The Front & Center Galleries
The Front & Center Galleries
September 19 - October 25, 2025
Front Gallery - Zines from the archives of the Portland Zine Symposium
The Portland Zine Symposium (PZS) has been hosting an annual zine conference in Portland since 2001. Zines are a form of self-publishing that has been popular since the early 20th century. They come in a wide range of sizes and formats – small booklets made using traditional book-binding techniques, larger pamphlets folded in creative ways, and even audio or online designs. Their content can be just as varied, including personal stories, comics, poetry, visual art, news about political figures or causes, instructions on how to do or make something, and information about community resources. Over seventy different zines will be on display at MAC, all created by artists who have participated in past PZS conferences. On Thursday, October 9th from 7-8:30 p.m., there will be a free reading by several local creators including Jam Dyer, Quinn Amacher, Yoko OK, Mannie Murphy and A’misa Chiu.
Center Gallery - MAC Instructors Biennial
The MAC Instructors Biennial showcases the artistic achievements of the people who teach here. These artists have exhibited in galleries and museums across the country, and internationally in locations that include Spain, Hungary, Canada, Romania, Russia, New Zealand and Finland. They have participated in prestigious art residencies, including Arrowmont, Pine Meadow Ranch, Glean PDX, Playa, Icelandic Textile Center, Finland’s Arteles Art Center, Iceland’s Fish Factory, and South Africa’s Yellow House Residence. Their work is in private and public collections, including the Kamm Teapot Collection and the White House Collection. In this exhibition at MAC, their skill is evident across disciplines and in diverse media. Weaving and other fiber arts, ceramics, drawing, bookmaking, mixed media, photography, woodworking, sculpture, jewelry and other metal arts, printmaking, painting, and poetry will all be on display.
There will be a joint reception for these exhibitions on Thursday, September 25th from 6-8 p.m.
October 24 - November 29, 2025
Center Gallery
"From Afra to Iris: A Journey into the Third Age"
A solo retrospective exhibition by Jere M. Grimm
This exhibition explores the extraordinary career of sculptor Jere Grimm, a pillar of the Pacific Northwest arts community who has been making work for over seventy years. Her artistic journey is inseparable from her life partnership with husband and collaborator Ray Grimm. While making art and raising six children in northwest Portland, they also pioneered new arts programs and produced collaborative works that remain cultural landmarks to this day. Examples of their public artwork include the Weather Machine in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square and large-scale commissions at Skamania Lodge and Salishan Lodge. Their travels throughout the Mediterranean and British Isles left an indelible imprint on Jere’s artistic vision. Central to her past and present arts practice is an exploration of the sacred feminine, matrilineality, and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Jere has exhibited both regionally and nationally, garnering critical recognition and numerous awards.
From Afra to Iris: A Journey into the Third Age gives visitors a rare opportunity to trace Grimm’s evolving vision over decades of practice, from her earliest pieces to her most recent works as an artist entering what she calls her “third age.” In addition to her ceramic works, viewers will also have the opportunity to see her work in textiles, as well as pen and ink drawings. This exhibition reflects not only a singular artist’s voice, but also a lifetime of inquiry, activism, and devotion to art’s ability “to connect the personal with the ancient and the universal.”
2025 Exhibition Calendar
January 10 – February 15, 2025
Menka Desai – works on paper
Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA) Oregon – “Biophilia: Threads of Natural Wonder”
Reception: Saturday, January 18, 1-3 p.m.
February 21 – March 29, 2025
Katsuyuki Shibata – nature photography
Julie Johnson – plant-based fiber art
Reception: Saturday, March 1, 1-3 p.m.
Artist talk: Saturday, March 29, 1 p.m. in the Center Gallery
April 4 – May 10, 2025
Two companion exhibitions with work by over 50 regional LGBTQIA2S+ artists, co-curated by Pablo V. Cazares, Lux Harris and Megan Hatch.
- “Shift Work: Queer Artists in Tectonic Times” – a group show in the Center Gallery featuring work by Zephyr Kim, Tommy Bruce, Robert Sumner, Areem Rose, and Ami Patel.
