Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize Exhibition
The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation created the Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prizes in 2013 to help raise awareness of the quality of art education at PSU and to honor the late Arlene Schnitzer, who was a devoted and inspired leader of art and culture in Portland. For the Prize's ninth year, a jury composed of PSU School of Art + Design faculty and representative professionals from the art and design community reviewed 30 applications from art and design undergraduate and graduate students to award first, second, and third place prizes to the top students. This year, Gigi Woolery, Nolan Hanson, and Maria Wehdeking were awarded the prestigious prizes.
Gigi Woolery is a multidisciplinary artist working out of Portland, OR. Their art has been included in group shows in Portland, Los Angeles, and New York, and has been featured in local and national print and online publications. Gigi leads workshops on textile dyeing and repair aiming to bring hyperlocal knowledge and deep care for land to their art pedagogy. They will receive their BFA in Art Practice from Portland State in fall 2021.
Nolan Hanson is an artist based in New York City. Their practice includes independent work as well as collaborative socially engaged projects and has been shown in New York, Chicago, Cincinnati, San Francisco, and Portland. Nolan is the founder of Trans Boxing, an art project in the form of a boxing club that centers on trans and gender-variant people. The project shifts in response to context and conditions to continuously reimagine possibilities for social engagement. They received their BFA in Painting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2014. In 2021 they graduated from the Art and Social Practice MFA program at Portland State University.
Maria Wehdeking is a Colombian illustrator and designer based in Portland, Oregon. As an undergraduate in the School of Art + Design at Portland State University, she is involved in the International Cultural Service Program – a scholarship program where she uses her artistic skills to promote and recognize her Colombian heritage through cultural presentations and the creation of graphic elements. She also works as part of the PSU Campus Rec marketing team, where she is the creative mind behind campaigns promoting student health and wellbeing. She will receive her BFA in Graphic Design in winter 2022.
