The Shortcut - Events in Oregon

Curated by Tannaz Farsi and Simone Ciglia
Featuring: Noor Abuarafeh | Shadi Harouni | Laura Larson | MoRE | Zora Murff | Gala Porras-Kim | Wendy Red Star | Marco Scotini | Service Works | Stephanie Syjuco

Opening Event – Saturday, January 17
Curator Walkthrough: 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Reception: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The “archival impulse,” an essay by Hal Foster, animated a significant trend in contemporary art since the early 2000s. This opened an unorthodox use of the archive through a multiplicity of methodological and aesthetic strategies which included critiquing and dismantling the alleged neutrality of the institution by highlighting its gaps, absences, and biases; expanding representation to include suppressed and peripheral histories; and complicating the construction of the archive through fiction and speculation.

Produced by the Center for Art Research at the University of Oregon, The Whisperers considers experimental practices imformed by the archive in recent contemporary art. The featured works by national and international artists challenge the conventions of the archive by reanimating exclusionary histories defined by patriarchy or colonial oppression, addressing forms of disobedience and resistance, and incorporating the refused and unrealized.

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

New Zone Gallery – January Events

In addition to the eclectic mix of contemporary and traditional art created by the New Zone members shown at the New Zone Gallery, located in our beautiful space at 110 East 11th, we will be hosting two Featured Artists and one special exhibit during the month of January. Opening reception is Friday, January 2nd during the First Friday Artwalk complete with live music, libations and hors d’oeuvres. Hope to see you there!

Dagmar Maston – Layer by Layer

What’s it all about?: “Art for Art’s Sake” best describes the approach to my chosen expression of creativity. I am most myself when I forget myself in the process of creating unique papers, dismantling and reassembling them into art works called collage.
 
Luka Blakeslee – “A place in time; as seen by a trespasser in the land of death"

The decay of the world around us and the unique ability of the camera to capture the state of its subject permanently.
 
And in the Klausmeier Room – New Works by Jerry Ross

Local artist Jerry Ross, just returned from a tour of Italy, presents “New Works” that include “Bardos” (Bodhisattva), experimental landscapes, small portraits, & sketches.

The New Zone Gallery is located on the corner of Oak St and 11th Ave in Eugene. We are open every day except Monday, 12-6 pm.

See more at newzonegallery.org.

Followed by Q&A at the museum in the galleries
Join this artist talk with poet, performance artist, and sculptor, Vanessa German whose artwork is on view at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) in the exhibition Love, Desire, and Sorrow: Artworks from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation.
Artist Vanessa German’s sculptures evoke power figures to examine class, race, and gender. Her assemblages often include found objects such as rhinestones and antique figurines to reference colonial histories. In German’s artwork, past and present coalesce in an artistic gesture that fosters dialogue and memory and calls for equality and justice.
Her work has been exhibited at The Andy Warhol Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, McNay Art Museum, and the Carnegie Museum of Art, among others.
Let us know you are coming: https://jsma.uoregon.edu/form/artist-talk-rsvp

Curated by Tannaz Farsi and Simone Ciglia
Featuring: Noor Abuarafeh | Shadi Harouni | Laura Larson | MoRE | Zora Murff | Gala Porras-Kim | Wendy Red Star | Marco Scotini | Service Works | Stephanie Syjuco

Opening Event – Saturday, January 17
Curator Walkthrough: 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Reception: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The “archival impulse,” an essay by Hal Foster, animated a significant trend in contemporary art since the early 2000s. This opened an unorthodox use of the archive through a multiplicity of methodological and aesthetic strategies which included critiquing and dismantling the alleged neutrality of the institution by highlighting its gaps, absences, and biases; expanding representation to include suppressed and peripheral histories; and complicating the construction of the archive through fiction and speculation.

Produced by the Center for Art Research at the University of Oregon, The Whisperers considers experimental practices imformed by the archive in recent contemporary art. The featured works by national and international artists challenge the conventions of the archive by reanimating exclusionary histories defined by patriarchy or colonial oppression, addressing forms of disobedience and resistance, and incorporating the refused and unrealized.

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

Join us for an intimate gathering as artist Victoria Smits gives insights into her work and practice. Her exhibition Be Right Back is on display at Scalehouse Gallery January 9 - February 27, 2026.

Victoria Smits is an interdisciplinary artist and writer living in Eugene, Oregon. Her practice begins in attention: what she sees, what she notices, what energies affect her body. Smits explores the intersection of these conceptual discoveries with research-driven work including installation, textiles, sculpture, video, sound, drawing, and writing. Smits’ work has been shown at Manchester Craft and Design Centre, UK, Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Old Stonehouse in Brooklyn, NY, and Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA, among others. Smits' poetry can be found in the edited collection, Gone Feral: Unruly Women and the Undoing of Normative Femininity through Demeter Press. She studied English, Art, and Secondary Education at Calvin University, received an MA in English Education with a concentration in creative writing from University of Buffalo, and an MFA through the School of Art Institute of Chicago.

