by Mary McVein
August 28th 2025
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Ame Morrison, Temple of my Familiar (installation detail), 2025. Film prints, found photos, original drawings, memory fragments, blue tape, 7’ x 5’ x 9’ (Photo: Mario Gallucci)
The Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design and the College of the Arts are pleased to celebrate the twelfth year of the Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize at Portland State University and announce the three prize recipients for 2025.
A jury composed of faculty from the Schnitzer School and representatives from the art and design community reviewed 58 applications from art and design students, both undergraduate and graduate, to award three prizes. This year’s recipients, each receiving $4,100, are:
- Briana Cieri, BFA in Graphic Design, '25
- Ame Morrison, BFA in Art Practice, Minor in Film Studies (with Honors), '25
- Savannah Noel, BFA in Art Practice, '25
In recognition of their outstanding work, honorable mentions went to Clara Harlow (MFA candidate in Art + Social Practice), Max Kuo (BFA in Art Practice, ‘25), Manfred Parrales (MFA in Art + Social Practice, ‘25), and Quinn Richards (BFA in Graphic Design, ‘25).
The highest award offered in the school, the prize acknowledges the achievements and promise of our students and is a meaningful expression of our values and commitment to excellence in higher education and the arts. This year’s submissions represented works in various media, including sculpture, painting, drawing, multimedia, and community-based social practice projects. Recurring themes included identity, queerness, mental health, trauma, healing, body positivity, nature, family, heritage, transformation, and connection.
The Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design is extraordinarily grateful to the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation for their support in creating the Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize. It was established by Arlene Schnitzer in 2013 to recognize student achievement in the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design and to raise awareness of the quality of art education at PSU. With Arlene's passing in 2020, we are grateful for this annual opportunity to honor her memory and legacy as a devoted and inspired leader of art and culture in Portland. The endowed award ensures that each year, three aspiring artists and designers will receive significant recognition and a financial boost as they embark on their careers as active, creative practitioners.
An exhibition showcasing the work of the prize winners will be on view at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at Portland State University from February 24 through April 25, 2026. A public reception and awards celebration honoring the prize recipients will be held at the museum (date to be announced). All events are free and open to the public.
About our prize winners
Briana Cieri, animation stills from Dream Land, 2025. Risograph printed animation stills, 11 x 8.5 inches.
Briana Cieri
Employing as much texture as possible, Briana uses graphic design to depict the world around her. Her creative process is enveloped with intention and an anti-vector attitude, combining physical and digital methodologies. “As I go through my coming-of-age arc, my work takes on a reflective tone, examining my childhood, society, and myself with hints of humor to balance out the heavy introspection.”
Raised in Salem, Oregon, Briana found her way to Portland State to pursue a degree in Graphic Design, deepening her connection to the discipline through the exploration of printmaking, motion graphics, and layout. Her senior thesis exhibition, Dream Land, featured nostalgic, hand-printed animations. During her time at PSU, she also served as creative director for the Vanguard, our campus newspaper. As a recent graduate, Briana has enjoyed taking the time to travel and find small ways to document her life through Polaroids, random camcorder videos, and collages.
brianacieri.com | @brianacieri | LinkedIn
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Ame Morrison, Lines of Flight, 2025. 35mm in-camera double exposure, 48 x 30 inches.
Ame Morrison
The material and emotional labor that goes into sustaining community is at the center of Ame’s work. From that core, they create photos, experimental films, and installations that invite the audience into the intimacy they encounter with others, prioritizing tactile connection over detached observation.
A multimedia and social practice artist, Ame’s work explores the construction of belonging through the lens of queerness and embodied trans experience. Recent projects meld portraiture and community organizing to create playful and collaborative photographic spaces. Their work has been exhibited at several galleries in the Pacific Northwest, including the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, as well as the Millennium Film Workshop in Brooklyn, NY.
aj-morrison.com | @aj.morris
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Savannah Noel, Cover image from Don’t Grow Up Tonight, 2025. Photobook, 8 x 10 inches, 184 pages
Savannah Noel
Using photography as her vehicle, Savannah’s work has focused on documenting her life by preserving moments in time. Recently graduated from PSU, she’s now turning the camera away from herself, documenting a group of regulars and the scene at Portland’s famous The Alibi Tiki Lounge. Moving forward, she plans to continue pushing herself with documentary photography by following threads, exploring new spaces, and discovering the stories people will allow her to tell.
Savannah is a documentary photographer based in Portland, Oregon. Her work has been shown at BlueSky Gallery, Blue Moon Camera, Franklin FOTO, Lightbox Gallery, MK Gallery, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
@2002bluez
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2025 Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize Jury
- Kate Bingaman-Burt, Associate Director, Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design, Professor of Graphic Design
- Emily Fitzgerald, Assistant Professor of Art, Photography
- Dr. Kiara Hill, James DePreist Visiting Assistant Professor, Art History
- Taravat Talepasand, Assistant Professor of Art, Painting + Drawing
- Maryanna Ramirez, Director, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU
- Kathleen Murney, Assistant Director, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU
- Kelsey Snook, Freelance Creative Director and Designer
- Michael Ellsworth, Owner of Volumes Design Library and Civilization
- Kyra Watkins, Artist, 2023-24 Artist-in-Residence at PSU
- Jordan Hoagbin, Graphic Designer and Art Director at Nike, 2013 Arlene Schnitzer Visual Arts Prize recipient.
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About the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design
Driven by a belief in the power of art to shape society, Portland State University's Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design and its dynamic faculty provide a place where emerging artists, designers, and art historians can question, create, reflect, and learn. With over 1,100 undergraduate majors, a vibrant and growing graduate program, and a faculty of internationally recognized artists, designers, and scholars, the Schnitzer School brings together students from diverse backgrounds to exchange ideas and cross conventional aesthetic boundaries. Whether in the studio, computer lab, lecture hall, or working in the community via internships, service projects, exhibitions, and collaborations, our students forge connections between visual art traditions and their developing expression.