Above: Land of Origin, by Umatilla Reservation artist James Lavadour

By Randi Bjornstad

A new exhibit at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus displays the work of 15 artists who were named Hallie Ford Fellows In the Visual Arts from 2017-20. The show corresponds with the reopening of the JSMA and incorporates new guidelines for ticketing and attendance that reflect the new reality of public behavior to combat the continuing coronavirus  pandemic.

The show includes work by the following artist Fellows:

Eugene artist Niraja Cheryl Lorenz’s Strange Attractor #14 — Big Yellow

  • Bruce Burris, Corvallis
  • Julie Green, Corvallis
  • Niraja Cheryl Lorenz, Eugene
  • James Lavadour, Umatilla Reservation
  • Corey Arnold, Portland
  • Avantika Bawa, Portland
  • Pat Boas, Portland
  • Demian DinéYazhi ì, Portland
  • Harrell Fletcher, Portland
  • Jessica Jackson Hutchings, Portland
  • Flint Jamison, Portland
  • Elizabeth Malaska, Portland
  • Jess Perlitz, Portland
  • Sharita Towne, Portland
  • Marie Watt, Portland

The fellowships are sponsored by The Ford Family Foundation in Roseburg and are awarded each year, chosen by an independent jury of regional and national arts professionals. The selected artists are Oregonians whose work displays a sophisticated grasp of their mediums and show a significant likelihood of future accomplishment in contemporary art.

A benefactress of the arts

The namesake of the fellowship, Hallie Ford, may have seemed an unlikely person to become the source of extraordinary financial support of the arts.

Portland artist Sharita Towne’s Print Detail

She was born Hallie Brown in Red Fork, Okla., in 1905, two years before Oklahoma became a state. She studied teaching and began her career in Oklahoma before moving with her parents to Lebanon during the Great Depression. She met lumberman Kenneth Ford there, and the couple married in 1935 before moving to Roseburg, where they founded what is now Roseburg Forest Products. In 1957, they formed a charitable organization that became The Ford Family Foundation.

The Fords moved to Salem in 1972, where she continued and expanded the foundation’s charitable activities, based on supporting the arts but also including substantial amounts in the areas of general and single-parent scholarships, as well as more than $31 million to support private and public universities in Oregon. She also bestowed gifts through the years totaling about $7 million to her alma mater, East Central University in Ada, Okla.

Kenneth Ford died in 1997. Hallie Ford moved to Monmouth to an assisted living center in 2002 and died in 2007 at the age of 102.

Precautions for safe attendance

In accordance with state guidelines for safety during the coronavirus pandemic, the JSMA staff and visitors must follow the following guidelines:

  • Face coverings must be worn.
  • Social distancing of 6 feet between visiting groups must be observed.
  • Tickets must be purchased in advance to prevent crowding and maintain safe numbers.
  • Water fountains are not operating, and restroom availability is limited.
  • Coats, umbrellas, and bags/backpacks may not be checked, so those objects should be kept at home except as required by people with disabilities.
  • Hand sanitizer is available, and plexiglas shields are in use at admission and shop checkout areas
  • Timed tickets are required and may be reserved online at ticket.uoregon.edu/events

For a listing of new hours and guidelines for visiting the JSMA, go online to jsma.uoregon.edu/visit.

Maidens, by Portland artist Elizabeth Malaska