Scalehouse Gallery
550 NW Franklin Avenue, Suite 138 Bend, OR 97702
Feb 5, 2026, 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

STREET SCENES: TWO PERSPECTIVES
Photographs from Eugene, Oregon and Vienna, Austria
By Richard Hassett and Doremus Scudder

Join the artists for the Opening Reception of Street Scenes: Two Perspectives.
Midtown Arts Center Gallery
174 E 16th Av, Eugene (corner of Oak St)
5:30-8:30 pm, during the First Friday Artwalk
hors d'oeuvres and libations served

Eugene photographers Richard Hassett and Doremus Scudder join forces to present distinctly different views of the urban environment. Color vs. black-and-white; digital capture vs film; Europe vs the United States, with and without people; approaches that might seem to be polar opposites, yet are somehow complementary through the harmony of subject matter and the well-ordered, geometrical compositions common to both. Here, two photographers with different styles present their visual insights into the often-overlooked aspects of two cities they are intimately familiar with.

Curated by Tannaz Farsi and Simone Ciglia
Featuring: Noor Abuarafeh | Shadi Harouni | Laura Larson | MoRE | Zora Murff | Gala Porras-Kim | Wendy Red Star | Marco Scotini | Service Works | Stephanie Syjuco

Opening Event – Saturday, January 17
Curator Walkthrough: 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Reception: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The “archival impulse,” an essay by Hal Foster, animated a significant trend in contemporary art since the early 2000s. This opened an unorthodox use of the archive through a multiplicity of methodological and aesthetic strategies which included critiquing and dismantling the alleged neutrality of the institution by highlighting its gaps, absences, and biases; expanding representation to include suppressed and peripheral histories; and complicating the construction of the archive through fiction and speculation.

Produced by the Center for Art Research at the University of Oregon, The Whisperers considers experimental practices imformed by the archive in recent contemporary art. The featured works by national and international artists challenge the conventions of the archive by reanimating exclusionary histories defined by patriarchy or colonial oppression, addressing forms of disobedience and resistance, and incorporating the refused and unrealized.

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

Curated by Tannaz Farsi and Simone Ciglia
Featuring: Noor Abuarafeh | Shadi Harouni | Laura Larson | MoRE | Zora Murff | Gala Porras-Kim | Wendy Red Star | Marco Scotini | Service Works | Stephanie Syjuco

Opening Event – Saturday, January 17
Curator Walkthrough: 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Reception: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The “archival impulse,” an essay by Hal Foster, animated a significant trend in contemporary art since the early 2000s. This opened an unorthodox use of the archive through a multiplicity of methodological and aesthetic strategies which included critiquing and dismantling the alleged neutrality of the institution by highlighting its gaps, absences, and biases; expanding representation to include suppressed and peripheral histories; and complicating the construction of the archive through fiction and speculation.

Produced by the Center for Art Research at the University of Oregon, The Whisperers considers experimental practices imformed by the archive in recent contemporary art. The featured works by national and international artists challenge the conventions of the archive by reanimating exclusionary histories defined by patriarchy or colonial oppression, addressing forms of disobedience and resistance, and incorporating the refused and unrealized.

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

Curated by Tannaz Farsi and Simone Ciglia
Featuring: Noor Abuarafeh | Shadi Harouni | Laura Larson | MoRE | Zora Murff | Gala Porras-Kim | Wendy Red Star | Marco Scotini | Service Works | Stephanie Syjuco

Opening Event – Saturday, January 17
Curator Walkthrough: 4:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Reception: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The “archival impulse,” an essay by Hal Foster, animated a significant trend in contemporary art since the early 2000s. This opened an unorthodox use of the archive through a multiplicity of methodological and aesthetic strategies which included critiquing and dismantling the alleged neutrality of the institution by highlighting its gaps, absences, and biases; expanding representation to include suppressed and peripheral histories; and complicating the construction of the archive through fiction and speculation.

Produced by the Center for Art Research at the University of Oregon, The Whisperers considers experimental practices imformed by the archive in recent contemporary art. The featured works by national and international artists challenge the conventions of the archive by reanimating exclusionary histories defined by patriarchy or colonial oppression, addressing forms of disobedience and resistance, and incorporating the refused and unrealized.

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

Cinderella is a timeless fairy tale of hope and love. In Toni Pimble’s ballet, the Fairy Godmother and the fairies of the four seasons guide Cinderella’s journey from hardship to the royal ball. Featuring stunning costumes and impressive choreography, this production is performed with live music as Orchestra NEXT performs Sergei Prokofiev’s beloved Cinderella score.