Visual art is an artist’s way of communicating with the world. The audience experiences the art and in turn makes assumptions about the art and the artist, considering the success or value of their work. How can we go beyond evaluation and invite deeper insights and inquiry in our relationships with art, artists, and creativity? What do we lose when we view artists solely through the lens of the objects and images they create? What happens when we are provided context that uproots our preconceived expectations of an artist and their work?

In this workshop, participants will explore the uncharted territories within creative acceptance.  Artist and arts organizer Tammy Jo Wilson will facilitate conversation focused on art and artists, comparing the ways in which artists are seen or not seen, judged, categorized, and valued with the ways in which we often view ourselves. Wilson will share her experiences of learning to look beyond the objects and images to see the deep human experience that led to their creation. Through guided questioning and conversation we will explore cross-cultural collaborations as an opportunity for unexpected growth. Together we’ll discover the courage to be open to a broader spectrum of opportunity and potential within ourselves, our organizations, and our communities.

Advanced registration is required. Click here to register. 

About the Presenter

Tammy Jo Wilson is a black artist, curator, and arts organizer residing just south of Portland, Oregon in historic Oregon City. She received her BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and her MFA from San Jose State University. She co-curated the exhibit An Artistic Heritage in 2019, Art Makes History and You are Not a Robot in 2020. Wilson started the traveling exhibition, Black Matter in 2020; organizing six unique exhibits over two years featuring all Oregon-based black artists. Wilson is co-founder and President of the arts organization Art in Oregon. A statewide visual arts non-profit working to foster culturally rich regional communities through partnerships, advocacy, and investment in artists, businesses, educational spaces, and community spaces. Additionally, She has worked in the art department at Lewis & Clark College as the Visual Arts & Technology Program Manager for the past twelve years. In her own art practice, Wilson has exhibited her work nationally and was awarded the Leland Ironworks Golden Spot Artist Residency in 2017, performed in the SALT: Above a Whisper at Shaking the Tree Theater in 2018, and was featured in the two women exhibit Biological Dissonance at the Parrish Gallery in Newberg, Oregon in 2019. In 2022 she has solo exhibitions of her artwork in Salem at the Gretchen Schuette Gallery in January, Roger Hall Gallery at Willamette University from January-April, and  Bush Barn Arts Center, Focus Gallery in June.