Rita Sabler is an award winning artist, visual journalist, author, and educator based in Portland, Oregon, USA. She has taught Drawing, Urban Sketching and Visual Journalism courses at the Parsons School of Design, Pacific Northwest College of Art, and Portland State University as well as given numerous workshops and lectures on drawing and visual storytelling all around the world. 

In the span of her decade-long career as an educator and visual storyteller Sabler has inspired diverse audiences to cultivate a lifelong passion for urban sketching and reportage illustration. Her work has been featured in solo and group local and international shows. 

Rita Sabler’s reportage on the Kalaupapa settlement  won Doctors without Borders Coup De Coeur and International Sketchbook Prize at the 2019 Rendez-Vous Du Carnet De Voyage in Clermont-Ferrand. Sabler’s book “Listening to New Orleans” won the International Sketchbook Prize in 2023. 

Rita Sabler currently works as a freelance visual journalist for the Oregon Public Broadcasting. From 2019-2023 Rita Sabler served as the Education Director on the board of the global Urban Sketchers organization. 

Rita’s main areas of expertise are Reportage Illustration, Travel Sketching, and Visual Journalism. She is often seen on street corners capturing busy markets, festivals, protestors, musicians, and regular citizens living their life in both ordinary and extraordinary ways. When not drawing or teaching she is a busy parent and a tango pianist.

Rita holds Masters of Arts degrees in Linguistics (UC Davis), Masters in Interface Design (The Elisava School of Design in Barcelona) and Master of Science in Journalism (University of Oregon).