BIOGRAPHY
Artist and environmentalist Anna Kaufman grew up in Los Angeles. As an only child, a shy
child, she quickly found magic and solace in drawing and painting. Artmaking offered a new
way of seeing, studying, feeling — a type of language.
In 2022, Kaufman graduated from Vassar College in upstate New York with a degree in
environmental studies, and concentrations in earth science and visual arts. There, Kaufman
received the Environmental Studies H. Dan Peck Prize for her thesis research and art
installation about clearcutting in Clatsop County.
Kaufman’s passions as an environmentalist and as an artist greatly inform one another. Their
intersection bridges modern western science with an intuitive, reflective, and ancient form of
communication. As we see intensifying environmental crises in the era of anthropogenic
climate change, Kaufman explores art as a means of information sharing, connection, and
empowerment.
Since graduating, Kaufman has worked as the Director of the Astoria Chapter of North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection (NCCWP), a grassroots citizen group that calls for the end of logging, pesticide spraying, and slash burning within Oregon drinking watersheds. She was selected as artist in residence at Astoria Visual Arts, and the recipient of the Agnes Field Award. She has shown in galleries including Made in Astoria and the Hoffman Center for the Arts. Kaufman now lives in Portland, Oregon.
CV
Education
Bachelors in Environmental Studies & concentration in Visual Arts, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY (2022)
Residencies, Grants, Awards
Centrum Emerging Artist Resident (October, 2025)
Agnes Field Award recipient (November 2023)
Astoria Visual Arts residency (Jan-June 2023)
Environmental Studies H. Dan Peck Prize (May 2023)
Group exhibitions
Bodies and Borders (Oct 2025-Jan 2026). An online exhibition by Women Eco Artists Dialog’s (WEAD) exploring the intersection of bodies, ecology, and agency.
Memoriam (April, 2025). An exploration of memory and grief in the era of climate crisis, expansion of a series on Thacker Pass. Memoriam will take place at Hoffman Center for the Arts.
Pier 11 Studios Invitational Exhibition (February, 2025). A group exhibit featuring several Clatsop County based artists, celebrating the grand opening of Pier 11 Studios.
Kith & Kin (Aug-Sept 2024). A mother-daughter show with Denise Monaghan at Made in Astoria. The show reflected on the abuse and commodification of the natural world through drawing and audio components.
I Want to Tell You About My Body (Jan, 2024). A group showing with artist Amelia Santiago. This show depicted several enlarged prints from a longer graphic poem in the works.
Made in Astoria (June-Sept 2023). A part of a collective of Astoria Oregon-based artists in the locally minded gallery.
Beyond Recognition (Dec, 2022). A Vassar College art show for students in the art intensive/major program
Solo Exhibitions
Uprooted Exhibit (Mar, 2023). A multimedia installation about clearcutting and old growth in Clatsop County, OR. At Astoria Visual Arts Gallery
Uprooted Exhibit (Dec, 2022). A multimedia installation about clearcutting and old growth in Clatsop County, OR. At Vassar College, NY
Artist Talks
Hoffman Center Opening: Memoriam (April, 2025)
AVA Board Member Party: Uprooted installation (March, 2023)
Vassar Thesis Presentation: Uprooted installation (Dec, 2022)
Environmental Involvement
Organizer with North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection (2023-2025)
Fundraiser walkathon for Afro-indigenous owned, seed sovereignty oriented Soul Fire Farm (May, 2022)
Member of Vassar Greens (2020-22)
Participation in Thacker Pass Protection Camp (June, 2021)
Info & Press
Astoria Visual Arts
https://astoriavisualarts.org/a-i-r-alumni
Discover Our Coast
Hipfish Monthly
https://www.hipfishmonthly.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/123.pdf
https://www.hipfishmonthly.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/323.pdf
KMUN
https://kmun.org/speaker/roger-rocka/
https://episodes.castos.com/coastradio/0d9c5269-1bfc-4671-b5f0-f09a273f6df2-ARTS01202023.mp3
https://episodes.castos.com/coastradio/1670611/c1e-q4mzi2ogrqf6jmv2-nj9q8rgrtvkz-3rqapk.mp3