The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation is thrilled to announce the 2026 recipients of the Spark Award for Oregon Artists. In this final year of our three-year pilot program, the Foundation welcomed applications from artists in the visual arts and received 443 applications.
The 2026 recipients of the Spark Award for Oregon Artists.
The Foundation will award $25,000 each to 20 mid-career artists through the Spark Award this year, providing flexible funding to support their ongoing creative development. This investment in individual artists is rooted in the Foundation’s belief that the arts foster connection and help us better understand ourselves and the world around us. By celebrating the vital role artists play in enriching the lives of all Oregonians, the Foundation recognizes that artists are essential to our state's vitality.
Building on the success of this three-year pilot, the Foundation is pleased to announce that the Spark Award for Oregon Artists will continue as an ongoing program. Details will be announced in early 2027.
Recipients of the 2026 Spark Award in the visual arts:
Vo Vo | Portland | Textile, intermedia & woodworking
Read more about each recipient in the artist profiles here.
This third cohort of Spark Award recipients was recommended by a panel of 20 national and Oregon-based visual arts professionals. The Miller Foundation selected panelists based on their expertise in and contributions to the visual arts field, and in alignment with the artistic disciplines represented in the award applicant pool. To ensure that the awardee roster represents the goals and spirit of the Spark Award, panelists considered each artist’s skill, vision and career stage, as well as their commitment to sharing their work with Oregon audiences. The Foundation considers this award an important investment in both artists and communities throughout the state.
Thank you to our panelists for lending their expertise in the visual arts:
Nina Bozicnik, Senior Curator, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
Amanda Donnan,Executive and Artistic Director, Converge 45, Portland, OR
Georgia Erger, Curator, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Jeanne Gerrity, Independent Curator and Writer, San Francisco, CA
Tiffany Harker, Independent Curator and Arts Administrator, Portland, OR
Jackie Im,Co-Founder and Curator of Et Al., San Francisco, CA
Ellen Ito, Curator of Collections and Special Projects, Tacoma Art Museum, WA
Danielle Knapp,McCosh Curator of American and Regional Art, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Grace Kook-Anderson, The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art, Portland Art Museum, OR
Roberta Lavadour,Artist; Executive Director, Pendleton Center for the Arts, OR
Linley Logan, Artist and Curator; Art Program Specialist, Evergreen State College's House of Welcome, Olympia, WA
Scott Malbaurn,Artist; Executive Director, Schneider Museum of Art at Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
Kalaija Mallory,Artistic and Executive Director, The Luminary, St. Louis, MO
Kate Menconeri,Independent Curator, New York
Ashley Stull Meyers, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art, PRAx at Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Laurel V. McLaughlin,Co-Director and Chief Curator, Tufts University Art Galleries, Boston, MA
Risa Puleo,Artistic Director and Chief Curator, 2028 Boston Public Art Triennial (based in Chicago, IL)
Maryanna Ramirez,Director, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University, OR
Lorenzo Triburgo,Artist; Senior Instructor of Photography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Ana Varas,Executive Director, PLAYA Art & Science Residency, Summer Lake, OR
Artist pictured from top to bottom and left to right (photo credit in parentheses): Natalie Ball (by Coley Kakols); Srijon Chowdhury (by Daniel Fickle); Renee Couture (by Thomas J. Logan); Tannaz Farsi (by Amanda Wojick); Melanie Flood (by Nina Johnson); Derek Franklin (by Simone Fischer); Brian Gillis (by Andrea Canning); Ellen Lesperance (by Joseph McVetty); Charlene Liu (by Isami Ching); Katie Harris Murphy (by Anna Harris); Julia Oldham (by Julia Oldham); Jess Perlitz (by Emily Squires); Ralph Pugay (by Mark Poucher); Joseph Scott (by Crystal Boulton); Sara Siestreem [Hanis Coos] (by Sam Gehrke); Rick Silva (by Rick Silva); Stephanie Simek (by Area Array); Miki’ala Souza (by Mele Fagerland); Sharita Towne (by Ifanyi Bell); and Vo Vo (by Intisar Abioto).
