The collection consists of the records of the Northwest Artists Workshop, a non-profit alternative arts organization based in Portland, Oregon. The collection includes materials relating to exhibitions and events at the workshop and artists affiliated with the workshop, such as advertisements, posters, press releases, correspondence, and planning documentation. The collection also holds art and poetry books by artists, and issues of arts publications. Administrative records include guestbooks, board and committee records, financial records, grant proposals and documentation, membership and staffing records, and records concerning the workshop's dissolution in 1989.