The Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University was recently awarded an Arts Learning Grant to pilot free, school-based arts learning programs for high school students starting at Roosevelt High School in Portland. The $10,000 award is supported by the Oregon Arts Commission, a policy-making and advisory body within the Oregon Business Development Department, funded by the State of Oregon and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The PNCA Pre-College program will partner with Roosevelt High School, a Title I school in North Portland, on programming co-created by the PNCA Pre-College team and Roosevelt educators. This winter, Pre-College instructors will visit Roosevelt to present short artist talks and facilitate hands-on, collaborative creative workshops.
The project aims to increase student knowledge of viable creative career pathways, introduce accessible pathways to further arts learning, and bolster student engagement with creative practice. Participating Roosevelt students will leave with a deeper understanding of art as a beneficial personal practice and as a tool for building community, forging professional connections, and making change.
The new partnership reflects the mission of PNCA’s Pre-College programs to give high school students ages 14 to 18 the chance to explore art and design in a real college setting. With flexible options, like weekend workshops and summer intensives, students grow their creative skills, build a portfolio, and experience life at one of the top ranked art and design schools in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. Taught by professional artists, illustrators, animators, and designers, classes combine hands-on instruction with mentorship, community, and real-world relevance.
Work with Roosevelt began in December 2025 and will continue through the end of the spring 2026 semester. In early December, freelance illustrator and graphic recorder Fry led a writing and illustration workshop where Roosevelt students worked in pairs to illustrate a peer’s written description of an “Imaginary Friend.” The results were compiled into a 48-page zine, showcasing each illustration alongside the initial description.
In January, Grace Hartley MFA’27 will lead a chain-making workshop for Ceramics classes at Roosevelt. Students will create links to form one long, colorful ceramic chain, which will be displayed in the atrium of PNCA’s Main Campus in March.
In April and May, PNCA Pre-College will offer a free, eight-week after-school program at Roosevelt. Taught by Willamette professor and PNCA Pre-College instructor Claire Frances Spaulding MFA/MFA'25, this program will focus on creative professional development for emerging artists and designers.
