Press Releases
Executive Director David Huff Steps Down - 5-1-2013
Interim Director Announced - 5-9-2013
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The Arts Center Receives $7500 Ford Family Foundation Grant
Release date: May 10, 2012
In January 2013, The Arts Center will install a solo exhibition by Oregon artist Julie Green. The exhibition will be the first public event of The Arts Center’s 50th anniversary year, and represents a significant retrospective of one of Oregon’s most inspired painters.
Funds from The Ford Family Foundation grant will allow The Arts Center to provide the curatorial framework for the exhibit, and to print a historically-important, 500-page exhibition catalog featuring critical essays and color reproductions of each plate.
Green has spent the last 10 years creating over 500 ceramic plates illustrating final meal requests by death-row inmates in the United States. The Arts Center’s exhibition will display the entire series.
The Arts Center Receives $30,000 National Endowment for the Arts Grant
Release date: May 10, 2012
In 2013, three of Corvallis’ most vibrant arts organizations will celebrate important anniversaries: The Arts Center (50th), da Vinci Days (25th), and The Majestic Theatre (100th). “The Year of Culture” is a citywide effort to celebrate these milestones, and to promote the cultural richness of the Corvallis area as a whole.
The $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts will fund The Arts Center’s ‘The Year of Culture’ projects, including: an online events calendar representing the activities of local cultural organizations, a printed cultural tourism guide that will be free to residents & visitors, and a marketing effort including local & regional advertising to promote Corvallis as a cultural hub.
‘The Year of Culture’ partners include: The Arts Center (aka Linn-Benton Arts Council), The Majestic Theatre, The Whiteside Theatre, Benton County Historical Society, da Vinci Days and Corvallis Fall Festival.
The Arts Center will no longer produce our printed ArtSpirit newsletter, and will focus more heavily on expanding online communications. This transition will allow us to more efficiently communicate with the public we serve in Linn and Benton counties, and to increase the time and resources we spend directly on programs.
The Arts Center Retires ArtSpirit Newsletter
Release date: Apr 19, 2012
Up-to-date information about our events & programs is available via our website (www.theartscenter.net), Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TheArtsCenterOregon), and through upcoming monthly email updates.
The Arts Center presents American Spring, a symposium addressing radical change movements in America
Release date: Apr 16, 2012
The series features short presentations from local humanities experts and moderated community discussions. All presentations are free and open to the public. The program is funded, in part, through a grant from Oregon Humanities.
Panel Topics:
- Saturday, May 12, 2:00pm
This Machine Kills Fascists: Woody Guthrie and Populism in Music - Sunday, May 13, 2:00pm
Strike! Organizing labor in the 21st Century - Saturday, May 19, 2:00pm
The Revolution will be Live-Streamed: Rethinking Media and Journalism - Sunday, May 20, 2:00pm
Seeds of Victory: War Gardens and the Contemporary ‘Grow Local’ Movement
All panels take place at The Arts Center, 700 SW Madison Ave, Corvallis 97333. [directions]
About American Spring
Inspired by the recent Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements, American Spring is a series of lectures, screenings and community discussions exploring the idea of radical change in the United States. The program uses the recent Occupy Wall Street and Arab Spring movements as a starting point to talk about the possibilities for, and repercussions of, widespread systemic change in America. More information and speaker bios.
For more information please contact:
Josephine Zarkovich, American Spring Program Coordinator.
The Arts Center Receives Capacity Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission
Release date: Apr 2, 2012
The Arts Center is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $27,000 capacity-building grant. This funding is part of the Oregon Arts Commission’s multi-year Sustaining Oregon’s Arts effort to strengthen arts organizations in Oregon.
The grant will fund over 50% of The Arts Center’s year-long $50,000 Capacity Building Project, which includes critical updates to the organization’s membership database, website, and phone systems. These improvements will increase the center’s ability to process information, collaborate between programs, develop donors, and interact with the community.
