Commitment to Justice, Equity & Transparency

In 1960s the grassroots, innovative effort of artists, civic leaders, and university art departments was quite radical: they set out to establish the Corvallis Arts Council as the first community-based arts organization in the State of Oregon, and 27th in the United States. We changed our name to The Arts Center in 2008 with the goal of becoming inclusive of all people seeking connections to the arts.  

Since 2020 The Arts Center is in an organization-wide process of learning and change to examine and address discriminatory policies, dominant cultural practices, and decision-making systems with the goal of becoming a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive arts organization. We are actively working to embed justice, equity, and transparency into every level of our organization. We invite individuals who share our commitment to this goal to join our team and to help shape a more just and equitable future for our organization as well as for the communities we serve.

Systems Changes To-Date:

• Mission review and revisions to place equity at the forefront
• Board, staff, volunteer position descriptions, and search/selection process revised
• Instituted OPEN Calls to Artists and for Leadership and Volunteer positions with transparent criteria processes
• MOUs for collaborative co-creation of projects/programs with community partners
• Bylaws and Policy Review and Revisions
• Approved Diversity Initiative with program, marketing and development SMART goals to expand equitable access to the arts.

In 2023, our 60th Birthday “Expressions of Community” Year celebrates community creativity that drives our city and region.

Read more: 2022 Mid-Year Impact Report

The Unfolding of an Idea, a brief history of The Arts Center as shared by founding member, Marion Gathercoal.