The Craft Center is thrilled to welcome Laura McClain as our Spring 2026 Visiting Artist. Laura McClain is a wet felting artist and educator who works with wool to create functional and expressive décor, accessories, and wearables. At the heart of her practice is a method she calls Felt by Feel—a playful, embodied conversation between maker and material that allows her to stay connected to the wool’s changing textures, while tapping into her own responses as the work evolves. Laura has been creating with fiber arts since childhood and brings a balance of technical knowledge, curiosity, and fun to her teaching. To learn more about Laura McClain, please visit www.lauramcclain.art. Exhibition On View: March 30 - June 12 The Craft Center Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the Erb Memorial Union by the Adell McMillan Gallery. Artist Talk & Reception: April 24, 12pm-1pm Join us at the Craft Center for an inspiring artist talk with Laura McClain. This event is free and open to the public. Please register at myemu.uoregon.edu. (Community Members without a Community Card must email craftctr@uoregon.edu to be added to our roster.)

Wet Felting Workshop: April 24, 1pm-4pm This hands-on workshop introduces wet felting, guiding you as you transform soft wool fibers into a strong, cohesive piece of felt. Using merino wool, water, soap, heat, and pressure, you’ll layer, embellish, and shape fibers by hand while learning how the material changes at each stage. This workshop is free. Registration is required at myemu.uoregon.edu. You must have a UO ID or Community Card to register. Space is limited.

Visit the McMillan Gallery for an exhibition featuring work from our talented Printmaking students at the University of Oregon. Anywhere from relief to screen print, this annual show features a variety of works from student artists. Join us for refreshments and meet the artists on April 21 5:30-6:30 p.m. On view in the McMillan Gallery March 17, 2026 to May 3, 2026.

The Department of Anthropology Colloquium Series presents a talk with Fredrick Manthi on “Decolonizing African Museums.”

Manthi is Senior Research Scientist and Director of Antiquities, Sites, and Monuments at the National Museums of Kenya, as well as Courtesy Faculty in the Department of Anthropology. Manthi is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

The object of this presentation is to discuss the processes for decolonizing African museums and collections, which will involve dismantling colonial-era narratives and power structures by prioritizing African knowledge systems, community collaboration, and the repatriation of African collections held in overseas institutions. The processes must shift from static, Westernized preservation models to active engagement, cultural agency, and contemporary processes that must recognize local knowledge.

Informal reception with coffee, tea, and snacks begins at 11:30 am.

Co-sponsored by the Global Studies Institute.

Free and open to the public.