Parts Per Million

Julia Stoops was born in Samoa to New Zealand parents, and grew up in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. She moved to Washington, D.C. in her teens, where she received a BFA from the Corcoran College of Art and Design. Back in New Zealand, Julia studied Philosophy and Linguistics at the University of Auckland, where she received a BA. She endured New Zealand's Rogernomics recession of the early '90s, and finally got her first real break teaching in tertiary level art and design programs. Because of her Corcoran experience, Julia wanted to return to the US. She and her husband chose Portland, Oregon as their immigration destination, and have lived there since 1994. Julia received an MFA in Painting from Portland State University, and taught for 13 years at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, creating new courses in media studies, hybrid art methodologies, and the history of ideas. Then she moved into her current career as a web designer, and she also has experience in alternative radio news journalism and anti-war activism. Julia received Oregon Arts Commission fellowships for visual arts and literature, and was a resident at the Ucross Foundation in 2016.