Workshop Archive

Truth & Dare is a creative workshop and community favorite that offers one truth (in the form of a writing prompt) and one dare (an art-inspired challenge to make/do) each week. Taking inspiration from contemporary artists and writers, we’ll generate our own work on the page and out in the…

This songwriting class is for experienced songwriters looking to create a cohesive body of work. Participants will share songs and concepts for new material – either pre-recorded or performed in class- to workshop with their peers. Group critiques will help develop your songs and inspire new ideas. We will focus…

This six-week workshop is for rising juniors and seniors who are beginning to think about college and career options in visual and graphic arts, product and packaging, or environments and experience design. Through weekly meetings – including hybrid get togethers in July – and a combination of group and individual…

In this four-week hybrid workshop, students will collaborate to create an original audio sound walk that focuses on Portland’s vibrant street art scene. We will use digital recorders to capture in-the-field audio and original narration as we explore four different mural locations, selected in partnership with Portland Street Art Alliance…

This workshop will focus on risograph printing and zine making, with an emphasis on using printmaking and books as vessels for your ideas and creative experiments. We’ll explore mark making, drawing, not-drawing, storytelling, collage, and more all through the lens of printing and zines! Zero drawing experience is needed—all are…

How have you experienced change and transformation over the last year? In this workshop, we will explore ourselves thorough film, writing prompts, and other media forms that speak to personal and public change, transformation, and revolution. We will deep dive into our cultural artifacts in the form of documentary film,…

Truth & Dare is a creative workshop and youth community favorite that offers one truth (in the form of a writing prompt) and one dare (an art-inspired challenge to make/do) each week. Taking inspiration from contemporary artists and writers, we’ll generate our own work on the page and in the…

Why are some lyrics more evocative and memorable than others? What does the interplay between lyrics and melody sound like in the very best songs? In this workshop, we’ll unpack the secrets of great lyric writing using techniques like sense-bound writing and writing from multiple perspectives in order to develop…

What makes something funny? How does a comedy writer turn a funny idea into a fully fleshed out sketch? In this workshop, you’ll learn the basics of writing sketch comedy including brainstorming, beats and structure, “heightening” what’s funny, and how to draw on your experience of the world around you…

Black art isn’t made in a vacuum. References, aesthetics, and history echo through the works of Black artists as diverse as Jean Michel Basquiat and Kara Walker. In Echolocations we’ll explore these intersections to illuminate how you and your artistic voice mirror those of great Black artists from around the…

This songwriting workshop focuses on intention setting and organization of structural composition, while maintaining authenticity throughout the process.  It is designed for those that are hoping to create a body of work that best represents who they are as an artist, but more importantly discover who they are as a…

In this workshop, we will move, dance, write, think, and play. Through various movement practices, writing prompts, and self-meditation, we’ll explore how abstract movements, dance moves, and physical actions can express ideas such as emotion, relationship, and identity, which language alone cannot describe. Wear comfortable outfits and come prepared to…

Award winning emcee, artist, poet and educator Jason Graham (MOsley WOtta) uses free-verse writing, conversation and the concept of uncertainty as kindling for the fire of inspiration. In this workshop we will explore what it means to tackle uncertainty, fear and vulnerability through self-knowledge and free-form self-expression. We will talk,…

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work for a company like Apple, Google, Nike, Louis Vuitton, Hulu or Beats creating content in all the most relevant and contemporary forms of media? In this 2 1/2 week workshop, you’ll learn about the career path of a Creative…

Join audio engineer Adam Lee as he demystifies the process of audio production and shows you how he mixes a song from start to finish. You’ll learn how to organize your tracks and gain a solid foundation in mixing basics – frequency, panning and compression, as well as EQ and…

Our material possessions can provide an incredible insight into our daily worlds.  In this workshop, we will collect everyday objects to assemble our own found art time capsules. How can we make our own empowering personal history for the future? We’ll play with narratives, explore archives, and look at memes…

This collaborative workshop is designed for students with some previous songwriting experience. Each week students will be given a new writing prompt and will work in small, rotating groups to co-write and record songs with a common theme. Students will also share their personal work, bringing songs-in-progress to class for…

This workshop will focus on creative exercises and conversations about the ideas and concepts that define Socially Engaged Art, an artistic practice that experiments with social situations, relationships, and contexts (ie. people) the same way a studio-based artist manipulates paint, clay, or video as their medium. We will delve into the…

In this workshop, we’ll explore new work by contemporary artists and writers and generate our own projects both on the page and in the world. Each week students choose one truth (a writing prompt) and one dare (a creative challenge to make/do) and work toward a final project in the…

Why are some lyrics more evocative and memorable than others? What does the interplay between lyrics and melody sound like in the very best songs? In this workshop, we’ll unpack the secrets of great lyric writing using techniques like sense-bound writing and writing from multiple perspectives. We’ll also welcome professional…

In an era of remote learning, how do we stay creatively connected to our friends, our school communities, and the experience of being a high schooler in 2020? This workshop offers students the opportunity to use multiple forms of creative expression to document and connect with each other at the…

In this workshop, students will learn about museums and power structures within the art world through a survey of contemporary Black artists and exhibitions. We’ll create modern art collections in our homes by way of building original work and using digital video to curate and share our HOMA collections. Using…

Learn how to customize your sneakers in this 90-minute mini-workshop with artist and pro-skater, Sebo Walker. Sebo will share the different approaches he uses when customizing sneakers, like creating a simple pattern and repeating it, either across the entire shoe or as an accent on desired sections like a swoosh…

Join illustrator Carson Ellis for a self-portrait mini-workshop. During our 90-minute session, we’ll use a simple template as the foundation to explore our faces in detail. What makes them uniquely ours and how do we translate that to paper? This will be an opportunity for quiet and meditation, to slow…

In the newest iteration of this popular workshop, we’ll continue to explore work by contemporary artists and writers, generating our own projects both on the page and in the world. Each week you’ll choose one truth and one dare and work toward a final project that will be a culmination…

This workshop is for students enrolled in CTE Design & Applied Arts Intermediate and Advanced level courses including Visual/Studio Arts, Ceramics, Sculpture, Digital Media, and Production Design who are beginning to think about college and career options in the worlds of art and design. Through weekly meetings, individual and group…

Join acclaimed Hip Hop artist and activist Mic Crenshaw for an exploration of the ever-changing nature of Hip Hop’s past, present, and future. We’ll look at the work of artists on the local, national and global stages and investigate the role of Hip Hop culture and activism in transforming reality.…

*Offered exclusively to Benson and Franklin High School students, this Virtual Academy connects with Digital Media & Video Production CTE courses and helps fulfill your Work Based Learning requirement. Open to ALL Benson and Franklin students with priority given to those currently enrolled in Digital Media and Video Production CTE…