Welcome to Artstra!
We are a nonprofit arts advocacy group in southwest Washington. Our mission is to elevate the arts, build greater arts awareness, reward creative excellence, and expand arts accessibility.
Since our founding and through our two Arts and Culture Summit events, we have consistently seen a growing need for an art center — a center that can offer studio facilities and classrooms with specialized equipment for a variety of art disciplines together with exhibit space and affordable live/work artist lofts.
With the right public/private partnerships, such an art center is economically feasible and can be the catalyst that moves our community toward becoming a vibrant arts hub. But powerful community support and persuasive arts advocacy from organizations like ours will be essential.
Artstra’s programs include our annual Clark County Open Studios tour and Poetry Moves, a collaborative effort that features the words of local poets on C-Tran buses. Another of our programs, Creative Relief Clark County, offers art supplies to communities with limited access to the tools of creativity. All of these programs are demonstrating the power of art in our lives — to heal us, connect us, transform us, and to fuel the economy.
What’s new
Poetry Moves celebrates its fourth year of delighting, inspiring bus riders
In its fourth year of bringing moments of joy, inspiration, or reflection to thousands of [...]
Gwendolyn Morgan’s vision as Clark County’s newest Poet Laureate is to continue to lift up unheard voices
In artist and poet talks, Gwendolyn Morgan, Clark County's newest Poet Laureate (2018-2020) often invites [...]
Arts workshop spotlight
Polish your pipes: springtime means sing time! Step out of your comfort zone, get ready [...]
Get to know the Artstra team
It takes a lot of passion, energy, and experience for a small, all-volunteer, nonprofit arts [...]
POETRY MOVES
Poetry Moves shares poetry on bus channel cards in all C-TRAN buses. Installed on buses every six months are ten new poems by local and regional poets or student poets, including those involved in the Poets in the Schools program. Visit site >
OPEN STUDIOS
SUBSCRIBE to ARTS brief, the monthly newsletter of Artstra. Read the current ARTS brief. Click a date to read a prior issue:
PLEASE DONATE
About us
Artstra (formerly Arts of Clark County) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) arts advocacy group in Clark County and southwest Washington.
Art nourishes our souls, connects our community, and transforms the world.
Our vision is of a vibrant arts economy in our region, north of the Columbia River, with public/private investments and facilities that sustain artists and enrich community.
Our mission is to elevate the arts, build greater arts awareness, reward creative excellence, and expand arts accessibility.
Board of directors
Chair – Karen Madsen
Vice-Chair – Sharon Svec
Secretary – Jean LaCrosse
Treasurer – Annie Davern
Directors
Steven Baer
Karin Chase
Jackie Genis
Kitty Hibbs
Pat LaCroix
Jennifer Williams
LaRae Zawodny
Board of Directors meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the Columbia Bank Community Room, 101 E 6th St., Vancouver, WA 98660. If you are interested in attending, please contact Karen Madsen.