Art About Agriculture Competition and Touring Exhibition 2025
Submission Deadline: March 2, 2025 at 11:59pm
OSU College of Agricultural Sciences’ presents the Art About Agriculture Competition and Touring Exhibition 2025 Open Call for Art! This juried opportunity with purchase awards and touring exposure is open to all Pacific Northwest artists and fine craftpersons exploring agriculture in their creative practice. All food, fiber, and natural resources topics are welcome! We are elated to share the 2025 tour will visit include Giustina Gallery at Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR/OSU), Pendleton Center for the Arts (Pendleton, OR), and Alexander Gallery at Clackamas Community College (Oregon City, OR).
This year’s program has expanded student award opportunities for all OSU, Pendleton Center for the Arts, and Clackamas Community College students whose art submissions are selected by the jury for inclusion in the tour!
Oregon’s rich agricultural and environmental diversity is unmatched anywhere in the world. The College of Agricultural Sciences’ 11 research and experiment stations provides an excellent overview of agricultural research connecting scientific discoveries to regional communities and industries. Pendleton is home to the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center’s research supporting Oregon’s 2 million acres of wheat and rotational crops. In Clackamas County, the North Willamette Research & Extension Center is OSU’s most agriculturally diverse station serving the needs of the Willamette Valley. Each center addresses regional needs, opportunities, and innovations, often collaborating with OSU’s county extension offices. The College of Agricultural Sciences’ new International Program also provides students with global experiences and collaborations. Below, we have included links to recent articles about research from the Pendleton/Hermiston and Clackamas areas. Many more articles for inspiration found at The Source webpage. The diverse areas of research within the College of Agricultural Sciences are available here: agsci.oregonstate.edu/home/research. Agriculture requires a holistic understanding and the College of Agricultural Sciences leads the nation in programs in fisheries, wildlife, and range management. It is also internationally known for work in the sustainability of managed landscapes, natural resources, and the world’s oceans.
Students enrolled at OSU, Pendleton Center for the Arts, and Clackamas Community College are encouraged to submit! The jury will select up to five student artworks for inclusion in the tour. Students from the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences whose artworks are chosen will receive a $200 scholarship from the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Academic Programs Office. Other applicable students with artwork selected by the jury will receive a $200 honorarium from the Art About Agriculture Program to help with materials and shipping expenses.
All artworks selected for the tour are eligible for purchase award consideration.
As a world-class leader in agricultural, environmental, and life sciences at Oregon’s Land Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant, and Sun Grant institution, the College of Agricultural Sciences encourages diverse points of view and invests in visual arts as an important part of its mission.
As the founding College of the state’s land grant university, it is dedicated to serving all Oregonians. As champions of science, the College of Agricultural Sciences embraces differences to find common ground and create opportunity – committed each day to make tomorrow better.
Featured artwork for the 2025 Open Call: Mary Farrell, Filter, 2007, monotype print, 10.75" x 15.625". 2012 winner of the Gene and Cande Buccola, Sheldon L. Ladd, and Margaret Hogg Memorial Art About Agriculture Purchase Awards. Sponsored by Gene and Cande Buccola, James and Stella Coakley, the late Margaret Hogg and the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Jurors
Judith Baumann is a professional collaborative printer, artist, and educator currently residing in Pendleton, OR. As the former Master Printer and Studio Director for Crow’s Shadow for the Arts (2017 – 2024), Baumann collaborated with dozens of renowned artists invited to participate in the Crow’s Shadow Artist-in-Residence Program. She holds an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and in 2015, participated in Tamarind Institute's prestigious Professional Printer Training Program. She taught printmaking and drawing at several institutions, most notably Evergreen State College (2005-2014) and Northern Arizona University (2015-2017). She has lectured and led numerous workshops all over the country, including Sitka Center for Art and Ecology (Otis, OR), Washington State University (Vancouver), University of Alabama (Huntsville), and Murray State University (Murray, KY). Baumann’s work has been shown nationally in group, juried and solo exhibitions and is held in public special collections across the country. She creates unique printmedia editions of her own work and fine art print collaborations under the imprint, Renegade Cascade Editions. She specializes in lithography, letterpress and digital integration in print. In 2025, Baumann accepted a year-long Collaborative Printer position at High Point Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis, MN.
Nika Blasser is an Instructor of Visual Arts and the Director of the Betty Feves Memorial Gallery at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton, OR. Her art explores the potential of common materials to create dynamic, often large-scale abstractions when subjected to natural forces and rigorous, repeated manipulation. Blasser’s work has exhibited throughout Oregon, as well as nationally and internationally. She has been awarded residencies at PLAYA (Sumer Lake, OR), Caldera (Sisters, OR), Ucross Foundation (Ucross, WY), Vermont Studio Center (Johnson, VT), and Taekker AIR Aarhus/Rethinking Matter (Aarhaus, Denmark). Nika Blasser also serves on the City of Pendleton Arts Committee and a board member for the Oregon East Symphony.
