Assembly is a symposium of dynamic and thought-provoking experiences and socially-engaged collaborative projects presented by the MFA Art and Social Practice Program at Portland State University. Always free and open to the public, 2020 marks the seventh iteration of the annual conference.
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Assembly 2023
PSU Art and Social Practice
"ASSEMBLY is a free set of presentations, discussions, interventions, and activities that address topics related to art and social practice. Participants shape the collective experience by contributing to dialogue, group projects, and publications."
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Assembly 2022
Portland State University Art and Social Practice
Every year, the Portland State University Art and Social Practice (A+SP) MFA Program cohort endeavors to create a “conference” that presents socially engaged art and offers a forum for discussion around the field of Social Practice.* Starting in 2014, Assembly has provided students with a chance to create multiday gatherings full of participatory events, discussions, and presentations in various sites across Portland. However, Assembly has seen some major changes due to the ongoing pandemic. With that being said, it’s our honor to WELCOME YOU TO THE FIRST IN-PERSON ASSEMBLY SINCE 2019! Assembly is extra special this year, not only because we finally get to do it together in-person, but also because for the first time, it takes place entirely at The Dr Martin Luther King Jr School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA). KSMoCA is a contemporary art museum and social practice art project inside and in partnership with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School, a Pre K- 5th grade public school in NE Portland, OR. Founded in 2014 by Portland State University professors Lisa Jarrett and Harrell Fletcher, KSMoCA connects public school students with internationally renowned contemporary artists through collaborative workshops, exhibitions, artists lectures and site-specific commissions. Working within our own practices and having the opportunity to collaborate with the students of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr School this year has been memorable and inspiring. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on!
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Assembly TV 2021
Portland State University Art and Social Practice
This year our annual conference is presented as a television station dedicated to art and social practice. “Tune in” online and join us for discussions, workshops, interactive experiences, and participatory events. Programs include a houseplant show-and-tell with People’s Plant Museum, personal landmark making with Sign Club, an exploration of the speaking arts, sheep sounds, a showcase of $100 Projects, and a brain dive from our in-house stuntman.
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Assembly 2020
Portland State University Art and Social Practice
Since 2014, the Portland State University Art and Social Practice MFA students have put on an annual multi-day gathering of participatory events, discussions, and presentations highlighting our collaborative work and inspirations. To create this gathering, students select various sites around Portland, OR, in which to make and cultivate projects through existing relationships, curiosity, and chance encounters. Typically this has led us to many places around the city including a community center, city hall, a school, a panadería, a river, a senior center, and more.
This year is different.
This book archives a moment in which we can’t create that in-person live moment of collaboration. After a year of careful planning, this year’s collaboration with the King School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA) had to quickly shift gears due to the global pandemic and social distancing measures. Instead, we are sharing new work that has emerged in this context, as well as new conversations with existing projects and collaborations.
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Assembly 2017
Portland State University Art and Social Practice
Assembly 2017 took place in 3 locations connected to the Columbia River Slough
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Assembly 2016
Portland State University Art and Social Practice
"ASSEMBLY is a free four-day set of presentations, discussions, interventions, and activities that address topics related to art and social practice. Participants shape the collective experience by contributing to dialogue, group projects, and publications."
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Assembly 2015
Portland State University Art and Social Practice
"Assembly is a five-day set of presentations, discussions, interventions, and activities addressing and exploring topics related to art and social practice.
The wide variety of public events is organized and curated by Portland State University Art and Social Practice MFA faculty, students, alumni, and partners. Venues include various locations on the PSU campus and surrounding institutions. A major focus of the conference is the connection between photography and social practice, with multiple events featuring projects by photographers from the Magnum agency made in conjunction with MFA students. This includes a special collaborative curation of their ongoing project Postcards From America for the inaugural exhibition at King School Museum of Contemporary Art—a museum in a functioning Portland Public K-8 School. An Assembly publication and website will create a formalized framework that the semi-autonomous activities exist within. All events are free and open to the public."
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Assembly 2014
Portland State University Art and Social Practice
"Assembly: a social practice get together. Assembly is a participatory art and social practice gathering that unfolds over the course of a weekend. Participants in Assembly take an active role in creating the collective experience by contributing to dialogue, group projects and publications."
