The Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is an

art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-second ...

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

and is located in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. Established in 1909, the

grants Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and graduate degrees including the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Master of Arts (MA) degrees. It has an enrollment of about 500 students. The college merged with

in 2021. The college has 12 Bachelor of Fine Arts majors and eight graduate programs, a dual-degree MA/MFA option, and a Post-Baccalaureate program within the Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies. PNCA also provides Community Education in art and design to the local community.

History

Founded in 1909 as part of the

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it one of the oldest art museums on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the US. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum beca ...

, the school was originally known as the Museum Art School with Anna Belle Crocker serving as the head of the school; Kate Cameron Simmons was the first hired teacher. After the

Pietro Belluschi Pietro Belluschi (August 18, 1899 – February 14, 1994) was an Italian-American architect. A leading figure in modern architecture, he was responsible for the design of over 1,000 buildings.Belluschi, Pietro. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannic ...

designed home of the museum opened in 1932, the school moved into the upper floors of the building. In 1981, the school changed its name to Pacific Northwest College of Art in order to reflect its independence from the museum. The independence was solidified in April 1994 when the college formally split from the art museum and was incorporated as a legal entity distinct from the museum. In 1998, the college moved to its former campus in Portland's

Pearl District The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significan ...

. PNCA hired Thomas Manley in 2003 as president of the institution, replacing Sally Lawrence. Manley proposed a plan to the school's board in 2004 to expand the college and move towards Portland's

North Park Blocks The North Park Blocks form a city park in downtown Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Most of the park is in northwest Portland (north of Burnside), but one block (Ankeny Square) is in southwest Portland (south of Burnside). Description an ...

. The plan received a boost in 2007 when

Hallie Ford Hallie Brown Ford (March 17, 1905 – June 4, 2007) was an American business person and philanthropist. A native of Oklahoma, she acquired her wealth in Oregon through the timber industry. As a philanthropist she made donations to many instit ...

donated $15 million to the school. The school purchased the building housing the college in 2008, and also that year was given the 511 Federal Building by the federal government as part of a surplus building program. In 2009, the then independent Museum of Contemporary Craft moved into the DeSoto Building, which drained the museum's finances. PNCA loaned the museum money leading to a partnership and possible merger. In 2012, the school announced they would centralize their programs in Portland's Old Town at the 511 Federal Building. PNCA opened their first

residence hall A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

in August 2013 at a cost of $7.3 million, called ArtHouse. As part of its move to the Old Town area, the college sold its main building in the Pearl District in 2013 for $11.75 million. The school secured $20 million in loans from the

Portland Development Commission Prosper Portland, formerly the Portland Development Commission (PDC), is the community development corporation A community development corporation (CDC) is a not-for-profit organization incorporated to provide programs, offer services and engage ...

in November 2013 to fund the renovations. Renovations were completed in January 2015, with classes starting at the new campus in February 2015. In late 2018, the college briefly explored merging with the

Oregon College of Art and Craft Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) was a private art college in Portland, Oregon. It granted Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees as well as art-focused certificates. The college offered an Artist-in-Residence program and pr ...

but they decided against the merger. Two years later, PNCA announced plans to merge with

to become the fourth college within the university. On June 30, 2021, the merger was finalized. PNCA will retain its campus in

downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found ...

at the 511 Federal Building and will offer classes for Willamette University students as well as allow art students to take classes at the Willamette's Salem campus.

Campus and facilities

PNCA lettering on 511 Federal Building in 2015

As of February 2015, PNCA's main campus building, known as the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design, is located at 511 NW Broadway in northwest Portland, in the

. Known previously as the 511 Federal Building, it is a former post office that is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

ArtHouse

The college opened its first student housing in 2013 with the completion of ArtHouse at NW Park and Couch. The six-story building has 50 apartments plus retail space on the ground floor. Designed by architect Thomas Robinson, the project cost $7.3 million to build the modernistic structure. ArtHouse was built where Powell's Technical Books was located and is managed by College Housing Northwest.

Exhibition spaces

PNCA's exhibition department is the Center for Contemporary Art & Culture (CCAC), which is a platform for cultural production including exhibition, lecture, performance, and publication. CCAC is directed by Mack McFarland and has exhibited artists including

Wangechi Mutu Wangechi Mutu (born 1972) is a Kenyan-born American visual artist, known primarily for her painting, sculpture, film, and performance work.Cauleen Smith,

James Rosenquist James Rosenquist (November 29, 1933 – March 31, 2017) was an American artist and one of the proponents of the pop art movement. Drawing from his background working in sign painting, Rosenquist's pieces often explored the role of advertising a ...

