How to best celebrate a Curator’s 30+ years of community service? This was the challenge facing The Arts Center when Curator Hester Coucke announced plans for her September 2022 retirement. 

The celebration should reflect Coucke’s longtime relationships with The Arts Center, the outstanding volunteer Exhibition Committee members who supported her, and the public audiences she served. 

To this end, The Arts Center commemorates the retirement of long-term curator Hester Coucke with 30+ Years! Exhibition Committee Members Celebrate Hester. It showcases the many community-volunteer artists who help make public exhibition programs possible. Exhibition Committee members help select, install and de-install all exhibits for The Arts Center. Each beautifully installed show takes many hands, minds, hours of volunteer work, and a dedication to creating community connections through the visual arts. 

As The Arts Center bids a sweet farewell to departing curator Hester Coucke, we also extend a warm welcome to incoming curator Jennie Castle. Castle will build on the collaborative, community-based framework for our most visible and impactful Public Exhibition Program. Two in-house galleries support access to the arts over 250 days each year, and coordination of new public arts within the City of Corvallis provides access to the arts 24/7.

Participating artists: C. Lill Ahrens, Bonnie Albright-Wedekind, Walter Barkan, Owen Bentley, Rich Bergeman. Pat Berman, Keith Bowers, Trish Browning, Nancy Bryant, Shuo Cai, Carol Chapel. Robert Dudenhoefer III, Brian Egan, Ted Ernst, Suzanne Getz, Louie Gizyn, Anthony Gorden, Leslie Green, Annclaire Greig, Sally Ishikawa, Bobbie Jansen, Lorina (Kimzey) Johnson, Peggy Joyce, Sara Krainik, Susan Kristoferson, Mariana Mace, Jim McCarty, Janet Merriman, Karen Miller, Jennifer Moore, Sue Noel, Susan Pachuta, Lorraine Price, Deb Ramsey, Beatrice Rubenfeld, Judith M. Sanders, Jason Saunders, Pat Spark, Cy Stadsvold, Emily Steele, Debby Sundbaum-Sommers, Subarna Talkuder-Bose, Trudi Timpone, Kathe Todd-Hooker, Kathy Werz and Harold Wood.

An Endowment Fund has been established to support public exhibitions into the future and honor Hester by name with one exhibition program year. Learn More about the Hester Coucke Exhibitions Endowment Fund >