Rock Creek Art Student Exhibition 25/26
Petra Sairanen
Clockwise from top right:
Madeline Qi, Her Red Silence, acrylic on wood panel, 2026
Mallory Bowman, Rebirth: Milk and Honey, ceramic, reduction-fired, 2025
Sanjana Chandhok, Caterpillar Vase, ceramic, Oregon Brown clay, reducation-fired to cone 6 (unglazed), 2026
- Dates: May 18 – June 5, 2026
- Student art awards ceremony and reception: Thursday, June 4, 5-7pm
- Gallery hours: Monday – Friday, 9am-4pm
The Helzer Gallery is excited to invite you to our end-of year Reception and Awards Ceremony for the Rock Creek Art Student Exhibition 25/26. Please come celebrate the amazing talent and artistic growth of our art students over the past year. Refreshments will be served, and you will have an opportunity to vote for the People’s Choice Award. We had a record number of artworks submitted to this year’s exhibition, with 136 submissions from in-person and remote art classes. All the work submitted is displayed throughout the central mall area of Building 3, and as in past years, an outside juror selected work to display inside the Helzer Gallery. This year, we were fortunate to have Ryan Burghard as our juror. As the Public Art and Artist Programs Coordinator for the Oregon Arts Commission, Ryan oversees the acquisition and commissioning of public art on behalf of the state. This is an amazing opportunity for our students’ artwork to be viewed by a seasoned arts advocate in the Oregon arts ecology.
At the end of the evening, we will be announcing this year’s prize winners. Ryan selected and will present awards to six students. Our prizes include five $200 Juror’s Choice awards and on $250 Best in Show award. We will also be counting ballots and announcing our $250 People’s Choice Award. The ballot box for voting for the People’s Choice Award is outside the gallery, and community members may vote for any of the artworks in the exhibition. Funding for awards was generously provided by HARTS (The Humanities and Arts Initiative), along with the Art Student Supplies Fund through the I Heart Art project and the Associated Students of Portland Community College (ASPCC).
About Juror Ryan Burghard
Ryan Burghard serves as the Public Art & Artist Programs Coordinator for the Oregon Arts Commission. Ryan is a seasoned arts professional with a long history of supporting artists in Oregon. He has spent over a decade working with the Oregon Arts Commission, focusing on the acquisition and commissioning of public art on behalf of the state, and has also served in many additional roles within the Oregon arts ecology.
Prior to joining the Arts Commission, Ryan served as an assistant professor at Oregon College of Art and Craft, a mentor in PNCA’s Applied Craft and Design (AC+D) program, and an instructor at Portland Community College. He was an integral part of developing the Curator-in-Residence program at Disjecta Contemporary Arts Center (now Oregon Contemporary) as program manager from 2013 to 2017, and founded the dinner series, “Culinaria,” that emphasized the interplay of art and haute cuisine.
Ryan has also served on several non-profit boards, including Disjecta, Yucca Valley Material Lab, and Rainmaker Craft Initiative, an educational platform committed to creative inquiry and founded on craft and community engagement. He received his MFA from the University of Wisconsin and maintains a rigorous studio practice in Portland.
About the PCC art galleries
Portland Community College is home to three art galleries: the Helzer Gallery at our Rock Creek Campus, the North View Gallery at our Sylvania Campus, and the Paragon Arts Gallery at our Cascade Campus. The galleries are dedicated to supporting education and community building through the arts.