Wednesday, January 30, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
A community’s identity with art
By Chris Morin
Correspondent
Small towns in America
typically aren9t associated
with art.
Their identity is usually
based on one of the follow-
ing: remote location; nearby
job-related industry such as
agriculture, mining, ranching,
logging, commercial fishing,
or manufacturing; serving
as a bedroom community to
a nearby larger town. When
the identity shifts, due to loss
of the original causation, the
town will wallow and gradu-
ally stagnate, or it might
attempt to gain a new identity,
which carries a certain risk.
Small towns that are art
destinations rarely start out as
such, they evolve into it.
Twenty years ago, John
Villani authored the book
<The 100 Best Small Art
Towns in America. < A back-
cover summary of a small art
town:
<[It] is the type of com-
munity people love visiting
on a weekend getaway. They
might stay at a gorgeous
B&B, have dinner in a great
(but undiscovered) restau-
rant, wander around art gal-
leries, antique shops, and flea
markets.
<A small art town is the
sort of place urbanites move
to after selling their condo
and finding a renovated farm-
house on five forested acres.
On weekends these new resi-
dents enjoy art gallery open-
ings and local musicians per-
forming at cafes. On week-
nights there are concerts and
dance programs at the local
arts center.
<A small art town is the
sort of place where people
can find a true sense of com-
munity. Families value small
art towns because they have
a high priority on neighbor-
liness and security. Kids can
walk home from school in
safety. Crime rates are reas-
suringly low.=
Visiting an almost <ideal=
place is one thing; living
there brings a greater dose of
everyday reality. Nonetheless,
the kernel of truth in this
glowing perception is pal-
pable. Art as a command-
ing presence genuinely does
exist in a small percentage of
towns and helps influence the
atmosphere of these locations
toward the kind of place envi-
sioned by Villani9s book.
For a community to be
considered an art town, per
capita, a fairly large number
of artists call it home. Works
of art are out and visible in
the community. Performing
art venues have been set
aside and dedicated to music,
dance, or theatre perfor-
mances. Opportunities annu-
ally occur for individuals to
study, learn, and practice
various art genres. Finally, art
galleries and antique stores
offer take-away works.
The iconic small towns
of the American West are
always noted for having three
things: 1. amazing outdoor
scenery that provides rec-
reational opportunities; 2. a
strong cultural component
with an art community as
one of those foundations; 3.
a wide selection of good-to-
great restaurants. Thereafter,
each has a unique quality that
makes it distinct. Jackson
Hole, Wyoming, is renowned
because of the nearby wild-
life; Sedona, Arizona, pro-
vides the mystical energy
angle; Durango, Colorado,
has the Old West persona;
Taos, New Mexico, offers the
deep heritage of Pueblo and
Spanish cultures.
These locations have a
wide range of locals, with
a plethora of attitudes, life-
styles, and perspectives, but
overall, they exemplify those
initial three qualities. They
have learned how to make
the alchemy of egalitarian
and unified coalesce. This,
in turn, attracts visitors who
seek out those very things to
include a lack of monochro-
matic thinking, which is more
indicative of generic small
towns. These attributes are
also likely to influence who
will consider moving to these
locations.
Other iconic towns offer
much different unique iden-
tities. One is known for a
massive motorcycle gather-
ing, which provides a certain
persona and attracts a differ-
ent crowd. Yet another town
is developing its image to
include being a cannabis des-
tination, due to the change
in recent state laws. Another
town, in the heart of red rock
canyon country, annually
holds 18 major, town-filling,
traffic-altering weekend fes-
tivals or events along with an
equal number of smaller ven-
ues. Locals there have come
to resent this town9s popular-
ity on those weekends. Yet,
none of these popular locales
are viewed as art destinations.
A town can gain the
art identity accidentally or
through guided effort. Taos
and Santa Fe, New Mexico,
became art centers in the
early 1900s after several art-
ists relocated there over a
period of 30 years. It wasn9t
planned. Whereas some com-
munities, particularly ski
towns of the West 4 Aspen,
Squaw Valley, Telluride, Deer
Valley 4 sought out art fes-
tivals and art galleries so as
to infuse this aspect into their
identity.
Ouray, Colorado; Poulsbo,
Washington; and Homer,
Alaska, began as mining,
agricultural, and fishing
communities, but eventually
faced a downturn in those
industries. Each reinvented
itself as a small-town desti-
nation, though not as an art
community per se. They9ve
become highly respected des-
tinations where art is recog-
nized as playing an important
and respected role. If a com-
munity could be said to have
a <soul,= then it would be
fair to say that spiritually, in
addition to economically and
culturally, these three towns
have been prospering over the
past 30 years.
Sisters, Oregon has a solid
identity driven by the out-
doors, the Western frontage
motif, and three major events.
These factors might very well
be sufficient and sustain-
ing as the town continues to
grow, and growing it is. The
foundation exists for it to also
become a true art community.
Whether or not to attempt to
direct the progress of Sisters
in any direction, let alone
an art community direction,
would be debatable. After all,
contentious debate serves as
the norm for anything any-
more. Determine, fate, acqui-
esce, status quo, intervene
& these are fancy words for
saying hands-on or hands-off.
However, every town has, at
the very least, hands in place
around it, be they interested
or passive, proactive or reac-
tive. Whatever hands there
are in place around this com-
munity, whatever they may
or may not do, let them hold
a healthy, positive desire for
the future of Sisters 4 in its
entirety.
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