Annual Campaign: We have only $25,000 to go to meet our year-end goal. Your memeberships and operational gifts of all sizes will be matched by a generous grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, doubling your gift. When you give you make an immediate impact as we complete 2023 and prepare to expand Sitka's reach in the New Year. For those who have already contributed to the 2023 Annual Campaign, thank you!
Audiences Served
The projected overall audience Sitka will serve in 2023 into 2024 will be >53% larger than at the start of the pandemic (>6,000 in Q1 2024 compared to 3,900 in 2018). 100% of this growth is attributable to Sitka's equity progress, as we continue to serve longtime audiences at historic levels while also expanding art and nature access to new audiences. Over 60% of our all-ages learning audience served in 2023 is rural and low income. Over 80% of Sitka's 2023-24 Residents self-identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and/or working with a disability.
2023 Results
This year, the Sitka Center:
- Offered our most joyful Workshop Season to date, hosting nearly 100 workshops taught by a talented mix of beloved and first-time Sitka instructors and setting all-time tuition and membership revenue records in the process.
- Hosted our largest, most diverse and most collaborative Residency Program ever, including the Black Art/Ists Gathering Project, a collaborative residency cohort curated by Sitka Fellow Intisar Abioto, the Jordan Schnitzer Printmaking Residency overseen by Printmaking Program Director Julia D’Amario and Printmaking Fellow Mika Aono, the Artist at Sea Program in partnership with Hatfield Marine Science Center, the Photography Residency in partnership with Blue Sky Gallery and the Indigenous Placekeeping Artists (IPKA) Fellowship Program in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
- Brought our Youth Program into new rural Oregon coast public schools with limited or no art access, beginning the year serving 1,300 Pre-K through 8th grade kids and growing to serve a projected 2,000+ by Q1 2024.
- Completed our first full year of monitoring mile 247 of the Oregon coast and contributing to year-round community citizen science projects through our partnership with the Oregon Shores CoastWatch program.
- Engaged a public audience of over 2,500 through our online talks, including keynotes by Walter Kitundu and Dr. Cristina Eisenberg.
- Hosted the 29th Annual Sitka Art Invitational in Portland, showcasing work by 100 regional artists. Nearly 1,500 visitors and 80 volunteers participated. The audience was the most diverse in the program's history. Over 60% of the artists sold work.
Thank you for including Sitka in your year-end giving. We are excited for the New Year ahead. - The Sitka Team
