Forum assesses Sisters' potential as arts center

Community members talked of making Sisters more viable for artists. photo by Jim Mitchell For two days last week the Community Action Team of Sisters (CATS) office was filled with artists, business owners, and politicians.

The attraction was the first Sisters Arts Forum, an exploration of thoughts and ideas aimed at cultivating local economic development through the arts.

Facilitator Vicki Dugger from Oregon Downtown Development Association led the discussions.

The opening session with Sisters arts-based business owners discussed marketing, artist incentives, an economic impact analysis to see what events are bringing in and creating a database of artists. Arts educators included a discussion of space to gather, perform, teach, practice, exhibit, live and work.

One session included representatives that ran the governmental gamut from the City of Sisters to a representative from the Governor's office. Others in attendance were Bend's Arts Central, Oregon Housing and Community Services, and the Oregon Economic & Community Development Department.

Kathy Deggendorfer, trustee for the Roundhouse Foundation, said, "I think what we are charged with now is continuing our search for creating a database of who the artists are and what their needs are. I'm hoping we will be able to follow up with an online survey so those people who could not make the forum because of time constraints could still express their opinions. Hopefully this is just the beginning."

The Roundhouse Foundation was established in Sisters in October, 2002, to encourage community enrichment and economic development through the arts in Central Oregon.

Deggendorfer thought that the forum opened up the dialogue for people to express their feelings about Sisters as a community, the needs of the arts community: "What can we do to make sure artists' work is valued and that there is exhibition space for everybody, that people have an opportunity to get together?"

A number of attendees were interested in a local exhibition place, which did not necessarily have to be a sales gallery. The new library will have exhibition space.

Attendees talked, not only about the visual arts, but also about the performing arts and the need for places to have small performances, practice space and instruction space.

Tom Coffield, SOAR Director, made a plea for artists in the community to create classes and projects that would be available for students in the SOAR programs.

Deggendorfer said, "Many people over the last two years have increasingly felt that the community is realizing that art is a big mover and shaker here in Sisters.

"A large part has come from the development of the Americana Project and doing more performance art and asking artists to participate in the themed art projects. So people are beginning to see how many artists live and work here, their talents."

According to Deggendorfer, one of the things that came out of the forum was artists saying, "I just really appreciate the opportunity to get to know the other artists and finding ways to connect."