The Feves Gallery is a non-profit exhibition space that connects emerging and established artists with students, staff, and the general public in Eastern Oregon. The gallery serves as an important educational tool, fostering an appreciation for the richness and diversity of art and providing personal and professional development by supporting artistic expression. Named after the renowned and innovative Pendleton-based ceramicist, Betty Feves (1918-1985), Feves Gallery provides an environment where artists can explore experimental and non-conventional art and art forms.
Michael Bondi is Emeritus Professor in the College of Forestry, Oregon State University. During his career he was an Extension Forestry Agent, Extension Administrator, and Research Center Director for the College of Agricultural Sciences’ North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, OR. He is a longtime supporter and organizer of Art-Sci initiatives, especially in dialogue with forestry. Bondi currently serves as Board Chair of Forests Forever, Inc., where in 2013 and 2014 he helped organize the Hopkins Forest of Arts—a collaborative festival featuring arts, crafts, food, music, performances, and demonstrations integrated throughout the Hopkins Demonstration Forest (Oregon City, OR).
North Willamette Research and Extension Center (NWREC) is Oregon State University’s most diverse experiment station serving seven counties in the north valley. Under Bondi’s leadership, NWREC has supported agricultural producers of Oregon’s most important crop systems: berries, vegetables, landscape ornamentals, hazelnuts, Christmas trees, small farm production, pesticide registration research, and agrivoltaics. NWREC also features the history of the Art About Agriculture program through a comprehensive display of historic posters.
Eric Frey is an interdisciplinary artist based in Dallas, Oregon, whose practice spans multiple mediums, guided by dynamic inspirations, resources, and motivations. A retired Master Sergeant of the U.S. Army, Frey transitioned to the arts after a distinguished military career, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art & Design, with a concentration in Sculpture and Printmaking, from Western Oregon University in 2019. He furthered his education with a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts, specializing in Installation Art, in 2021.
Currently, Eric serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at Chemeketa Community College, where he teaches courses in Drawing, Color Design, and Art Appreciation. He also holds the position of Art Production Specialist in the Art Department at Western Oregon University. Beyond academia, Frey co-owns Salem on the Edge Art Gallery, a hub for contemporary art in downtown Salem, Oregon.
Eric Received the 2024 Betty Brose and Brenda & Gordon Hood Memorial Art About Agriculture Purchase Awards for Chemeketa Cellars, 2022/2023.
Karen Russo is an Elmira, Oregon-based figurative sculptor. She primarily works with clay due to its malleability, capacity for transformation, and direct connection to the earth. Her visual stories realized through carving and painting are informed by time, nature, and ever-changing landscapes in dialogue with the feminine.
Karen has exhibited extensively throughout Oregon. Her work can be found in both private and public collections, including the Oregon Arts Commission Percent for Art Collection. A recent acquisition, Rising from the Ashes, 2022, was made possible through last year’s Art About Agriculture Touring Exhibition and purchased by the Central Oregon Community College’s Barber Library in Bend, OR. Karen Russo received a 2021 Margaret Hogg Art About Agriculture Purchase Award for her sculpture, River of Grace, 2021.
Karen’s sculptures can be seen at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, OR, where she is represented. View more of her work on her website.
Entry Guidelines
Eligibility:
This regional, juried competition is open to artists living in Alaska, British Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Student program eligibility is restricted to Oregon State University, Pendleton Center for the Arts, and Clackamas Community College students enrolled in classes between September 25, 2024 and March 22,2025.
Conditions:
All submissions must relate thematically to agriculture and natural resources. All fine arts and crafts media are eligible for consideration. All approaches welcome.
Blind Jury Process:
The jurying process occurs in two parts. Part 1 is the review of art submissions digitally with artist names removed from jury materials. The jury will then select 45-60 artworks for inclusion in the tour.
Purchase Awards:
Following the blind jury process, jurors will then learn the names of artists and nominate purchase awards from the pool of touring artworks for acquisition into the Art About Agriculture Permanent Collection. Unless listed as “Not for Sale,” all artworks selected by the jury for inclusion in the tour, professional or student, are eligible for purchase award consideration.
Beyond those artists selected by the jurors, the Directing Curator of Art About Agriculture may invite one or more additional artists to participate in the 2025 Tour.
Art About Agriculture reserves the right to refuse artwork that does not meet the competition standards, or artwork that is beyond the scope or specification of the competition.
Entry Guidelines:
Ideal-logic Submission Portal
Submissions:
- May submit up to five artworks.
- 1-2 sentence description of each piece is encouraged, but not required.
- Title image files as follows: Last_First-shortened title-0x0x0in.jpg.
- For 3D artworks, up to three additional images showing different views can be included. Use A, B, C indicators in the image title (e.g., Last_First-shortened title-0x0x0in_A.jpg).
- Although the Ideal-Logic submission portal accepts images of any size, it's recommended to use images sized 2000px or larger in the longest dimension. Jpg files are preferred.
Promotional Use:
Photos and promotional materials of jury-selected artwork provided by the artist can be used to promote the artwork, exhibitions, or venues. This includes use in online galleries hosted on OSU websites and websites associated with tour venues. Photos of artwork used in promotions will acknowledge the artist.
