A hybrid approach — with COVID safety in mind The Clark County Open Studios Tour is back on the calendar for this November 6–7. The tour will return after a year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This fall will mark the eighth year of the free, self-guided tour of local artists’ studios. “What’s new [...]
Vancouver poet Armin Tolentino has been selected as Clark County Poet Laureate, 2021-2023. Armin is the author of the poetry collection We Meant to Bring It Home Alive (Alternating Current Press). He earned an MFA in Creative Writing at Rutgers Newark and his work has been published in numerous literary journals including Common Knowledge, Arsenic [...]
The City of Vancouver and Historic Trust, with support from Artstra, are working on a concept to repurpose the Vancouver police headquarters building (located at 605 E. Evergreen Blvd.) into the Arts Headquarters, a community arts center that could potentially offer studio space, classrooms, a gallery, and makerspaces. If you are an artist, maker, or [...]
Poetry Moves Season 10 poems are now on C-Tran buses. This latest group of poems highlights the diversity of voices among ten local area poets invited by Artstra to offer short poems to share with the riding public. Poetry Moves is an Artstra program developed in partnership with C-Tran. Season 10 poets are Tiel Aisha [...]
We are coming up on what should have been Open Studios weekend and many will miss that special opportunity to connect with artists. To say this year has been challenging is an understatement. Many local businesses and artists continue to struggle. Although our annual Open Studios Tour is cancelled this year, we can still enjoy [...]
Artstra thanks all who contributed to supporting the arts during the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington's Give More 24! day of giving. It was gratifying to see so many local arts organizations supported by our community. The arts have had to adjust and take new approaches to reaching out and to surviving during this stressful [...]
Congratulations to Maestro Salvador Brotons, Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Brotons received Clark County Arts Commission's Lifetime Achievement Award for 2020 in an announcement on Sunday September 20 at VSO's Gala 2020 celebrating Maestro Brotons' 30 years leading the Orchestra. At the virtual event, a statement read in part, "Maestro Salvador Brotons has [...]
All artists currently living in Clark County and who participated in the Clark County Open Studios Tour in any of the past seven years are eligible to apply for $500 in relief due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. PLEASE NOTE: The application period for COVID relief ended August 15, 2020. * Note that [...]
The weekend of November 2-3, 50 local artists will open their doors to the public as part of a free, self-guided tour of artists’ studios in Clark County. Artists will share how, why, and where their art is created. The tour provides a rare opportunity for the public to visit artists and artisans in their [...]
Two local professional concert pianists in collaboration with other art organizations in Vancouver are launching Musica Lanterna in October, a Classical Concert Series Project, to challenge the perception of how classical music is viewed by taking it out of the concert hall and into the community. "Our vision embodies and transcends the listening experience," said [...]