David Bates

David Bates is an Oregon journalist with more than 20 years as a newspaper editor and reporter in the Willamette Valley, covering virtually every topic imaginable and with a strong background in arts/culture journalism. He has lived in Yamhill County since 1996 and is working as a freelance writer. He has a long history of involvement in the theater arts, acting and on occasion directing for Gallery Players of Oregon and other area theaters. You can also find him on Substack, where he writes about art and culture at Artlandia.

Oregon Writing Festival: Nurturing the voices of young writers for 40 years

The pandemic put the daylong workshop into rebuilding mode, but students at this year’s event at Woodburn High School emerged jazzed by the power of story.

‘Solito’ author Javier Zamora will speak Wednesday at Linfield University on migration, identity, and memory

The appearance by the poet and memoirist is part of the school's “Learning Across Boundaries” program, which also includes a literary and visual art display.

Poet Q&A: Jennifer Perrine on formalism in poetry, finding inspiration in grief, and writing as healing

The Portland poet will read Thursday at the McMinnville Public Library, in advance of their new collection, "Beautiful Outlaw."

Inaugural Newgrass Festival brings bluegrass bands, including Broken Compass and Never Come Down, to Newberg

The festival, on Saturday in the Chehalem Cultural Center, grew out of popular jam sessions at Wolves & People Farmhouse Brewery.

Celebrating the small has become a big deal at the McMinnville Short Film Festival

About 1,600 tickets were sold for the recent independent film festival, which instead of superheroes and explosions, offers an expansive view of what it’s like to be a human in this world.

Artist Travis Johnson brings ‘Toxic Gods & Black Fairy Tales’ to Linfield University

Johnson's paintings resonate with images whose sources are as diverse as the Middle Passage and childhood memories of rabbits.

Four-day McMinnville Short Film Festival starts Thursday with 107 films from 15 countries

The festival provides access to independent storytellers and voices from around the world in categories that include environmental, Native American, animation, local filmmakers, horror, and documentary.

Gender Revolution, Zoë Bossiere and ‘Cactus Country’

The Portland author, who will speak Feb. 27 in McMinnville, talks about the fluidity of gender, the everyday realities of being trans, and growing up in an Arizona trailer park.

Chehalem Cultural Center goes for ‘A Walk in the Woods’

The show, at the Newberg center through March 13, features tree-themed art by Tabby Ivy, Rebecca Kiser, Elena and Trifon Markova, Karin Carter, and Linda Workman-Morelli.

Chehalem Cultural Center celebrates MLK Jr. Day with music, film, and a call to action

Roughly 300 people gathered at Monday’s event in Newberg for a multi-media production by Denver’s Mizel Museum.

Yamhill County art galleries offer a bounty of gift ideas

From pastel drawings to ceramics to metal crafts, artsy options are plentiful in wine country.

Portland’s Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre expands acting, dance, and vocal classes to second location in Salem

The company’s first show to be staged in both cities, “G.I. Holiday Jukebox,” opens Dec. 5.

‘Indie Folk’ at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art: Rethinking the line between fine art and craft, with a Northwest twist

The premise of the new exhibition at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem, Indie Folk: New Art and Sounds from the Pacific Northwest, began formulating in curator Melissa…

Joe Wilkins, Bethany Lee, Nicholas D. Kristof, Hannah Grace Spenner: New books by a quartet of Yamhill County writers

The 2024 releases include a novel, poetry, nonfiction, and memoir.

A new chapel at Newberg’s George Fox University, filled with art

Murals by professor Tim Timmerman and stained glass by Bryant Stanton add color to the graceful space, where an open house on Thursday will welcome visitors.

‘A Democracy of Multiples’:  Linfield University displays political works by Mullowney Printing

The show, running through Nov. 22, is a tribute to the power of ink on paper and how that power has functioned as a political tool — and still can.

Transformations: The A to Z of wine and art

Time, talent, and a fertile soil for nourishing creativity: At Yamhill County's A to Z Wineworks, artists in residence help produce the wine as they create their art.

From barns to studios, Yamhill artists open their doors

For two weekends, more than 60 wine country artists will open their work spaces to visitors for the 30th annual Art Harvest Studio Tour of Yamhill County.

LaJoie Theatre adds new jewel to the Chehalem Cultural Center crown

This month’s opening of the 250-seat theater makes the Newberg cultural hub one of the largest in the state, as well as an example of the “everything-for-everyone” center that thrives in smaller Oregon cities.

McMinnville’s Art Alley turns blank walls into colorful murals

A summer project adds seven works of art to a downtown alley between Davis and Evans streets.

In the footsteps of the Impressionists: McMinnville’s Erin Hanson Gallery unveils paintings inspired by the artist’s visit to France

The gallery, in an industrial park, is a sprawling nexus of beautiful, high-end art, savvy entrepreneurship, state-of-the-art technology, and light industry.

Fall theater in wine country ranges from ‘Grease’ and ‘Putnam County Spelling Bee’ to ‘Footloose’ and ‘Death by Design’

Drama, comedy, and music take center stage at Gallery Theater, Linfield University, Struts & Frets Theatre Company, Gather Repertory, and Pentacle Theatre.

Yamhill County gallery scene: Paintings by James Frey, clocks by Ann Durley, and art by art teachers

August shows also include a family of ceramicists at Linfield University and stories from the forest at the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's cultural center.

‘Apocrypha’: The art of Dennis Evans at Salem’s Hallie Ford Museum of Art

A retrospective of the Seattle artist’s work ranges from artifacts of Fluxus-inspired performance art to encaustic/mixed media pieces that conflate ideas, stories, history, and cosmology.

Cherie Savoie Tintary’s collages at Chehalem Cultural Center turn old magazines into nostalgic whimsy

The Forest Grove artist uses images from old maps and nearly a century's worth of American magazines to create pieces that range from overstuffed to exuberantly symbolist.

Poet Q&A: Portland’s Valerie Witte on the pleasures of collaboration, poetics of the strange, and going beyond the written page

Witte will read May 9 from her collection "A Rupture in the Interiors" during the McMinnville Public Library’s monthly Poetry Night.

‘Connected to the Land’: Photographer Leland Butler’s timeless images of beach and forest grace Linfield University Art Gallery

The show leads into Linfield’s May 10 Camas Festival, which honors the cultural significance of plants and landscapes important to Northwest Indigenous peoples.

‘Singular Visions’ of self-taught artists shine at Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem

The show of “outsider art” by some 30 creators with no formal training illustrates art in its purest form: Art for the sake of art, art for the artist.

In McMinnville, Keynote Concerts add to the growing musical mix

Jazz, string quartet, rock violin and more set the rhythm for the new festival in a music-happy town. Next up, March 20: Peter Eldridge of New York Voices.

At Hallie Ford, William Volkersz’ neon art shines bright

The Dutch-born American artist's retrospective at the Salem museum showcases neon not as a gaudy symbol of advertising but as a key element of art for art's sake.