- “Holding Our Own: Works by LGBTQIA2S+ Ceramic Artists” – a group show in the Front Gallery.
Related events:
- Reception: Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. in the Front & Center Galleries
- Artist talk: Saturday, April 19, 1 p.m. via Zoom
- Reading by regional LGBTQIA2S+ writers: Saturday, April 26, 2 p.m. in the MAC Auditorium
May 16 – June 21, 2025
Heidi Keith – figurative ink paintings on paper
Jennifer Rabin – mixed media sculpture
Reception: Saturday, May 31, 1-3 p.m.
June 27 – August 2, 2025
Re Pinter, Molly Lecko Herro and Phoebe Mol – cartoon-based arts
Gesine Krätzner – ceramic sculpture
Reception: Saturday, June 28, 1-3 p.m.
August 8 – September 13, 2025
Jennifer Foran – paintings
Mary Neustadter – found object and ceramic sculpture
Allana Nagy – mixed media
Reception: Thursday, August 14, 6-8 p.m.
September 5 – October 25, 2025
Portland Zine Symposium – historical and contemporary zine art
Reception: Thursday, September 25, 6-8 p.m.
Reading: Thursday, October 9, 7-8:30 p.m.
September 19 – October 18, 2025
Biennial MAC Instructors’ Exhibition – works in a variety of media
Reception: Thursday, September 25, 6-8 p.m.
October 24 – November 29, 2025
Jere Grimm – a retrospective featuring ceramics, textiles and works on paper
Reception: Saturday, November 1, 1-3 p.m.
January 10 – February 15, 2025
Menka Desai – works on paper
Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA) Oregon – “Biophilia: Threads of Natural Wonder”
Reception: Saturday, January 18, 1-3 p.m.
February 21 – March 29, 2025
Katsuyuki Shibata – nature photography
Julie Johnson – plant-based fiber art
Reception: Saturday, March 1, 1-3 p.m.
Artist talk: Saturday, March 29, 1 p.m. in the Center Gallery
April 4 – May 10, 2025
Two companion exhibitions with work by over 50 regional LGBTQIA2S+ artists, co-curated by Pablo V. Cazares, Lux Harris and Megan Hatch:
- “Shift Work: Queer Artists in Tectonic Times” – a group show in the Center Gallery featuring work by Zephyr Kim, Tommy Bruce, Robert Sumner, Areem Rose, and Ami Patel.
- “Holding Our Own: Works by LGBTQIA2S+ Ceramic Artists” – a group show in the Front Gallery.
Reception: Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. in the Front & Center Galleries
Artist talk: Saturday, April 19, 1 p.m. via Zoom
Reading by regional LGBTQIA2S+ writers: Saturday, April 26, 2 p.m. in the MAC Auditorium
May 16 – June 21, 2025
Heidi Keith – figurative ink paintings on paper
Jennifer Rabin – mixed media sculpture
Reception: Saturday, May 31, 1-3 p.m.
June 27 – August 2, 2025
Speck Collective (Re Pinter, Molly Lecko Herro and Phoebe Mol) – cartoon-based arts
Gesine Krätzner – ceramic sculpture
Reception: Saturday, June 28, 1-3 p.m.
August 8 – September 13, 2025
Avery Nielsen Webb – large-scale photography
Allana Nagy – ceramic sculpture
Reception: Thursday, August 14, 6-8 p.m.
September 5 – October 25, 2025
Portland Zine Symposium – historical and contemporary zine art
Reception: Thursday, September 25, 6-8 p.m.
Reading: Thursday, October 9, 7-8:30 p.m.
September 19 – October 18, 2025
Biennial MAC Instructors’ Exhibition – works in a variety of media
Reception: Thursday, September 25, 6-8 p.m.
October 24 – November 29, 2025
Jere Grimm – a retrospective featuring ceramics, textiles and works on paper
Reception: Saturday, November 1, 1-3 p.m.