Masters of Ceremony

Masters of Ceremony: Traditional Artists and Life’s Passages looks at how we–as cultures and individuals–mark life passages and how traditional art, rituals, and stories communicate knowledge about transitions from one phase of life to the next. This virtual exhibit journeys through a series of four major life passages: birth, coming of age, marriage, and death, guided by the experiences of Oregon’s traditional communities and artists.

The artists featured are master traditional artists who participated in Oregon’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Their stories and artwork illuminate how traditions marking rites of passage are enacted, memorialized, and passed on.

"While the actual passages of life may follow in consequential order: birth, adolescence, marriage, retirement and death, the actual lives are seldom so orderly. And we don’t give consideration to these life events as they happen to us. Reflection comes later–when we observe what happens to someone else." –Robert Fulghum, writer

Masters of Ceremony: Traditional Artists and Life's Passages is presented by Portland General Electric.

This project is supported by a grant from the Lila Wallace - Reader's Digest Community Folklife Program administered by The Fund for Folk Culture and underwritten by the Lila Wallace - Reader's Digest Fund.

Additional supporters for Masters of Ceremony include:
Jeld-Wen Foundation
James F. and Marion L. Miller Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
Oregon Arts Commission
Margaret Thiele Petti Foundation
Jackson Foundation
Regional Arts & Culture Council
Lamb Foundation

Curators & Photos

Exhibit curator: Eliza Buck

Website curator: Leila Childs
Photos by Evan Schneider, Eliza Buck, and Nancy J. Nusz, unless otherwise indicated