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. This project is supported by funds from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

KEY SPONSORS

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

North County Recreation District: From a pool to plays, Nehalem’s hub serves coastal community

Based in a school designed by A.E. Doyle, the 30-year-old NCRD is home to concerts, lectures, an art gallery, and soon, a new $16.4 million aquatics center.

Art Center East in La Grande: Bringing art opportunities and access to Eastern Oregon

The nonprofit center serves a 10-county swath of the state with exhibitions, classes, and annual events, often engaging with the past in ways that speak to the present.

All Classical Radio’s Media Arts Center: Portland’s newest cultural hub

The venerable broadcaster’s move to new studios in downtown's KOIN Tower opens space for an energetic and expanded mission beyond the radio dial.

TOC Portland: A new song for an old institution

The venue formerly known as The Old Church Concert Hall reimagines and expands its mission to provide greater support to its home community.

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

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

Collaboration and community at Living Studios in Corvallis

Progressive art studios offer space and support for artists to create and thrive. Navigating the art world's power dynamics requires attention and care.

Kids Make Theatre: In Astoria, teaching the performing arts, igniting a passion

Since April 2023, the Liberty Theatre’s low-cost program has brought theater, dance – and self-confidence – to North Coast kids.

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

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

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.

Hillsboro’s Main Street: Awash in art and community

The city’s downtown uses arts to boost economy and livability – but work remains to be done, arts advocates say.

Touring the new Literary Arts headquarters, and turning the page

Executive director Andrew Proctor leads the way through a new Central Eastside office, bookstore, café, and event space scheduled to open in November.

Pacific Islander and Asian Family Center marks 30 years with celebration, new mural by Alex Chiu

The mural tells the story of the community that has grown up around the Northeast Portland center run by the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization.

Hoffman Center for the Arts: Manzanita’s cultural heart celebrates 20 years, looks to future expansion

Saturday’s anniversary party will include fun ranging from horticultural-themed bingo to magnet poetry, from life drawing to historical presentations.

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

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.”

A home for Hawaiians in the Pacific NW

With a population of more than 40,000 stretching from Forest Grove to Beaverton to Hillsboro to Clark County and beyond, greater Portland is a hub for native Hawaiian culture and arts.

Remaking the campus: PSU selects Walker Macy to advance its ‘Place Matters’ initiative

The design team proposes a new welcome center, colorful paint jobs, bold signage, and justice-oriented collaboration to transform the university campus and help revitalize downtown.

The Sun Rises Over Everyone: El Sol Festival shines a light on Hillsboro’s cultural diversity

A summer arts celebration reflects the inclusive approach of its home, M&M Marketplace, and provides a welcoming environment for the city’s increasingly diverse communities.

Stuffed to the gunwales, Astoria’s Columbia River Maritime Museum prepares to launch $30 million expansion

The museum’s plans to nearly double in size will increase exhibits and add classroom space to serve maritime enthusiasts, children, and researchers alike.

Prose Before Bros: A book club where women of color share reading and community

Besides monthly club meetings, group members participate in reading-themed happy hours, book swaps, a book festival, and retreats.

Inaugural Hillsboro Film Festival creates a new hub for West Side cinema

The two-day event at The Vault drew entries from around the globe and raised funds for host Bag&Baggage Productions.

Creating magic at North Pole Studio

North Pole Studio's mission is to "increase opportunities for artists with autism and intellectual / developmental disabilities to thrive as active members of the art community." Hannah Krafcik explores what makes North Pole Studio tick.

Oregon Film Museum in Astoria plans massive expansion following $1 million state grant

A new, 13,000-square-foot building will celebrate Oregon's cinematic legacy, leaving the current site to focus on 'The Goonies.' The city will mark the 39th anniversary of the film's release with Goonies Day on June 7.

A sense of place: Through a design competition, Portland State University plans to transform its campus, as well as downtown

The urban university intends to create a stronger sense of campus identity — and become a leader in revitalizing downtown Portland.

The Fall of Hillsboro’s Sequoia Gallery + Studios 

The artist-operated downtown institution’s closure after 16 years deprives Oregon of an important visual arts hub. 

Astoria Arts and Movement Center: Historic Odd Fellows Building becomes a center for dance and community

More than 90,000 votes helped the nonprofit gain funds to restore the long-neglected building, where the majestic ballroom now hosts classes ranging from ballet to Zumba.

Elbow Room takes on the contemporary art scene

A pair of "sister shows" at Elbow Room and ILY2 showcase a talented group of artists and the ingenuity of the close-knit community of the Portland art scene. The artists all work out of Elbow Room's SE Portland studio and gallery.

A Greater Applegate: Creating community through the culture of place

In Southern Oregon’s remote Applegate Valley, community organizers find that the love for a region can outweigh political, economic, and religious divisions.

Roll, Columbia, roll: At Maryhill Museum, the river is a unifier and an artistic bridge

At the clifftop museum overlooking the Columbia Gorge, two new exhibitions follow the river's flow for 300 miles to create art of the land, water, and Northwest cultures.

Corvallis’s PRAx of life opens its doors

OSU’s new performance and exhibition space, a busy hub of activity from morning to evening, brings a chance to transform how people see the university – and it has an open house April 6.

Walters Cultural Arts Center showcases creativity and builds connections in downtown Hillsboro

The busy cultural hub celebrates its 20th anniversary with a day-long party this Saturday, March 16