KSMoCA Events

Upcoming Events

teacher demonstating art rpocess to young students in a classroom

Artist Talk and Exhibition Opening with Mr. Xavier Pierce, KSMoCA’s Spring 2025 Artist in Residence

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2025
10 — 11 AM
SCHOOL LIBRARY and CAFETORIUM

Mr. Xavier Pierce is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores memory, emotion, and the act of being present. He draws inspiration from his lived experience, using art as a tool to navigate life’s emotional currents. What began as a personal process to make sense of change and growth has become a practice rooted in his belief that creativity is essential to the human experience.

As a first grade teacher at Dr. MLK Jr. School and now visiting artist at KSMoCA, Mr. Pierce continues to develop a body of work that invites reflection, vulnerability, and emotional clarity. Students from class will join him in answering questions during this event.

During his Spring 2025 artist residency at KSMoCA, Mr. Pierce led over five workshops on color and painting with his first grade class. He collaborated with his first grade students on mixing and naming unique paint colors based on their emotions, dreams, and interests. Then they painted their colors onto a canvas divided into three sections: walls and a floor. This created a “room” that students filled with drawings of subjects that are important to them. These collaborative rooms became a symbolic safe space for expression, reflection, and taking up space. Each student was paired with a PSU student and KSMoCA mentor who supported them individually—helping mix colors, spread paint across the canvas, and draw their chosen subjects. The resulting student artwork will be exhibited at KSMoCA alongside Mr. Pierce’s paintings. 

Mr. Pierce is an artist who grew up in Northeast Portland down the street from Dr. MLK Jr. School where he is a first grade teacher. He received his undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies and a master’s in Education, both from Portland State University.

KSMoCA hosts many projects, activities, and artist talks throughout the school year. Stay up to date on upcoming activities by visiting their events calendar or by following their Instagram page.