The 39th annual Art About Agriculture Competition and Touring Exhibition 2022: The Sustainable Feast, presents artworks from Northwest artists responding to numerous topics related to food production and consumption. Working closely with Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center in Portland, this statewide touring exhibition aims to explore the importance of sustainability, diversity, and innovation in our food system.
This year’s open call received an astounding response. The five person blind jury (artist names removed from jurying materials) were presented with an incredible range of mediums, topics, and ideas related the theme. With limited exhibition space, the jurors’ careful selections for inclusion in the competition and tour strives to captivate, as well as educate.
As a world-class leader in agricultural, environmental, and life sciences at Oregon’s Land Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant, and Sun Grant institution, the College of Agricultural Sciences encourages diverse points of view and for nearly 40 years has invested in visual arts as an important part of its mission.
As the founding College of the state’s land grant university, it is dedicated to serving all Oregonians. As champions of science, the College of Agricultural Sciences embraces differences to find common ground and create opportunity – committed each day to make tomorrow better.
Featured artwork: Lisa Brinkman, Water Mandala, 2021. Eco-prints of sumac, eucalyptus, geranium, and maple on raw silk canvas, cold wax and oils. 40” x 30”
Participating Artists
- Crista Ames
- Toni Avery
- Craig J. Barber
- Robin Becic
- Rich Bergeman
- A.Kimberlin Blackburn
- Gretchen Bracher
- Julia Bradshaw
- Lisa Brinkman
- Katy Cauker
- Karen Cunagin
- Linda Devenow
- Tallmadge Doyle
- James Erickson
- Sally Finch
- Andries Fourie
- Tatiana Garmendia
- Carly Garzon Vargas
- Carrie Clegg Gilbert
- Mabel Astarloa Haley
- Priscilla Hanson
- Phyllis Helland
- Jeff Hollenbeck
- Robin Hostick
- Hsin-Yi Huang
- Charlie Hyman
- Richard Keis
- Kitty Kingston
- Herman Krieger
- Betty LaDuke
- Sheryl LeBlanc
- Bill Marshall
- Emily Jung Miller
- Loren Nelson
- Nancy Peterfreund
- Jan Roberts-Dominguez
- Erik Sandgren
- Josh Sands
- Dave Schaerer
- Sally Sellers
- Carol Shenk
- Deb Stoner
- Dee Vadnais
- Angelyn Christy Voss
- Liz Walker
- Euphemia Wesley
- Kimberly Wurster
Calendar
(All dates are subject to change due to the COVID-19 situation.)
May 10 – June 21 (Extended!):
Giustina Gallery at The LaSells Stewart Center
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR
Website
541-737-2402
May 26 (Thursday), 5:00 – 7:30pm: Reception
July 1 – July 30:
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center
Baker City, OR
Website
541-523-5369
July 1 (Friday), 5:30 – 8:00pm: Opening Reception at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City, OR.
July 17 (Sunday), 3:00 – 4:30pm: Baker County OSU Alumni Event at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center
July 18 (Monday), 9:00 - 10:00am: Coffee with Dr. Staci Simonich, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center
July 18 (Monday), starting at 10:00am: Panel discussion, It’s More Than Organic. Panelists:
- Bryan Endress, Associate Professor and Rangeland Sciences Program Lead of OSU Agriculture and Natural Resources Program at EOU
- Dr. Staci Simonich, Dean of the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station
- Amari Sauna, Hedge Rose Farm: hedgerosefarm.com
- Dr. Dave Stone, Director of the OSU Food Innovation Center
- Sarah Wynn, Baker City artist
- Amy Young, Young Roots Farm: youngrootsfarm.com
August 5 – September 30:
Pacific Maritime Heritage Center
Newport, OR
Website
541-265-7509
August 5 (Friday), 3:00 – 4:30pm: Panel discussion, What does Sustainable Seafood Look Like?
Panelists:
- Laura Anderson, Local Ocean Restaurant Owner and Industry Advocate
- Erick Garman, Oregon Department of Agriculture
- Heather Mann, Executive Director, Midwater Trawlers Cooperative
- Christina DeWitt, Director, OSU Seafood Research & Education Center
- Gil Sylvia, OSU Emeritus, Hatfield Marine Science Center
- Dave Stone, Director, OSU Food Innovation Center
August 5 (Friday), 5:00 – 7:30pm: Reception at Pacific Maritime Heritage Center.
August 6 – August 28:
Supporting exhibition at Newport Visual Arts Center’s Upstairs Gallery
Newport, OR
Website
541-265-6540
August 5 (Friday), 2:00 – 4:30pm: Reception at Newport Visual Arts Center’s Upstairs Gallery
Jurors
Helen Liu
Helen Liu was born in Taiwan and raised on a chicken farm in the southern part of the island. Since leaving the country with her parents in 1972, she lived in Jakarta and Bangkok and eventually came to study at the University of Oregon in 1977. Upon graduating from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, she worked in design firms in Portland and Eugene. After the birth of her daughter in 1994, Helen worked from home.
Since 2013, Helen began using waste plastic bags generated from her own household as well as coffee bags from local coffee shops like Allan Bros. and Starbucks, most of them laminates with a thin aluminum layer, which makes recycling them nearly impossible. Over the next 8 years, Helen’s art has focused on using these non-recyclable plastic waste. The largest one of the works from this period was Plastic Waste to Art Quilt, 40ft x 12ft, funded in part by the Springfield Arts Commission and displayed at the Academy of Arts and Academics in downtown Springfield on Earth Day 2021. Helen is also involved in a Plastic to Fuel project with Prof. Skip Rochefort at Oregon State University working toward creating a small-scale, neighborhood-size plastic recycling machine that will turn #2, 4, and 5 plastics into farm-grade diesel.
