Mission Statement

Arts Central, the regional arts and culture council of Central Oregon, builds an appreciation of the arts through education and advocacy and encourages the inclusion of the arts in all aspects of community life.

We provide arts education at the Art Station and through our Artists in Schools (AIS) residency program in five rural counties.  VanGo serves rural areas and youth at risk; and Mirror Pond Gallery promotes the work of regional artists.

Arts Central provides assistance and support to many regional arts and culture organizations and manages cultural planning and public art projects for communities in Jefferson, Crook and Deschutes counties.

What is the History of Arts Central?

Arts Central was founded in 1976. Program development began in 1994, when the organization saved and restored the 1904 craftsman bungalow home of Bend’s first mayor. The Mirror Pond Gallery came into being as a result, with the goal of providing showcase opportunities for the region’s emerging artists in a professional gallery setting.

As the number of artists in the region grew and improved, the gallery developed a program to feature artists in the office and lobbies of local businesses. Called Art at Work, the program showcases individual artists in a revolving display at eleven sites. Approximately 23,000 locals and tourists visit the gallery annually to view 100 consigned artists. 

In 1997, Arts Central assumed management of the Regional Arts and Culture Council for Central Oregon. Arts Central continued its growth efforts in 2000 by helping to save and restore the 1911 Bend’s historic train depot in partnership with William Smith Properties.

Arts Central founded the region’s first and only arts school, the Art Station, which today offers 220 classes in the majority of visual art media to 1,955 members of the public annually, 1,400 of whom are children.

In 2000, Arts Central was also asked to take over the management of an Artists in Schools residency program. From its education headquarters in the Art Station, Arts Central manages artist residencies in Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook, Lake and Klamath counties covering 22,250 square miles and serving 8,000 children.

As the youth at risk population continued to grow, Arts Central felt an increasing need to provide the benefits of the arts to the kids that need it most. In 2006, VanGo, our mobile art classroom, hit the road to juvenile justice, a shelter for homeless youth and troubled teens, and afterschool facilities for rural kids.
 

What is the future of Arts Central?

As the Central Oregon regional arts and culture council, Arts Central has assumed leadership in public art, leading the charge last year to establish a 1% for Art program in Bend and to launch a new public art initiative for Bend called ArtMatch. Arts Central is working with Sisters, Madras, Redmond, Prineville and Warm Springs on a variety of subjects such as public art management and cultural planning. Arts Central is the lead partner for implementation of arts and culture planning for Bend 2030, the city’s visioning process and serves as the manager of the Deschutes Cultural Coalition. The region’s need for arts and culture resources in the fields of education, social services, beautification, planning and tourism are immense.  Arts Central continues to expand its services to meet as many of these needs as possible.