Rate My Professor Teresa Christiansen

Teresa Christiansen serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Photography Department at the Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), a division of Willamette University in Portland, Oregon. She also holds the position of Director of Academic Technology at PNCA since 2014. Christiansen earned her Master of Fine Arts in Advanced Photographic Studies from the International Center of Photography-Bard College in 2008 and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Studio Art from Bates College in 2001. Before joining PNCA, she worked for nine years as an Assistant Photographer in the Photograph Studio at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 2001 to 2010. Her early teaching experience includes serving as an Instructor at the International Center of Photography in 2010. At PNCA, she progressed from Digital Print Studio Manager (2010-2014) to her current roles as Associate Professor since 2010 and Department Chair since 2017. Christiansen integrates her expertise in photography and psychology to support student success, providing a comprehensive education in photographic studies and integrated technologies.

Christiansen's photographic work has been exhibited extensively across the United States, with solo exhibitions including Indifferent Horizons at Melanie Flood Projects (2016), Natural Selections at Pushdot Gallery (2015), Portland Porches at The Corner Gallery, PNCA (2013), Wall Flowers at Hi Books (2023), and Being Present at Photographic Center Northwest (2024). Group exhibitions include Aperture Gallery and chashama in New York City, Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, and the Portland Art Museum in Portland. Her artwork entered the Portland Art Museum collection in 2016. She has received awards such as the PDN Photo Annual (2007), Regional Arts & Culture Council Project Grant (2013), Tori Bryer Faculty Opportunity Award Grant (2014), and Wassaic Artist Residency & Fellowship (2014). Key publications feature her self-published limited edition monograph Portland Porches (2013), an article in Exposure Magazine, Fall 2014, Volume 47:2, and PDN Photo Annual (2007). Additional photography credits include Saul Steinberg: Illuminations (Yale University Press, 2006) and The Landmarks of New York (The Monacelli Press, 2005). Through her exhibitions, awards, and collection inclusion, Christiansen contributes significantly to the field of photography.