Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) is a private, non-profit college in Portland, Oregon, United States that grants degrees in Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and certificates in book arts, ceramics, drawing and painting, fibers, metals, photography and wood. The college also offers an Artist-in-Residence program and provides continuing education in the arts to the local community. It was founded by Julia Christiansen Hoffman, a photographer, painter, sculptor, metal worker and weaver, out of her desire to foster the Arts and Crafts movement through classes and exhibitions.
History
OCAC campus - video of the beautiful Oregon College of Art and Craft campus just outside of Portland, Oregon USA.
The college was founded in September 1907 as the Arts and Crafts Society. Initial classes were held in the homes of members of the society, and included classes on sculpting, painting, metal works, and photography, among others. The school moved to a permanent site in Downtown Portland, the Kramer Building, in 1934 before merging with the Allied Art and Metal Guild in 1952. After the merger, the combined schools moved to Northwest Portland where in 1962 they moved into a larger space at a former hospital building.
The school grew and became known as the Oregon School of Arts & Crafts in 1978. Also that year, the school expanded its campus, adding 46,000 square feet (4,300Â m2) of space at a cost of $1.5 million. Architect John Storrs designed the new campus. The college began offering a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1994. In 1996, the school changed its name to reflect its college status, from Oregon School of Art and Craft to the Oregon College of Art and Craft.
About 2005 the school started a capital campaign in order to raise over $14 million to expand the campus and double the size of their facilities. Plans called for a new library and studios for their painting, drawing, and photography programs that would add 55,000 square feet (5,100Â m2) of space on campus. In September 2008, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the 15,000 square feet (1,400Â m2) studios building, with plans calling for completion in summer 2009. The building opened in September 2010 as the Jean Vollum Drawing, Painting and Photography Building. Plans for the new library, however, fell through for the time being.
OCAC announced a joint master's in fine art program for applied craft and design with the Pacific Northwest College of Art in October 2008. College president Bonnie Laing Malcolmson announced her resignation in December 2009, effective May 2010. Denise Mullen was then named as president of the school in June 2010, with her taking office on August 23. The college added a masters in fine arts in applied craft and design offered in collaboration with the Pacific Northwest College of Art. in 2011. Starting in the fall 2013 OCAC started offering a Master in Fine Arts in craft.
Academics
Enrollment in the BFA program ranges from 140-200 full-time students. Most students are between 18 and 27 years old. The college's MFA program currently holds 10 full-time students and is expected to double with the upcoming second year of students. The Continuing Education and Art Adventures children's programs serve more than 2,000 students per year.
The school is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design(AICAD) and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). The school's library has more than 9,000 books and is a member of the Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS).
Degree and certificate areas
- Book arts
- Ceramics
- Drawing
- Painting
- Fiber art
- Metalworking
- Photography
- Woodworking
Faculty
OCAC employs around 15 full-time faculty and 8 part-time faculty in the degree program, as well as a number of instructors in the Studio School continuing education program.
Campus
OCAC is located on a wooded 9.5-acre (38,000Â m2) campus, approximately 3 miles from Downtown Portland in unincorporated Washington County. The campus was designed by Barbara Fealy, a landscape architect, and John Storrs, a Portland architect.
Centrum
The Centrum is the primary building and hub of the campus. It houses the front desk, school shop, the Hoffman Gallery, the campus' IT office and computer lab, and Nicoletta's Cafe.
Cafe
OCAC has long held a strong relationship with the Hands On Cafe, serving the campus gourmet comfort foods for many years. With the retirement of a family member, the family owning the café decided not to renew their contract with the college in late 2013. Beginning on January 20, 2014, Leather Storrs, son of architect John Storrs, took up a lease with the college for the café space, continuing his family's legacy and connection to OCAC. Storrs' Eight|Three|One Cafe serves similarly styled food to the Hands On team, maintaining the rustic at-home feel the campus provides.
Library
The OCAC Library is located in the Yellow House, owned by the college. Residing in the basement level of the remodeled house, the library provides access to a unique collection of diverse resources that support curricular and research activities at OCAC. The library currently holds more than 10,000 materials, including books, student theses, media, ephemera and more pertaining to fine art and craft. The library houses a slide library made up of 28,000 slides. They also subscribe to over 90 periodicals (magazines) and four primary art databases for community use. The library is also a participating member of the Washington County Cooperative Library Services, which gives OCAC students, faculty and staff access to over a million library resources and dozens of additional databases. Although the Library is dedicated to supporting the College community, it is also open to the public for research and checkout.
The library facility is currently staffed by a librarian (the Director of library Services) and 8-10 student workers. Operating from 9am to 5pm most days, the librarian assists students in research of art, craft, technique and more. In addition, staff hold events in the library and on campus. These include knitting circles, resume workshops, class lectures, and other events to support the students' progress through their education.
Art On the Vine
Art On the Vine is OCAC's yearly gala and fundraiser. All proceeds directly support scholarship funding for BFA and MFA students, and for youth attending OCAC's Jordan Schnitzer Family Art Adventures Camps. The event features a silent auction of roughly 120 pieces of art (including student works, faculty, alum, local artists and beyond) and roughly 35 wine packages.
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