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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2022)
8 BEHIND THE SCENES JANUARY 26�FEBRUARY 2, 2022 FROM THE COVER Art centers pivot during the pandemic By Lisa Britton Go! Magazine EASTERN OREGON ART CENTERS Pendleton Center for the Arts 214 N. Main St., Pendleton Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, noon-4 p.m. pendletonarts.org Art Center East 1006 Penn Ave., La Grande Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. artcentereast.org Josephy Center for Arts & Culture 403 N. Main St., Joseph Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. josephy.org Crossroads Carnegie Art Center 2020 Auburn Ave., Baker City Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. www.crossroads-arts.org Painted Sky Center for the Arts 118 Washington Ave., Canyon City paintedskycenter.com * The art centers also post updates on social media A rt centers across East- ern Oregon are still weathering the eff ects of the pandemic, but directors in the region agree that the arts are essential. “It’s more important than ever,” said Darcy Dolge, execu- tive director of Art Center East in La Grande. “The arts are here to remind people of kindness and compassion and what re- ally matters.” Art centers have continued to provide artistic opportuni- ties in whatever way possible despite the ever-changing times. “Our main interaction with the community is classes,” Dolge said. ACE was closed, with staff furloughed, in 2020 from March to August. “The board did an amazing job of grant writing and keeping everything alive,” Dolge said. Art Center East/Contributed image Classes, such as this one on batik painting at Art Center East in La Grande, are still off ered at art centers across Eastern Oregon, although most are at reduced enrollment due to space. And artists stepped forward to help by donating work to raise funds for the center. Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City was closed for 50 days, reopening May 15, 2020. “And we’ve never closed since then,” said Ginger Sav- age, executive director. Crossroads has a First Friday art show opening every Support Crossroads — Your Community Art Center 2020 Auburn Avenue Baker City, Oregon 541.523.5369 Crossroads is open Monday - Saturday 10:00am - 5:00pm Gallery • Classes • Special Events Visit www.crossroads-arts.org to become a member. month, and those have contin- ued during the last two years. Attendance, however, has not returned to pre-pandemic numbers. Crossroads restarted adult classes in May 2020. “All of our classes were really tiny,” Savage said. Youth classes are back now, and the studio at Crossroads has welcomed three ballet classes this month. “It’s been really joyful,” Sav- age said. “It’s good to have that back, that laughter.” Dolge said classes at ACE are fi lling up but continue to have decreased capacity. “The majority of art centers have limited space,” she said. But people are still signing up. “People are so excited to be there,” Dolge said. The Josephy Center for Arts and Culture in Joseph canceled classes and exhibit receptions, but those are re- turning.