, and

David Horvitz David Horvitz (born 1982) is an American artist who uses art books, photography, performance art, and mail art as media for his work. He is known for his work in the virtual sphere. Horvitz is a graduate from Bard College. Career Horvitz uses ...

. CCAC has two galleries, the 511 Gallery (formerly the Philip Feldman Gallery + Project Space) and the Dorothy Lemelson Innovation Studio. Additional exhibition spaces include Holt Gallery, Gallery 157, Gallery B10, and New Commons. The Lodge Gallery @ Allied Works Architecture host regular exhibitions.

Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design

In March, 2008, PNCA announced the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

and the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

approved PNCA's application to make the 511 Federal Building a permanent part of the school's campus. Located on the North Park Blocks, the building was renovated for use by the college in 2014–15. After the $30 million in renovations were complete in February 2015, the building was renamed as the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design.

Academics

When the college was independent, it was accredited by both the

National Association of Schools of Art and Design The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees ...

(NASAD) and the

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. ...

(NWCCU). PNCA was affiliated with the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the Art Resources Consortium Northwest, the Oregon Independent College Association, and the Foundations in Art: Theory and Education.

Programs and degrees

PNCA offers 12 undergraduate programs and eight graduate level programs. The college offers Bachelor of Fine Art degrees in majors including: Animated Arts, Communication Design, General Fine Art, Illustration, Interactive Design, Intermedia, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Video and Sound, and Creative Writing. It also offers minors in Art and Ecology, Art History, Ceramics, Creative Writing, Drawing, Fashion, Game, and Graphic Design. Graduate programs within the Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies include a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Studies, an MFA in Applied Craft and Design, an MFA in Collaborative Design, a Master of Arts in Critical Studies, a Master of Arts in Design Systems, an MFA in Print Media, a low residency MFA in Visual Studies, and a Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing, as well as a dual MA/MFA degree program. In addition to degrees, the college offers four certificate programs in fine arts, graphic design, digital publishing, and illustration through its Community Education program. PNCA also offers Community Education classes for youth, high school students, and adults that serve more than 1,500 students annually.

Students

As of 2019 there are 506 undergraduate students and 136 graduate students at PNCA. The continuing education program serves approximately 1,450 students part-time each year.

Faculty

PNCA employs 94 faculty members (some full- and more primarily part-time/adjunct labor). Most faculty are working artists and designers, many showing both nationally and internationally. Notable faculty include: * Director of the Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies and Founding Chair of MFA in Visual Studies Program MK Guth who was curated into the 2008

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition ...

. * Lucy Cotter, curator of the Dutch Pavilion at the 57th

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. * Monica Drake, award-winning author, designed and launched the BFA in Writing; initiated and launched the Native Voices Speaker Series, funded primarily by the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. * Sharita Towne, artist who has been awarded

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...

and

Oregon Community Foundation Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) is a non-profit organisation with the mission of improving lives for all Oregonians through the power of philanthropy. It is the fifth largest community foundation in the United States as ranked by asset size i ...

Creative Heights grants. * Kristan Kennedy, award-winning artist and Artistic Director and Curator of Visual Art at the

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) is a contemporary performance and visual arts organization in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. PICA was founded in 1995 by Kristy Edmunds. Since 2003, it has presented the annual Time-Base ...

(PICA) who also oversees the Precipice Fund, a grant for artist-run organizations and collaborative projects in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, as part of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program. * Erin Boberg Doughton, Artistic Director and Curator of Performance for PICA

. * Martin French, award-winning illustrator who recently received the 2019 Patrick Nagel Award for Excellence from the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

. * Jay Ponteri, Program Director of the Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing, whose memoir, ''Wedlocked'', took the Sarah Winnemucca Award for Creative Nonfiction at the 2014 Oregon Book Awards. * Aeron Bergman, Chair of the Low-Residency MFA in Visual Studies, and Alejandra Salinas who as artist duo Bergman and Salinas have been included in the 4th Athens Biennale and Bergen Assembly Triennial, among many others.

Global Studios

Global Studios offers off-campus educational opportunities within the United States and abroad. It includes short-term international instructor-led programs, international summer programs, and international internships in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

, and Pont-Aven, France. The semester-long programs include International Semester Exchange, Service Learning, AICAD Mobility Program, and New York Studio Program. International Semester Exchanges take place in France and Australia.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1909 establishments in Oregon Art schools in Oregon Educational institutions established in 1909 LGBT and education Pearl District, Portland, Oregon Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Universities and colleges in Portland, Oregon Private universities and colleges in Oregon