Museum of Contemporary Craft Announces New Grants to Launch 75th Anniversary Exhibition Celebration

February 11, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2011

CONTACT:
Leslie Miller, External Relations Specialist
Pacific Northwest College of Art
lmiller@pnca.edu 503-821-8959

Becca Biggs, Director of Communications
Pacific Northwest College of Art
bbiggs@pnca.edu 503-821-8892

Museum of Contemporary Craft Announces New Grants to Launch 75th Anniversary Exhibition Celebration

PORTLAND, OR – February 11, 2011 – Museum of Contemporary Craft was recently awarded several major grants as it prepares to launch its 75th anniversary celebration with the retrospective exhibition, Laurie Herrick: Weaving Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow on March 17, 2011.

The Museum, founded in 1937 as a crafts gallery by artist and educator Lydia Herrick Hodge along with a dedicated group of women volunteers, has been awarded a grant of $100,000 over two years from the Meyer Memorial Trust. This grant will support the Museum’s anniversary exhibition season, which begins with the Herrick exhibition in March 2011 and extends through the retrospective of work by the Oregon ceramicist Betty Feves that will conclude in June 2012.

“This award from the Meyer Memorial Trust will enable the Museum to bring extraordinary programming to the community during the next 16 months to honor the history of the Museum and craft in the Pacific Northwest,” said Tom Manley, who serves as CEO of the Museum and president of Pacific Northwest College of Art. Since 2009, a partnership between PNCA and the Museum has acted to support operations at the Museum and provide learning opportunities for students.

Other recent awards include a challenge grant of $50,000 over two years from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation in support of new and increased membership and annual fund gifts, $10,000 from the PGE Foundation for membership development, $10,000 from the Bank of America Foundation for exhibition support, and $12,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation to support grant and fundraising development.

ABOUT MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFT
Committed to the advancement of craft since 1937, Museum of Contemporary Craft in partnership with Pacific Northwest College of Art is one of Oregon’s oldest cultural institutions. Centrally located in Portland’s Pearl District, the Museum is nationally acclaimed for its curatorial program and is a vibrant center for investigation and dialogue, expanding the definition of craft and the way audiences experi¬ence it.

ABOUT PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART
Since its founding in 1909, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) has become a leader in innovative educational programs that connect students to a global perspective in the visual arts and design. In addition to its nine Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, PNCA offers graduate education with an MFA in Visual Studies, as well as an MFA in Applied Craft and Design developed in collaboration with Oregon College of Art and Craft.

PNCA is actively involved in Portland’s cultural life through exhibitions and a vibrant public program of lectures and internationally recognized visiting artists, designers and creative thinkers. With the support of PNCA+FIVE (Ford Institute for Visual Education), the College has a partnership with the nationally acclaimed Museum of Contemporary Craft. For more information, visit www.pnca.edu.