Watershed Center for Fine Art Publishing and Research

The research and education extension of the printmaking lab at Pacific Northwest College of Art, staffed and supported through the MFA in Print Media program.

Collaboration, Projects & Events

Professional fine art publishing in a center for higher learning

Watershed Center for Fine Art Publishing and Research is the research and education extension of the printmaking lab at Pacific Northwest College of Art, staffed and supported through the MFA in Print Media program.

Watershed welcomes visiting artists, researchers, and professional printers as well as the community to collaborate on editions and projects. Through Watershed, Print Media students and faculty are offered unique access to professional experiences working with contemporary artists, galleries, and museums on a range of projects and events.

The Watershed Center publishes printed editions and supports collaborative projects with resident artists and hosts visiting professional printers including James Reid from Gemini G.E.L., Maurice Sanchez from Derriere L’Etoile, and Paul Mullowney from Mullowney Printing.

The center also works with community based partners and nonprofits on projects that provide a deeper connection with local and regional community on issues that link with our research and values as an institution.

Working alongside professionals in the printmaking lab, in addition to taking on assistant positions, fellowships, and internships, it provides our students a unique viewpoint and support network in post-program career development.

Artists, Collaborations, and Community Projects

Watershed projects and programming are based on both invitation and opportunities that arise through our visiting artist lecture series, connected galleries and institutions, and our broad community of artists and creative makers.

Watershed welcomes one resident artist and/or collaborative project each semester that links into our Collaboration and Research course within the MFA in Print Media program. This course provides a curriculum that supports the confluence of ideas and experiences when professionals works side by side with students. Students work under the guidance of the director and professional printers to conduct research and take on publishing and printing tasks that develop throughout the year.

We also continue to support publishing projects on a yearly basis that not only provide experiences for our students, but also support a collection of work that is available for purchase that supports scholarships, fellowships, travel, as well as equipment purchase and research and development. The available collection can be found on this site or through contacting our staff directly.

Storm Tharp and students of the MFA in Print Media program with a large-scale print in Watershed studio

Watershed Featured Artists

  • Brad Brown
  • Sandow Birk
  • Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza (Dignidad Rebelde)
  • Sue Coe
  • Wayne Coyne
  • Modou Dieng
  • Don’t Shoot PDX (community collaborations)
  • Ernest (Collaboration with Stelo)
  • MK Guth
  • Tim Lehi
  • Israel Lund
  • Victor Maldonado
  • Mazatl
  • Jeffry Mitchell
  • Jenene Nagy
  • Nikki McClure
  • ​Monica Montgomery (Museum of Impact - Collaboration)
  • Alison Saar
  • Regina Silveira
  • Josh Smith
  • Eli Subrack (Assume Vivid Astro Focus)
  • Storm Tharp (Fall 2017 Artist in Residence)
  • Sharita Towne (Spring 2018 Artist in Residence)
  • Samantha Wall

Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Series

The Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Series presents an annual curated exhibition from the dynamic and expansive collection of over 9,000 contemporary prints from the Jordan D. Schnitzer Family Foundation at the Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. The series brings an invited artist in connection to the exhibition to engage with PNCA students, faculty, and the public through lectures, studio visits, and collaborations with the MFA in Print Media program. Through the series, Watershed is able to develop projects with artists who have work in the collection.

The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission it is to make the contemporary prints and multiples from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation accessible to qualified museums in diverse communities. Established in 1997, the Foundation has organized over 100 exhibitions that have been held at more than 75 museums. The Foundation also provides supplemental funding for education and outreach in conjunction with related exhibitions and publishes scholarly texts.

Giving

Please consider a gift to Watershed to support the research and development of students and faculty in Watershed and the MFA in Print Media.

Email to give

Watershed Staff

Matthew K. Letzelter
Director
mletzelter@willamette.edu

Matthew Letzelter, Director
Matthew Letzelter is a Portland, Oregon artist who explores his practice through works on paper, print, paintings and photography with a focus on abstracted landscapes. Matthew received his MFA in 2003 from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, and his BFA in 1998 from University of Florida, College of Fine Arts, Gainesville, Florida. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, where he is Chair of the MFA in Print Media Program and Director of Watershed Center For Fine Art Publishing and Research at PNCA. Prior to moving to Portland, Letzelter was the Master Printer at Stinger Editions and Visiting Professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, while also focusing research on digital print mediums. Before moving to Canada, Letzelter worked for Derrière L‘Étoile Studio in New York City as a professional fine art printer. He also worked for Petersburg Press and Suitcase Press in NYC.

Get in touch

For all questions regarding Watershed Center for Fine Art Publishing and Research at PNCA, please reach out to the center's director, Matthew Letzelter.


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