Amanda Leigh Evans

Amanda Leigh Evans is an Assistant Professor of Ceramics at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, specializing in socially engaged art. Her work bridges participatory sculpture, performance, digital media, and long-term collaborative projects with communities. She holds an MFA in Art and Social Practice from Portland State University and a Post-Bacc in Ceramics from Cal State Long Beach.

Evans’ research focuses on collaborative systems that merge artistic practice with community engagement. Notable projects include When The River Becomes a Cloud (2021–present), a multi-year public artwork developed with students at Prescott School District, and a five-year residency in an East Portland affordable housing complex where she co-founded an intergenerational art school. She has been a core collaborator at KSMoCA (a school-based art museum) and worked with the LA Urban Rangers and Play the LA River initiatives.

Her work has been exhibited at institutions like MOCA Los Angeles, Everson Museum of Art, and the Portland Art Museum. Awards include NEA grants and the ArtPlace Creative Placemaking Grant. Evans’ practice emphasizes art’s role in fostering dialogue across social and ecological boundaries through material exploration and participatory frameworks.

Grants & Collaborations:

• ArtPlace Creative Placemaking Grant (2021)
• Multiple NEA Grants (2018–2024)
• Precipice Fund Grant (2019)
• UC Humanities Grant (2020)

Key Projects:

• When The River Becomes a Cloud (since 2021)
• East Portland Affordable Housing Art School (2016–2021)
• KSMoCA Collaborations (2014–2021)