Painted Sky Center for the Arts in John Day celebrates building acquisition

Published 3:00 pm Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Vanessa Ruddy, center, Jennie Roller, both of John Day, look at paintings on display at the Painted Sky Center for the Arts. 

JOHN DAY — Painted Sky Center for the Arts, which has been a place for the practice and appreciation of art and culture for Grant County residents since 2019, held a ribbon cutting May 14 to celebrate its acquisition last November of the former Madden Building in John Day.

The Painted Sky Center for the Arts building on Northwest Bridge Street, which had formerly housed Blue Mountain Junior High School, hosted a number of supporters who were able to tour the arts center and see the different classrooms and spaces where residents young and old practice arts such as painting, ceramics, leatherwork and fiber arts such as weaving and knitting.

“This is a milestone for Painted Sky because we worked so hard to have a building and an executive director and we’re getting those basically at the same time, and to come from no money and no paid staff to where we are now is really huge,” said Kim Randleas, Painted Sky board president. “For so many years we didn’t have a facility dedicated to the arts in Grant County, and this being the first is so important for us.”

Painted Sky Executive Director Valerie Munyon said the possibilities for arts learning, practice and appreciation at the center are endless.

“We look forward to continuing our mission to bring arts and arts education to John Day and all of Grant County,” she added. “It is our sincere hope that generations to come will appreciate the sacrifices and vision that went into making Painted Sky Center for the Arts this rare gem of art and creativity in the high desert of Oregon.”

Painted Sky development director Allison Field echoed the excitement.

“This has been such a long time coming for us and we’re just more than thrilled to be able to be in a facility like this to offer the community more services, help more people and expand and grow into (something) even bigger than we are now,” she said.

Painted Sky officials said they received support from the Roundhouse Foundation and the Oregon Community Foundation to help with a $175,000 down payment on the building, in addition to other donations and a $500,000 award from recent state legislation through the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Painted Sky also obtained gap funding in the form of a loan to help secure the building, and the Maddens returned $200,000 from the original selling price of $1,090,000 as a donation, officials said.

Munyon said she’s looking forward to offering performing arts classes and utilizing the gym space for recitals, plays, concerts and exhibitions. Painted Sky also plans to continue renting the space to the public if they need a large venue and leasing it to the Grant School District as a sports practice facility, which will help bring in revenue.

As for Painted Sky’s future, Munyon said she can’t help but look forward to more growth.

“We look forward to expanding our programming and bringing new opportunities to learn and create, such as music, theater, classes in stained glass making, jewelry making, unique weekend workshops and summertime programming for our kids,” she said.

For more information on how to help the center grow or to learn more about the center’s offerings, visit paintedskycenter.com, go to facebook.com/PaintedSkyCenter or call 541-575-1335.

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