Ester Barkai

Ester Barkai is a freelance arts writer. She’s written for The Magazine in Santa Fe, New Mexico and for Eugene Weekly in Eugene, Oregon. She got her start working for publications as a fashion illustrator in Los Angeles and then New York City. She has worked as an instructor teaching a variety of art history, drawing, and cultural anthropology courses.

MECCA used art supply store in Eugene encourages creativity through recycling

March 30, 2025Ester Barkai

The nonprofit Materials Exchange Center for Community Arts, which offers workshops and provides free supplies to teachers, is a cross between a garage sale and an arts-and-crafts thrift shop.

The Jazz Station: Willamette Jazz Society creates a place to play and connect in Eugene

December 1, 2024Ester Barkai

The club, started to help students get into University of Oregon jazz camps, is the only full-time community-run jazz club in Oregon.

Up Close and Personal: Oregon Contemporary Theatre champions new work and intimate experiences

November 6, 2024Ester Barkai

The Eugene theater’s production of "The Last Yiddish Speaker" gathers actors and audiences closely together for a Rolling World Premiere.

Say hello to Rick Bartow

September 27, 2024Ester Barkai

The late Oregon artist's work is on view at the High Desert Museum in Bend and the Karin Clarke Gallery in Eugene this fall as well as at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

The wonder of Wordcrafters: A Eugene nonprofit helps people find their inner writer  

August 3, 2024Ester Barkai

Writers of all ages, genres, and experience levels find a home in the group’s classes, retreats, and writing studio. “We’re all storytellers to some degree,” says one instructor, “even if we don’t know it.”

Weather as metaphor for everything

March 5, 2024Ester Barkai

The exhibition "Strange Weather" at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon brings together a diverse roster of artists and perspectives.

Lane County History Museum: Connecting objects and their stories

January 7, 2024Ester Barkai

The Eugene museum, which began with a collection of pioneer memorabilia, has evolved into a more inclusive institution.

Hank Murrow’s last clay show

December 9, 2023Ester Barkai

After a lifetime of working with clay, "Fired Up" will showcase the artist's last works in the medium. The show is at White Lotus Gallery in Eugene through December 30th.

Brownsville Art Association: The perfect location, in more ways than one

November 12, 2023Ester Barkai

In the historic Willamette Valley town made famous by the movie “Stand by Me,” a volunteer-run gallery provides a year-round showcase for members, as well as classes and workshops for children and adults.

Art Heals: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art program reaches far beyond museum walls 

October 2, 2023Ester Barkai

What began as a way for student athletes to de-stress has grown to serve people dealing with trying situations, from caregivers to the seriously ill.

Isaac Julien’s ‘Lessons of the Hour’ at JSMA, Eugene

September 23, 2023Ester Barkai

The multi-screen installation documentary focuses on the life of Frederick Douglass. Julien's project embodies the notion that there is always more than one version to any story.

Big love for Eugene’s Very Little Theatre

July 27, 2023Ester Barkai

“The Skin of Our Teeth” opens next week at the 94-year-old community theater, which is adding new voices to its repertoire.

Eugene’s Whiteaker Printmakers: A culture of sharing, and some big machines

May 17, 2023Ester Barkai

A neighborhood print studio highlights the social aspect of printmaking and provides members 24-hour access to a variety of presses, some more than 100 years old.

Return to art: Continuity of community at Eugene’s Maude Kerns Art Center

April 12, 2023Ester Barkai

For 73 years, the gallery and studio space has offered amateurs and professionals a place to show their work and to share skills and support.

A sculpture to celebrate Louis Southworth

September 15, 2022Ester Barkai

Southworth is the namesake of Waldport's newly announced park. Pete Helzer's life-sized bronze portrait will celebrate and pay tribute to Southworth and his remarkable life story.

Remembering Hung Liu at JSMA

July 21, 2022Ester Barkai

"Remember This: Hung Liu at Trillium" at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon showcases a suite of hybrid prints and paintings. The exhibition is equally an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the artist's remarkable career.

Art Review: “Quilt Bloc” at Ditch Projects

March 7, 2022Ester Barkai

The group exhibition features quilts from the Springfield History Museum in conversation with quilt-inspired works by contemporary artists.

Art review: James Kroner at Karin Clarke Gallery

February 2, 2022Ester Barkai

Karin Clarke is James Kroner's gallerist and one of his students. A show of Kroner's recent paintings marks the 20th anniversary of Karin Clarke Gallery in Eugene.

No judgment: the membership show at the Maude Kerns Art Center

December 6, 2021Ester Barkai

Any member of the Maude Kerns Art Center can exhibit at the annual "Art for All Seasons" event. Ester Barkai explores this democratic approach to showing art.

Review: “Beyond Creative: Japanese Prints Since the 1950s” at White Lotus Gallery

October 21, 2021Ester Barkai

The owners of the Eugene gallery have always been smitten with prints from Sōsaku-hanga or Creative Print movement. A new exhibit showcases standouts from the gallery's permanent collection.