The story behind the rapid growth of an art studio in Portland that supports artists with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities, followed by a creative talk from one of the studio’s professional artists.
North Pole Studio executive director Carissa Burkett breaks down how the vision of autistic artist Davis Wohlford grew from a volunteer-run group in 2020 to a nonprofit serving nearly 600 artists in 2025! The studio supports careers in the arts for artists with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities, which includes meaningful employment, visibility and representation, and community engagement. The act of creating—and creating in community—is vital. In addition to classes and workshops for any artists, they support their professional studio artists in getting opportunities to exhibit, sell and license their work. One of those artists is Ocean Stever. In a creative process talk that features several of her collage pieces, Ocean talks about her late diagnosis with autism, how North Pole Studio gave her the creative freedom to think of collaging as an art practice, and everything that discovery opened up for her.
About the speaker
Carissa Burkett is the executive director of North Pole Studio. She is a multimedia artist, curator, and nonprofit arts administrator with 11 years of experience which started in 2013 at Project Grow, an art studio and urban farm that supported adults with I/DD in Portland, Oregon. She has served as Director of Arts Programs at The Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg Oregon, and as the Executive Director of Third Angle New Music prior to joining North Pole Studio in 2023.
Ocean Stever is a writer and self-taught mixed-media visual artist from Gresham, Oregon. Ocean’s primary medium is collage, through which she weaves her creative writing practice and experience in drawing/painting to create layered and thought-provoking works. Through imagery of the natural world, renaissance iconography, and human anatomy, Ocean processes complex feelings around religion, mortality, and the human experience. Using found text she invites the viewer to thoughtfully engage with her questions, vacillating between satirical ominosity and vulnerable sincerity.
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Hosted by
Multnomah Arts Center
7688 SW Capitol Hwy #37
Portland, Oregon United States 97219
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Wacom
