Assembly 2022

Since 2014, the Portland State University Art + Social Practice MFA students have co-authored an annual multi-day gathering of participatory events, discussions, and presentations highlighting our collaborative work and inspirations. To create this gathering, students make and cultivate projects through existing relationships, curiosity, and chance encounters. In the past this has led us to many places around the city including a community center, city hall, a school, a panadería, a river, a senior center, and more. 

This year Assembly is in collaboration with the Dr Martin Luther King Jr School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA). The event is an extension of our return to in-person engagement with the school’s students and community. This will also be our first “hybrid” Assembly event with in-person and virtual access to the programming. We will share new work that has emerged in this context, as well as new conversations within existing projects and collaborations at this site. The PSU 2022 Art + Social Practice MFA graduating class will also present public talks about their work as part of the program.

About KSMoCA
The Dr Martin Luther King Jr School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA), is a contemporary art museum and social practice art project inside, and in partnership with, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School, a Pre K-5th grade public school in NE Portland, Oregon. Founded in 2014 by Portland State University professors Lisa Jarrett and Harrell Fletcher, KSMoCA connects public school students with internationally renowned contemporary artists through collaborative workshops, exhibitions, artists lectures and site-specific commissions. Students learn through experience about museum practice and careers in the arts by participating as curators, preparators, artists, gallerists, writers, and docents.

KSMoCA reimagines the way museums, public schools, and universities can affect people, culture, and perspectives by creating radical intersections for sharing resources across organizations. Programs are developed collaboratively with the Dr MLK Jr School community, PSU students, and a team of supporting artists.

Please visit here for the Assembly schedule and virtual access information.

Assembly in-person Location: 
Dr Martin Luther King Jr Elementary School
4906 NE 6th Ave
Portland, OR 97211
United States 

About Art + Social Practice at PSU / About KSMoCA.

*Image above: Six elementary school students running inside from recess in front of a red brick elementary school building with large windows. The building’s windows include black and white drawings of the school’s students by artist Kate Bingaman-Burt.