Oregon Center for the Arts Presents Other Worlds at the Schneider Museum of Art

We are pleased to present “Other World/s,” a group exhibition curated by me highlighting the work of Heather Lee Birdsong, Ben Buswell, Alex Ito, and Stacy Jo Scott. “Other World/s” is an attempt to capture the essence of an alternate or parallel universe. This is often explored through science fiction writing as Patrick Collier, our exhibition essayist, shares in his essay.

In our current times, many individuals have shared that they feel like the world has been turned upside down, shifted or rearranged in various ways.

Contemporary art reflects the world and its complex issues. It challenges viewers and promotes critical thinking. The artists in this exhibition have been chosen because their artworks yields a doubletake and promotes contemplation. The work makes us more aware of our histories, current surroundings, and asks us to question our possible futures. The work is both poetic and dynamic. The exhibition illustrates an alternate universe but is grounded in this one.

I have often shared that artists are like science fiction writers. They can invent and create without restrictions. Unlike a designer, an artist’s creation does not have to be about ergonomics or functionalality. Artists are not bound by rules. They are free to create and explore. Long before we held cell phones in our hands, science fiction writers have written about them. This ‘outside of the box’ thinking and creativity is vital to who we are. Artists create and influence others in various ways. I hope this exhibition gives our viewers an affirmation that our world has indeed changed.

The Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University is a hub of creativity, education, and community engagement. As an academic division of Southern Oregon University, the OCA offers programs of study for students in Music, Theatre, and Creative Arts, and is also a regional arts center that hosts a wide range of exhibitions and performances. The OCA partners with community arts organizations, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Britt Music & Arts Festival, and the Ashland New Plays Festival, to bring a diverse array of arts experiences to the region.

One of the OCA's most exciting initiatives is the Schneider Museum of Art, which engages with the visual arts through exhibitions and programs that support interdisciplinary study, research, and discourse for both the academic and public communities. The OCA is also home to the Chamber Music Concerts, which present chamber music of the highest quality for the enjoyment, enrichment, and education of the Southern Oregon, Northern California, and Southern Oregon University communities.

Each spring, the OCA produces the Oregon Fringe Festival, a multi-day event celebrating bold, innovative, and outrageous creativity in the arts. The festival is a crossroads for emerging artists and professional practitioners to engage with each other’s creative work, and features a diverse roster of music, theatre, visual art, film, physical theatre, dance, circus, spoken word, and more. In addition to performances, the festival also includes panels and workshops for students and the greater community.

The OCA also houses the ShakespeareAMERICA Institute, a forum for practitioners, scholars, teachers, students, and audiences to explore new and provocative thinking about the works of William Shakespeare through the prism of an American perspective. With so much going on, the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University is a thriving center of artistic excellence and a hub for the creative spirit.