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Cultural Hubs

Cultural centers fill a vital role in communities, often serving multiple functions as performance halls, art galleries, historical repositories, gathering places, and educational resources. They help to build essential connections and strengthen the social fabric. A series that profiles essential cultural hubs, prioritizing centers in rural and underserved areas, examines how they uniquely serve and reflect their communities. These stories will produce a broad cultural snapshot of the state, provide a window into Oregon’s many distinct communities, and help to bridge the urban/rural divide.

KEY SPONSORS

Braemar Charitable Trust
Hampton Family Foundation of Oregon Community Foundation
Oregon Arts Commission
The Reser Family Foundation
The Roundhouse Foundation

As a drummaker holds up her creation, the lacing cast shadows against the skin. Photo by: David Bates

Inner Oasis Drum Circle: Connecting to the heartbeat of life

The weekly McMinnville gathering, like others around the state, draws participants who say they are both energized and calmed by the practice. “The primitive nature of the drum in the story of humanity,” says one drummer.

Tyler Crook (right), chair of the Willamina Public Library board, leads a Saturday drawing workshop. Crook, a professional comics artist, says, “We live in some pretty challenging times and libraries are uniquely suited to provide the things that our community needs." Photo by: David Bates

Willamina Public Library: The little library that could

The library has weathered budget and staff cuts, an unwieldy inventory, and the pandemic to deliver everything from books to workshops, games, and homeless outreach to the Yamhill County community of 2,200.

Fertile ground: Pendleton Center for the Arts

Access and opportunity are at the heart of the mission of Pendleton Center for the Arts. The mission is especially fitting given that the center’s brick-and-mortar location was originally a Carnegie library.

Framing the Rothko Pavilion

The Portland Art Museum’s redesigned, glass-ensconced addition, due to open in summer 2025, will make viewing easier and could be a boon to an ailing downtown.

From slave to homesteader in Oregon

An illuminating exhibit on the life of Black pioneer Letitia Carson helps the Corvallis Museum broaden its perspective on the history of Oregon and Benton County.

A fresh new day at the Jewish Museum

After a four-month construction shutdown, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education reopens with new shows, a new gallery, and a celebratory street fair.

PICA: Out of the pandemic, into the future

Retiring Portland Institute for Contemporary Art executive director Victoria Frey and her successor, Reuben Roqueñi, discuss the venerable avant-garde arts institution’s coming transformation.

Getting ready to play at ‘The Judy’

After years of searching for a new home, Northwest Children’s Theater is on the brink of a spring move to expansive digs in the heart of downtown Portland.

Art Adventure: Heading to Hillsboro

From its Walters Arts Center to its Civic Center, a surprise Lee Kelly sculpture and more, Portland’s booming western neighbor offers a surprise for the eyes.

Metropolitan Youth Symphony Welcomes Cocal Sensation Jimmie Herrod Newmark Theatre Portland Oregon
Cappella Romana The 12 Days of Christmas in the East St. Mary's Cathedral Portland Oregon
Literary Arts The Moth Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Portland Oregon
Open Space Not-Cracker Newmark Theatre Portland Oregon
Portland Playhouse A Christmas Carol Portland Oregon
Oregon Repertory Singers Glory of Christmas Concert Portland Oregon
Bridgetown Conservatory Ludlow Ladd The Poor Little Orphan Boy Holiday Operetta Tiffany Center Portland Oregon
PassinArt presents Black Nativity Brunish Theatre Portland Oregon
Imago Theatre ZooZoo Portland Oregon
Northwest Dance Project Sarah Slipper New Stories Portland Oregon
Portland State University College of the Arts
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