Fees:
There are no submission fees for this open call. The Art About Agriculture program retains no commissions from sales throughout the tour. However, host venue commissions will be retained from all sales: 30% from Oregon State University’s Giustina Gallery, 30% from Pendleton Center for the Arts, and 0% (no commission retained) from Clackamas Community College’s Alexander Gallery. Please list the sale price including commission only for Giustina Gallery in the Ideal-Logic submission form. Artists of jury-selected artworks can adjust pricing per venue in the Art About Agriculture Exhibit Tour Property Loan Agreement Form. Not for sale (NFS) artwork submissions are allowed and equally considered.
Framing:
Work on paper must be framed and under acrylic/Plexiglas (no glass). 2D artwork must be framed, wired, and ready to hang. All wall-hung artwork should be wired if possible. Gallery wrap canvases with finished edges are allowed.
Weight and Dimension Restrictions:
All artworks must be less than 50 lbs.
For 2D art, including the frame, the maximum size is 48 inches in height and 56 inches in width, or 56 inches in height and 48 inches in width. Due to space restrictions, 2D artwork selections over 48 inches in height and 40 inches wide will be limited.
For 3D art, the maximum dimensions are 48 inches in height or width, 36 inches in depth, and it must fit through a standard doorway.
Technology and time-based art:
Please provide technology and maintenance needs for each submission. Artists of artwork requiring technology should anticipate providing the technology needed to exhibit the art. Artwork with audio should use personal listening devices, such as headphones or cellphones.
Artwork Drop-Off and Shipment:
Artists of jury-selected art are responsible for artwork delivery to OSU and return from OSU. Provide rigid reusable packing containers for all selected artwork. Art About Agriculture will transport artworks between tour venues.
- Artwork Drop-Off: Artwork selected by the jury can be dropped off and picked up at OSU in Corvallis, OR. Drop-off options: Saturday, April 19 or Sunday, April 20 at Strand Agriculture Hall, 170 SW Waldo Pl, Corvallis, OR 97331.
- Artwork Shipments: Please include a return postage-paid shipping label. OSU must receive shipped jury-selected artworks before 11am on Monday, April 21, 2025.
Shipping Address:
Owen Premore
Art About Agriculture
OSU College of Agricultural Sciences
248 Strand Agriculture Hall
Corvallis, OR 97331
Supplemental Materials:
All artists with artwork selected by the jury for inclusion in the tour will receive an OSU Art About Agriculture Exhibit Tour Property Loan Agreement Form. Artists will provide OSU with an artist statement and optional artist resume, which must be received no later than Monday, April 7, 2025.
OSU articles and research for inspiration:
Oregon Wheat: Case study of the state’s largest export and OSU’s collaboration with growers towards maintaining a high-quality product:
FarmDroid: OSU North Willamette Research and Extension Center explores using a solar-powered Danish agricultural robot that can seed, weed, and spot-spray fields:
Agrivoltaics: OSU North Willamette Research & Extension Center is researching a system of farming where solar panels are installed directly above crops:
HAREC: The Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center is a vital partner to growers in the Columbia Basin, contributing to its status as one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world:
First Foods: OSU alum Lauren Lewis works with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to protect critical natural resources that have supported indigenous people for thousands of years:
Calendar
(All dates are subject to change.)
January 8, 2025: Submission form goes live
March 2, 2025 (Sunday) at 11:59pm: Submission Deadline.
March 20, tentative: Selection and non-selection notices emailed to artists. Selected artists will receive an Art About Agriculture Exhibit Tour Property Loan Agreement Form (PLA), to be completed by the artist.
April 7 (Monday): Deadline for artist statement and artist resume. The PLA Form can be submitted digitally along with statement/s and resume, or include a hardcopy of the PLA with the art delivery to OSU.
April 19 (Saturday), 10am – 2pm: Artwork drop off at Strand Agriculture Hall, 170 SW Waldo Pl, Corvallis, OR 97331.
April 20 (Sunday), 1pm – 3pm: Last opportunity to drop off artwork at Strand Agriculture Hall, 170 SW Waldo Pl, Corvallis, OR 97331.
April 21 (Monday), before 11am: Deadline for receiving shipped artwork.
May 6 – June 25, 2024: Art About Agriculture 2025 touring exhibition at Giustina Gallery, The LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State University.
May 6 (Tuesday), tentative: Notices emailed to artists selected by the jury to receive Art About Agriculture Permanent Collection Purchase Awards.
May 6 (Tuesday): Opening Reception at Giustina Gallery.
July 3 – August 16, 2025: Art About Agriculture 2025 touring exhibition at Pendleton Center for the Arts in Pendleton, OR.
July 3 (Thursday): Opening Reception at Pendleton Center for the Arts.
September 29 – October 31, 2025: Art About Agriculture 2025 touring exhibition at Clackamas Community College’s Alexander Gallery in Oregon City, OR.
October 7 or October 8 (tentative): Public reception at Alexander Gallery.