PNCA Reports $1 Million Gift from Brian Wannamaker of Falcon Art
June 09, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2015
CONTACT:
Becca Biggs
Director of Communications
bbiggs@pnca.edu
(971) 242-3860
PNCA Reports $1 Million Gift from Brian Wannamaker of Falcon Art
Portland, OR — June 8, 2015 – Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is pleased to announce a gift of $1 million from Brian Wannamaker, Portland-based developer and supporter of the arts.
PNCA recently signed a ten-year lease with Wannamaker for the first three floors of the 321 NW Glisan building. The 31,000 sq. foot space will house the College's wood, ceramic, and metal shops, MFA in Visual Studies studios, BFA thesis studios, and Post-Baccalaureate studios. Located just two blocks from PNCA’s campus flagship, the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design, the new facility is expected to be ready for students in August.
Wannamaker offered his gift of $1 million to be given over ten years as part of the collaborative development of the 321 NW Glisan building as a place that will foster creativity and enhance the neighborhood. “As our current generation depends on technology more than ever, I find it essential to empower imagination, creativity, and emotion. I could not miss the opportunity to engage with PNCA’s creative vision for the students and to support the artistic movement. 500+ creative students bridging Old Town and The Pearl will undoubtedly enhance an underutilized neighborhood,” says Brian Wannamaker. In addition to studios and the equipment and facilities needed for sculpture, there will be common spaces for social interaction, gallery space for student presentations, and community engagement.
“Partnerships of this sort are what sets Portland apart from many other places,” says PNCA President Tom Manley. “Brian really believes in the power of creativity and is passionate about the arts. By incorporating dynamic, art-supportive elements into his projects, he is willingly investing in the community's art ecology. For PNCA and for Portland, it is vital to have business partners like him.”
Wannamaker is known for his project, Falcon Art Community, which brought a languishing building in North Portland back to life as apartments while building studios for visual and musical artists in the build-out of the unused basement.
About PNCA
As Oregon’s flagship college of art and design since 1909, PNCA has helped shape the region’s visual arts landscape for more than a century. Today PNCA is a dynamic platform for 21st century art and design education at its new campus in the heart of downtown Portland. PNCA offers four BFA programs with ten concentrations, six graduate programs within the Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies, and a Post-Baccalaureate program.