Helen’s project in 2021 involves locally sourced wool from small farmers whom she personally knows, and dye plants grown in her garden. The fleece is cleaned, dyed and spun into yarn with a Navajo spindle and then woven.
With Prof. Ellen Johnston Laing, Helen co-authored Up in Flames: the Ephemeral Art of Pasted-Paper Sculpture in Taiwan, which was based on Helen’s MA thesis and published by Stanford University Press in 2004.
Yelena Nowak
As the head of the Oregon Trawl Commission, Yelena represents the interests of Oregon trawl fishermen, working to enhance the image of the industry and increase opportunities for its profitability. With a Masters degree in International Management from Portland State University and a background in both public and private sectors, Yelena's experience is centered around various areas of business, including trade development, marketing, global supply chain management as well as international trade and compliance. Prior to joining the commercial fishing industry, Yelena worked at the Oregon Department of Agriculture in its Market Access Program.
Dr. Dave Stone
Dr. Dave Stone is a Professor in Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University. His expertise is in emerging food technologies, food safety and risk analysis. Dr. Stone Directs the OSU Food Innovation Center, an agricultural experiment station in downtown Portland with the mission to support food and beverage companies across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Dr. Stone is engaged with diverse clients across the globe to develop advance sustainable agriculture and safe foods. He has served on several regional and national expert panels to address topics on food safety, community development and toxicology.
Amanda Triplett
Using primarily recycled textiles, Amanda Triplett creates craft-based fiber sculpture, performance, and installation about human relationships to biological and cultural narratives. Amanda studied art and art history at Sarah Lawrence College, graduating in 2004. She shows her work all over the West Coast including The Bush Barn Art Center (Salem, OR), Museum of the Oregon Territory (Oregon City, OR), the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, COCA (Seattle, WA), Art House Gallery (Berkeley, CA), Ford Gallery (Portland, OR), Paragon Gallery (Portland, OR).
Amanda was a 2016 Glean artist-in-resident, where she was given access to the Portland dump to glean waste materials to make sculpture and installation. She was awarded the 2020 Betty Brose and Margaret Hogg Art About Agriculture Purchase Award for her piece Cell Wall. In 2021, she received a RACC MAKE|LEARN|BUILD grant to create an installation about climate change. She is the 2022 Artist in Residency at Mary Olson Farm in Auburn, WA and is a member of Shift Gallery in Seattle. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
Ana Varas
Ana Varas, PhD in Art History, specializes on tracking community-driven art practices that address pressing socio-political and ecological. Her research aims to understand the different levels in which engaged art operates in relation to aesthetic imperatives, institutional demands, socioeconomic and environmental ramifications and its political efficacy. She currently works as the Arts Project Coordinator for Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture (PMRCAA) where she oversees the Artist in Residency program. Operated by the Roundhouse Foundation, PMRCAA is a working ranch that strives to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures to find creative solutions to unique challenges and foster positive change. Its residency program invites artists, scientists, and scholars to explore nature, land conservation, historic preservation, agriculture, and community building while staying at and contributing to the ranch. The Roundhouse Foundation supports Oregon rural communities and the creativity, problem solving, and economic success that fosters positive change for sustained sense of place.
Ana Varas, PhD in Art History, specializes on tracking community-driven art practices that address pressing socio-political and ecological. Her research aims to understand the different levels in which engaged art operates in relation to aesthetic imperatives, institutional demands, socioeconomic and environmental ramifications and its political efficacy. She currently works as the Arts Project Coordinator for Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture (PMRCAA) where she oversees the Artist in Residency program. Operated by the Roundhouse Foundation, PMRCAA is a working ranch that strives to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures to find creative solutions to unique challenges and foster positive change. Its residency program invites artists, scientists, and scholars to explore nature, land conservation, historic preservation, agriculture, and community building while staying at and contributing to the ranch. The Roundhouse Foundation supports Oregon rural communities and the creativity, problem solving, and economic success that fosters positive change for sustained sense of place.
Thank you Donors, Patrons, and Volunteers!
Tina Green-Price and Mary McKillop
The LaSells Stewart Center / Giustina Gallery
Jerri Bartholomew, Gretchen Bracher, Mary Corp, Heidi Happonen, and Russell Karow
2022 Art About Agriculture Advisory Council
Betty Brose
The Betty Brose Art About Agriculture Fund
Gene and Cande Buccola
The Gene and Cande Buccola Art About Agriculture Purchase Award
Stella and James Coakley
The Sheldon L. Ladd Art About Agriculture Purchase Award
William Cook and Gwil Evans
The Roy D. Nielsen Art About Agriculture Award Fund
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center
Brenda and Gordon Hood
The Brenda and Gordon Hood Art About Agriculture Fund
Margaret Hogg
The Margaret Hogg Memorial Art About Agriculture Fund
Lamb Foundation
The Paul and Reese Lamb Memorial Art About Agriculture Award Fund
Helen Liu
Juror
Newport Visual Arts Center
Yelena Nowak
Juror, Oregon Trawl Commission
Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, Lincoln County Historical Society
Roundhouse Foundation
The Roundhouse Foundation Purchase Award
Staci Simonich
Office of the Dean, OSU College of Agricultural Sciences
David Stone
Juror, Food Innovation Center, OSU College of Agricultural Sciences
Gayle Strome
The Carey L. and Glen S. Strome Agricultural Art Memorial Purchase Award Fund
Amanda Triplett
Juror
Ana Varas
Juror, Roundhouse Foundation
May 26 Reception
Staci Simonich, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, addresses artists and visitors to the reception for the 39th Annual Art About Agriculture Tour.
