August 2024 Director's Journal

The uppermost tips of the vine maples are turning vermillion. Mornings linger under their fog blankets a few minutes longer each day. As the season begins to change, I savor the golden weeks of late summer at Sitka while also looking ahead to the coming fall.

In Dayna Collins’ Wild and Free Abstracted Florals workshop, summer is in unapologetic full bloom. Meanwhile, Yuji Hiratsuka’s Historical Structures for Handmade Art Books workshop offers an intense, meditative focus. While most workshops are full, there are still a few seats available in Sitka’s late August and September sessions. Thank you to Program Manager Maria Elting for curating such an immersive and endless Sitka summer. It’s not too late to come join us on the coast.

When the new academic year begins, Sitka’s youth program—now known as K-8 Create—will expand to serve 5,000 students. Partnering with seventeen schools and nine districts across three coastal counties, this program addresses arts education access gaps and serves as a regional model for rural communities statewide. Journalist Lori Tobias recently profiled our program’s expansion for Oregon ArtsWatch and you can listen to OPB interview Sitka about K-8 Create’s growth and impact on the August 27 edition of Think Out Loud.

On October 18-20, the Sitka community will gather in Portland to celebrate the 30th annual Art Invitational. This beloved event showcases new works from 100 regional artists, inviting us to reflect on our evolving relationship with nature.

Our fall keynote will take place live at the Invitational, featuring artists Marie Watt and Julia D’Amario, who will discuss their collaboration through the Jordan Schnitzer Printmaking Residency program, where D’Amario serves as director. Other artist conversations and live music performances will enrich the anniversary celebration.

Volunteers are essential to making this event possible—be sure to check out Art Invitational Coordinator Katie McClintock’s invitation to get involved in this newsletter.

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This fall through spring, over 50 professional and emerging practitioners working at the intersections of the arts and ecology will find inspiration in residence at Sitka, drawing from the coastal landscape and each other. Maria Elting notes, “This year Sitka will host everyone from a wilderness photographer who has turned his truck into a mobile darkroom to a sculptor studying slime mold and an ecologist who was the first female fire chief in the United States.” Resident talks will offer insights into their work and connect us as a learning community, near and far.

When the first residents arrive, they will discover over 100 new thought-provoking titles in Sitka’s art and ecology reference library, curated by Sitka Literary Arts Fellow Adam Swanson. Join us on October 3 for readings by authors featured in the collection and to explore these new books in person. I hope you enjoy reading Swanson’s update in this newsletter.

With so much joyful progress to celebrate, from our 30^th Art Invitational to K-8 Create, I am thrilled that Shannon Carlson is joining Sitka’s team to serve as our Communications and Outreach Director. Reflecting on her new role, Shannon shares, “I think maybe I was always on my way to the Sitka Center, in so many ways that wove together to form my path. I loved the Sitka Center as an artist. I loved the Sitka Center as a communications professional. And, now, I love the Sitka Center as a new team member. I feel so fortunate to be working with this incredible group of humans in this extraordinary place — doing work that deeply affects so many lives. I am so very grateful to be here and I can’t wait to meet more of this remarkable community that supports and sustains all things Sitka.”

Welcome, Shannon. Happy summer, all. I look forward to growing and exploring together as a learning community this fall.

Alison Dennis

Executive Director