There’s always something exciting happening at the School of Art + Design! From guest lectures and conferences to exhibitions, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Most events are free and open to the public. Stay informed about the latest happenings by joining our email list to receive updates on upcoming events.
9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
A BFA Thesis show by Zoe Maitland, Ava Murakami, Gabe Sames, and Luke Schafer.
Zoe Maitland explores nostalgia, intimacy, and the fleeting in-between moments of young women’s lives through photography. Guided by a playful and spontaneous approach, her work captures connection and the beauty of everyday life. Through personal yet familiar imagery, she offers up the world as she sees it, reflecting on the tenderness and complexity of ordinary moments.
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Ava Murakami’s practice explores how oil painting can translate subtle exchanges between people in public spaces, focusing on nuanced and often overlooked moments of human connection. Through figurative painting, she captures fleeting encounters between friends and strangers alike, using composition, color, and form to reveal emotional narratives within everyday life.
Working through a slow and deliberate oil painting process, Murakami’s work responds to the speed and distraction of contemporary life by encouraging viewers to pause, reflect, and look more closely. Using photographic references influenced by snapshot and street photography, she extends and preserves transient moments through paint, transforming ordinary interactions into lasting and meaningful observations. Her practice is informed by themes of attention, temporality, and the quiet significance of daily human experience.
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Gabriel Sames creates abstract expressionist oil paintings directed by his own original music. Drawing from alternative R&B and electronic instrumentation, these saturated works utilize soft fluid forms and hard defined shapes to capture the internal conflict between delayed growth and future regret. By composing the music along with the visual marks, the canvases become devices for capturing the unseen, presenting the viewer with a language previously intangible.
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Luke Schafer explores spatial relations of geometric forms through experimentation. Through his inquisitive process he creates geometric assemblies that integrate the body as another element to be spliced into the composition.
4:00 p.m.
University of Oregon 2025-26 Visiting Artist Lecture Series Presented by the Department of Art and Center for Art Research
Allan Wexler’s work mediates the gap between fine and applied art using the mediums of architecture, sculpture, photography, painting, and drawing. Wexler’s work is sometimes functional, sometimes theoretical, and often performative. In all cases, it demonstrates a commitment to reevaluating basic assumptions about the human relationship to the built and natural environments.
In the late 1960s Allan Wexler was an early member of the group of architects and artists who questioned the perceived divide between art and the design disciplines. They called themselves non-architects or paper architects. The subject of Wexler's work is the built environment. He creates drawings, multimedia objects, images, and installations that alter perceptions of domestic activities. Wexler is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (2016), is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, and a winner of both a Chrysler Award for Design Innovation and the Henry J. Leir Prize from the Jewish Museum. Wexler currently teaches at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He is represented by the Jane Lombard Gallery in New York City where he had a solo exhibition from January through March of 2025.
Made possible by the Department of Art, the Department of Product Design, and the Bob James Ceramics Fund.
4:00 p.m.
Filmlandia Masterclass Presented by University Film Society
Join Cinema Studies for a talk with Brian McWhorter, UO Professor of Music and Director of Orchestra Next. He’ll share his process for composing a score for Ed’s Coed (1929), the first feature film produced by students in the US and filmed at the UO. The musical score features early twentieth-century songs and McWhorter’s original compositions.
Cosponsored by: Harlan J. Strauss Visiting Filmmaker Endowment; Department of Art; Department of Comparative Literature; Department of English; Department of History; Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies; Native American and Indigenous Studies; Folklore and Public Culture Program; School of Journalism and Communication; Art House Theater; DUX Present; Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art; Julie and Rocky Dixon Chair of U.S. Western History; and Oregon Humanities Center’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities.
7:00 p.m.
Filmlandia Screening Series presents: Ed's Coed (1929) with a live musical accompaniment by Orchestra Next. Free and open to the public.
Directed by Carvel Nelson and James Raley | 74 min
Synopsis: Ed’s father wished for him to attend college, but he’s reluctant to leave the family sawmill until he sees his cousin with a pretty co-ed. The sophomores have hazing on their mind when country boy Ed matriculates, but he won’t be deterred.
The movie was filmed on the UO campus.
The Department of Cinema Studies and the University Film Society celebrate Oregon’s rich film heritage with a new screening series showcasing movies with a unique Oregon connection—from locally shot features to stories written or directed by Oregon filmmakers. Discover Oregon’s reel legacy on the big screen while connecting with the university film community.
Cosponsored by: Harlan J. Strauss Visiting Filmmaker Endowment; Department of Art; Department of Comparative Literature; Department of English; Department of History; Department of Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies; Native American and Indigenous Studies; Folklore and Public Culture Program; School of Journalism and Communication; Art House Theater; DUX Present; Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art; Julie and Rocky Dixon Chair of U.S. Western History; and Oregon Humanities Center’s Endowment for Public Outreach in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities.
5:00–7:00 p.m.
Department of Product Design Open House Showcasing the work of MS Sports Product Design | BFA Product Design Come explore work by Fourth-Year BFA Product Design students and First- and Second-Year MS Sports Product Design students. Enjoy food, refreshments, and great conversations with our student designers. All are welcome- please join us- we hope to see you there!
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Department of Product Design Studio Reviews Showcasing the work of BFA in Product Design Juniors Come explore work by BFA in Product Design Juniors. All are welcome- please join us!
5:00–7:00 p.m.
Spring Storm is the School of Art + Design's annual end-of-year exhibition and celebrates the culminating work of senior students completing degrees in Art, Art & Technology, and Product Design.
Engaging a broad range of art and design practices, the work reflects the pluralism of contemporary culture and the dynamism of their curiosity and engagement.
Spring Storm marks a pivotal moment for graduating seniors, celebrating their college experience and launching them into a lifetime of creative thinking and innovative action.
The School is also pleased to host Product Design juniors at Spring Storm, who will be selling their sustainability-focused designs with proceeds benefiting the McKenzie River Trust.
Special thanks to Art & Technology student Caroline Ballard (BA, 2026) for the Spring Storm 2026 logo design.