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The crème de la crème of Portland State University art students will be celebrated in an exhibition for winners of the Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize.
Olivia DelGandio, HD Garner and Michelle Jackson will have their art on display in the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU at an exhibition that will be on view Feb. 25-April 26.
The late Arlene Schnitzer established the prize in 2013 to recognize student achievement in the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design at PSU. The winners each receive a $4,100 prize. (The award is not to be confused with the Schnitzer Wonder Award, the $10,000 music prize that goes out annually to an organization that mentors emerging musicians.)
Out of 55 applications from art and design students, both undergraduate and graduate, a jury of faculty and art community members whittled the group down to the three winners, who were announced in August. Honorable mentions went to artists April Mirvis, Carolina Rhodes, Izaak Fazekas and Quinn Richards.
WW reached out to the three recipients to ask what winning the Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize means to them. Here’s what they said:
Olivia DelGandio recently earned a masters in art and social practice from PSU. Their work centers on collaboration, such as working with a group of queer teens on a fashion show:
“Winning the Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize feels like a bright light in a dark moment. To win this award for my practice that centers queer history and queer community, at this political moment, is proof that this work matters. It serves as a reminder that art is the thing that holds us together.”
HG Garner, a comics creator who “instills a sense of dread and unease through slow pacing and unconventional imagery while telling tales of horror:”
“For me, winning the prize is exciting because it further represents how there’s been a continuing positive change in how comics are being perceived in universities. I look forward to seeing how that perception changes further in the future and what it means for how comics are taught. Additionally, I hope that that shifting attitude can lead to a greater variety of comics being made.”
Michelle Jackson, a painter who identifies as queer and fat and “sees her work as a joyful rebellion against objectification while celebrating the undeniable beauty of all bodies:”
“Winning the Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize is an incredible validation—not just for me now, but for my younger self who always dreamed of being an artist. It’s a powerful reminder that I’m capable of more than I give myself credit for and others believe in both my work and my message of fat liberation through representation."
Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University, 1855 SW Broadway. 503-725-8013, pdx.edu/museum-of-art/. Feb. 25-April 26, with a public reception 5-7 pm Thursday, Feb. 27. Free.