.