LOW-RESIDENCY MFA IN VISUAL STUDIES Combine the benefits of an MFA and a visual arts residency in one experience. Create visual art at home throughout the year and immerse yourself in a close-knit arts community during summer residencies. The low-residency model is perfect for working professionals or those whose personal responsibilities prohibit them from moving for school. This is an arts education built for a busy lifestyle. Why choose a low-residency MFA at PNCA? • Personalized mentorship. Every student in the program is paired with a professional artist who will offer one-on-one guidance and support. • World-class visiting artist series. Internationally-known artists join each week of the Summer Residency for lectures, studio visits, and discussions. • Flexibility. This program is designed to fit into your life. Create work in your home studio – wherever home may be for you. Flannery Smith ’24
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Joe Bun Keo MFA ‘23
Joe Bun Keo is a multimedia visual artist. He has received a Real Art Award and a solo exhibition at Real Art Ways and is a recipient of the Artist Fellowship Emerging Recognition from the Connecticut Office of Arts. His work often features found objects and focuses on unpacking intergenerational trauma.
OUR FACULTY Our faculty members have received recognition from their peers in the art world and the general public. They have created impactful work and are engaged with their communities. Connect one-on-one to receive guidance on your creative journey. Learn from PNCA faculty and art professionals in the Portland community and beyond.
FACULTY HIGHLIGHTS Ryan Pierce
Chair of Low-Residency Visual Studies Ryan Pierce is a multidisciplinary artist whos paintings, prints, and experimental artist books draw on ecological theory, literature, and folk art. His work has earned grants from the Joan Mitchell and San Francisco Foundations and an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission. He was co-founder of Signal Fire, a group that facilitated wilderness residencies and retreats for artists of all disciplines, and was the founding director of Wide Open Studios, Signal Fire’s arts and ecology field program.
Takahiro Yamamoto Takahiro Yamamoto, a 2025 Creative Capital Fellowship awardee, is a multidisciplinary artist and choreographer exploring presence, visibility, and time in performance. His 2022 project NOTHINGBEING investigates how embodied performance strips away the “self,” revealing agency in nothingness, emphasizing opacity and spectatorship.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Schedule a meeting with the Graduate Admissions Team. go.willamette.edu/graduate-info
Julie Noyes Assistant Director of Recruitment Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies jmnoyes@willamette.edu | 503.821.8975
PNCA admits students of any race, color, and national or ethnic origin.