Department of Art Events

New Work by:

Yalda Eskandari

Sevaan Perrow

New work by Geordi Helmick.

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*Note: UO ID card with building access is required to gain entry to Washburn Gallery.*

Presented by the Center for Art Research The Whisperers January 17- February 15, 2026 curated by Tannaz Farsi and Simone Ciglia

Saturday, January 17 Curator walkthrough from 4:30-5:00 p.m. Opening reception from 5:00- 7:00 p.m.

Gallery Hours: Saturdays & Sundays from noon- 4:00 p.m. and by appointment Location: Ditch Projects, 303 S 5th St #165, Springfield, OR 97477

To whisper is to hold words in the mouth, away from the vocal cords, letting them rumble, mutter, whistle or hiss out into the world, often into the ear of another, intent on receiving. This act is sometimes seen as clandestine; a private form of communication intended to incite and arouse rebellion. In this exhibition, we see its potential for arousal as a means of creation: to establish networks of tangential affinities, to parallel multiple modes of artistic and curatorial practice that can expand the potential for historical recovery, and to acknowledge longstanding systems of oppression by engaging practices that assert their own terms of representing subjecthood and empowering sovereignty.   

We began the idea for this exhibition by gathering artworks that initiate forms of address through traces of past events in existing archives or document singular moments that necessitate the creation of new archives. This methodology, one that the art historian Hal Foster observed within art practice at the turn of this century, links current contemporary works to early 20th century during which time artists began to unveil the symbolic and, subsequently, the semiotic conditions of objects and images produced, manufactured or advertised within the public sphere. 

Following their own archival impulses, the artists in this exhibition have developed practices centered on searching, gathering and instituting connections. They research existing archives, retrieving different typologies of information to reconfigure in their artworks. In this process, they interrogate the institution of organized historical collecting by shedding light on its biases, amnesias, and oversights.

This exhibition is made possible by the University of Oregon Department of Art’s Center for Art Research and the Ford Family Foundation. 

The School of Art + Design annual Career Futures event connects students with professionals who represent career paths in arts, art and technology, and product design. Professionals share their career-path stories, their experiences in their fields/industries, and their advice for students.

Panel Discussions- open to all students: 10:00- 11:30 a.m.  Product Design Panel Discussion in LA 197 12:00- 1:30 p.m.  Art Panel Discussion in LA 274 2:00- 3:30 p.m.  Art & Technology Panel Discussion in LA 197

Post-Panel Sessions- registration required for portfolio review sessions: 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.  Product Design Portfolio Review Session in LA 197 1:30- 2:30 p.m.  Art “Ask Me Anything” Session in LA 274 (no registration required) 3:30- 4:30 p.m.  Art & Technology Portfolio Reviews Session in LA 197

Please visit the College’s “College of Design Career Week” page for links to the post-panel session registrations and information about the panlists.

Coffee and pastries served at each panel. We look forward to seeing you at Career Futures!

The School of Art + Design’s annual Career Futures event connects students with professionals across art, art + technology, and product design. Panelists will share their career paths, professional experiences, and advice for students.

Open to all students

Date: Friday, January 30 Time: 12:00–1:30 p.m. Location: Lawrence Hall, Room 274 (LA 274)

Panelists:  Derek Franklin, vanessa german, Jess Perlitz 

Moderator:  Anya Kivarkis

More information about the panelists: https://design.uoregon.edu/college-design-career-week#A+D

Coffee and pastries will be served. We look forward to seeing you at Career Futures!

The School of Art + Design’s annual Career Futures event connects students with professionals across art, art + technology, and product design. Panelists will share their career paths, professional experiences, and advice for students.

Open to all students

Date: Friday, January 30 Time: 2:00–3:30 p.m. Location: Lawrence Hall, Room 197 (LA 197)

Panelists:  Nina Pavlich, McKenzie Sampson, Finn Sylwester 

Moderator: Colin Ives

More information about the panelists: https://design.uoregon.edu/college-design-career-week#A+D

Coffee and cookies will be served. We look forward to seeing you at Career Futures!

University of Oregon 2025-26 Visiting Artist Lecture Series Presented by the Department of Art and Center for Art Research

The lecture will be followed by an exhibition reception for Reza Safavi in the Laverne Krause Gallery.

Reza Safavi’s research examines how technology shapes experience. He uses sculpture, video, game engines, light, sound, drawing, performance, analog and digital devices as well as elements of the natural world to create interactive experiences that highlight the interfaces, both macro and micro, among communities, technology, consciousness and the environment. Receiving his MFA from the UO in 2006, Reza is thrilled to return to give a talk on his work and where he has been for the last 20 years.

Reza Safavi’s practice is shaped by a hybrid sense of identity. Raised in Canada after the Multiculturalism Act of 1988, he explores cultural juxtapositions through material and digital forms. Living and working in the U.S., he continues this inquiry through research and practice. Reza has been a member of several artists’ groups and, in addition to his solo work, he regularly participates in making of collaborative projects. His artwork has been exhibited and presented regionally nationally and internationally in diverse venues ranging from galleries and museums to public installations and performances. He is Professor of Art at Washington State University and holds an MFA from the University of Oregon (2006) and a BFA from the University of Victoria, in Victoria, BC, Canada.

This lecture and exhibition are made possible by the Laverne Krause Lectures and Exhibitions endowment.