Emma Duehr (she/her)

Emma Duehr is an artist, educator, and community fabricator working at the intersection of material craft, emerging technology, and social engagement. Her multidisciplinary practice integrates woodworking, metal casting, and sculpture with digital fabrication techniques such as CNC routing, 3D scanning, and modeling. Through these methods, she develops participatory platforms, educational programs, and collaborative systems that foster dialogue, accessibility, and cross-disciplinary learning.

With her Masters in Art and Social Practice, Emma’s work applies the creative process as a tool for civic engagement, conflict transformation, and public infrastructure development. Her projects support dialogue across difference, equitable access to technical knowledge, and community-led cultural production. She is particularly interested in how expressive arts can be used to navigate complexity—bridging identity, material exploration, and collective problem-solving.

Emma is currently the Manager of 3D Fabrication at Portland State University’s College of the Arts, where she leads curriculum development, oversees workshop facilities and systems (wood, metal, casting, and digital fabrication), and mentors students and faculty in hands-on learning environments. She has also served as an adjunct professor at PSU, Visiting Instructor at Reed College, and as an Artist Mentor with King School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA).

She is the Co-Founder and Director of Fabrication at Together Works, a mobile consultation and fabrication studio supporting artists, designers, and organizations in realizing projects through technical collaboration, storytelling, and responsive design. Through this role, she works across sectors to deliver adaptive fabrication services and skill-building programs in community spaces across the United States.

Emma is also a founding board member of SkillCraft Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to technical and creative education for underserved youth. She co-develops programs that emphasize real-world skill development, confidence-building, and cross-cultural collaboration.

Her work has been featured, recognized, or supported by organizations including Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), CETI (A Creative and Emerging Technology Institute), the City of Portland, and colleges and universities including Reed College, the University of Oregon, and Oklahoma State University. She has contributed to a range of community-based and public art initiatives—often as a facilitator, technical lead, or collaborator—on projects centered around spatial justice, civic memory, and shared authorship.

Emma holds an MFA in Art and Social Practice from Portland State University and a BFA in Sculpture, Painting, and Art History from Clarke University. Her current focus is on expanding the role of expressive arts within conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and participatory design—advancing approaches that integrate creative making with public dialogue, systems thinking, and institutional repair.