October Director's Journal

October 2025

“The Invitational connects me to community,” artist and volunteer Dale Rawls says while packing up pedestals at the close of the show. Reflecting on both the teamwork involved and the celebration of making something together, he adds, “That is what’s essential about the Art Invitational—it’s the joy of collaboration for the sake of collaboration.”

Co-curator Patty Maly, who oversees art installation with daughter and artist Ruby Maly, agrees. “It’s just so fun to work hard with a team of competent people and get something done,” she says, smiling as sold work is wrapped and collectors arrive to pick up their new pieces. “As artists, we need to make art—and we need the support of the artmaking community.”

For one week each year, the Sitka Art Invitational becomes that rare portal—a place where connection, reciprocity and shared purpose are possible.

“It’s interesting reflecting on the show,” offers artist and installation volunteer Marilyn Joyce, speaking to the joy of seeing new work by old friends and the fresh perspectives of first-time exhibitors inspired by Sitka’s mission. “We all respond to the natural world’s call—there’s such diversity in how different artists interpret it. It’s interesting to see what emerges.”

For Exhibits Coordinator Gillian Freney, who leads her first Invitational this year, that feeling of creative convergence is palpable. “Creating in my studio is a solitary endeavor,” Gillian says. “To make this show with other artists—it’s heartwarming.”

With this year’s show marking my seventh anniversary serving as Sitka’s director, it’s a gift to experience the behind-the-scenes effort that makes this annual event possible through Gillian’s fresh eyes and insights:

“Yes, there’s lots of artist-communing during the show,” she observes. “But also, the team who handles intake and installation works side by side for days. They share a bond and a commitment to making the exhibit its best. The sense of community is strong. It’s a joy to experience the camaraderie, problem-solving and laughter they bring to the work.”

Visitors feel it too—an understanding that when we engage with art together and support artists, we practice hope together – the hope intrinsic to creating something new. As viewers, we become part of the creative process.

Sitka team member Nancy Newman describes finding “portals” throughout the gallery—moments where one can step through pigment and light into a different way of seeing. From abstract overlays to glacial ice forms to dark forests teaming with life, each piece invites viewers to cross that threshold between nature observation and participation.

The show is not escapist. Across the walls, beauty and unease share the same canvas. Ryan Pierce’s still-life studies of dahlias and books stand calm against skies on fire. Kim Osgood’s laden apple tree offers its harvest beneath a steaming volcano. The invitation of the exhibition is not look away, but look closely—a reminder of how vital it is to keep paying attention to what connects and sustains us, and what is at risk if we don’t.

“What really touches me,” reflects artist and volunteer Patricia Giraud, “is how closely people look at the work.” Families move slowly through the gallery, children completing scavenger hunts among the art, collectors returning to revisit a piece before taking it home. “Art is an optimistic thing,” Patricia says. “I think people really needed the show this year.”

In a moment when so much in our world urges division or distraction, the simple act of coming together—to create, to look, to listen—becomes a collective act of care.

Each year, the Sitka Art Invitational feels like that: a portal between worlds, ready to be stepped through. What emerges through the weekend is something larger than any single work—a shared reminder that here, in the Pacific Northwest, artists connect us to the natural world of which we are a part and to one another.

From artists, musicians, installers and volunteers to sponsors, community members, collectors and our partners at Oregon Contemporary—thank you.

Here’s to everyone who makes this continuum possible and to the next portal we co-create and step through together.

The 32nd annual Sitka Art Invitational takes place October 16–18, 2026 at Oregon Contemporary in Portland. Save the dates.