Linda Tesner, former gallery director at Lewis & Clark, chosen as interim head of PSU’s new Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

Linda Tesner, former gallery director at Lewis & Clark, chosen as interim head of PSU’s new Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

Linda Tesner, a veteran art director, curator and lecturer, has been chosen as the interim director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, which is set to open Nov. 7 in the former Neuberger Hall at Portland State University. She started the position Aug. 1.
 
Tesner served as director and curator at the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art at Lewis & Clark College from 1998 to 2019. She was formerly the assistant director of the Portland Art Museum and the director of the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, WA. Tesner has authored numerous exhibition catalogs, monographs and critical reviews over the past 35 years. She also is a sought-out lecturer and panel moderator, facilitating critical dialogue on contemporary art.
 
Tesner has served on the Public Art Advisory Committee of the Regional Arts and Culture Council of Portland, and from 2005 to 2009 chaired a Tri-Met Art Committee overseeing the selection of public artwork for one of the MAX lines. She also has served frequently as a juror selecting both artists and artwork for recognition, including as a juror for the 2012 Ford Family Foundation Fellowship.
 
She received her B.A in Art History from the University of Oregon and her M.A. in History of Art from Ohio State University. 
 
The museum –- the first art museum at PSU -- is being created through a $5 million contribution by businessman and philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer through the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. It will occupy 7,500 square feet over two floors of the former Neuberger Hall on SW Broadway and Harrison Street, which is undergoing a massive renovation. The museum’s galleries, which will be free to students and the public, will feature art by Portland and Northwest artists, faculty and students. It will also include exhibitions by national and international artists.
 
“I feel like PSU is doing something very important for the city of Portland, and I’m very honored to be a part of it,” Tesner said.

Tesner will curate the museum’s first exhibition: Art for All, Selections from the Jordan D. Schnitzer Collection. The exhibition will underscore the ethos of the museum and highlight its mission to provide free access to a cultural and intellectual laboratory.