For more information, contact:
David Huff, Executive Director, The Arts Center
541-754-1551, 541-754-1552
david@theartscenter.net
The Arts Center Partners with Oak Creek to take At-Risk Teens on their own Hero’s Journey
Release date: Mar 7, 2012
The Arts Center’s Education Program, in partnership with Oak Creek / Oregon Youth Authority, is presenting 6-week workshops for 100 at-risk teens to explore their own life journeys. The workshops use as a guide the world of myth & story as described in Joseph Campbell’s monomyth or ‘Hero’s Journey,’ narrative pattern. Participants will weave their own personal stories into creative activities to gain insight and perspective. The Hero’s Journey workshops take place March through May of 2012, and culminate in a community performance. National teller, Liz Warren joins us for teacher training for the workshops.
Support this and our other community programming: become a Member of The Arts Center!
The Arts Center Partners with Local High Schools for Performance Workshops
Release date: Feb 21, 2012
The Arts Center’s Education Program, in partnership with the Corvallis School District Theater, Corvallis High School (CHS), and the Crescent Valley High School (CV) counseling offices, are presenting a series of theatrical performance workshops for at-risk students at CHS and CV.
During January through June of 2012, visiting teaching artists will present one hour workshops for students during the school day. These workshops will give students exposure to the performing arts while helping them to develop self esteem and confidence.
Presenters include: Darryl Thomas, performer and dance professor at WOU; Dave Chiller, rhythm and drumming; Carol Soth, storytelling; Gina Gambony, Shadow Theatre; and Rhiannon, Finding your Voice: Song and Poetry.
‘Shadows and Story’ Workshops Bring At-Risk Students’ Voices to the Stage
Release date: Feb 21, 2012
The Arts Center’s Education Program, in partnership with the 509j School District and Cheldelin Middle School, will present a theatrical performance workshop for 150 at-risk students from Cheldelin’s ‘Cougar Academy.’
During February through March 2012, a resident teaching artist will work with students to develop original performance pieces based on their own life stories. A major focus of the workshop will be helping each student to find their own ‘voice.’
For the workshop ‘finale,’ students will use shadow theater techniques to illustrate and perform their stories for their school community.
Support this and our other community programming: become a Member of The Arts Center!
The Arts Center Receives Competitive Grant from the Oregon Community Foundation
Release date: Jan 15, 2012
The Arts Center is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $25,000 grant by the Oregon Community Foundation as part of their Community Grants program. The grant, which can be used for general operating expenses, significantly decreases the operations budget gap created by the loss of $40,000 in City funding.
The Arts Center is adjusting its business model to better serve our community given the current economic climate. This operating support from the OCF will help enable The Arts Center to transition to a new business model without running a deficit and will help The Arts Center continue to serve the thousands of hospital patients, students, and art lovers who rely on our programs.
For more information, contact:
David Huff, Executive Director, The Arts Center
541-754-1551, 541-754-1552
david@theartscenter.net
The Arts Center Receives Grant from the Plum Creek Foundation for Gallery Renovation
Release date: Dec 22, 2011
The Arts Center is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $5,000 grant by the Plum Creek Foundation. The grant will fund a portion of the Historic Gallery Renovation project at The Arts Center’s downtown facility.
The Historic Gallery Renovation Project is a multi-year effort to repair and upgrade The Arts Center’s exhibition and rental spaces to better serve the community of Benton and Linn Counties. In January 2012, The Arts Center will close the Main Gallery to the public in order to begin these much-needed renovations. Working with a dedicated group of volunteers, the organization will remove and replace the fiberglass textile wall covering for the main gallery’s exhibition surfaces. The upgrade will provide The Arts Center with professional display walls to help highlight the work of this region’s talented artists. The Arts Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2013.
For more information, contact
David Huff, Executive Director, The Arts Center
541-754-1551, 541-754-1552
david@theartscenter.net
ANNUAL REPORTS
The Arts Center’s Director gathers an annual report of financials and information to share at its annual membership meeting. Each year we welcome our members to come, ask questions and learn what their generous funds do for our community.
