The Guild IS More Than a Gallery

When the Guild first organized, we were asked to show at the End of the Trail in their gift gallery. Wasn’t much but it got our artists work out into the public view. During that same time, the guild had representation on the newly formed Main Street Oregon City group. The guild was given the opportunity to open “Nomad” galleries in open office spaces on Main Street. Don Slack, owner of property on Main Street and one of the founding members of the Main Street program offered several locations to the guild as property was vacated. We were offered to participate in the First Friday events on Main Street. Businesses opened their doors to artists to set up mini-galleries. These events brought hundreds of residents to Main Street to discover the art, music and food.

The next gallery was located in the Friends of the Library Bookstore. They shared space with books and bookstore volunteers. This location worked well as an interim gallery until being asked to move into the Singer Hill facility. The community always looked forward to our artist events to meet the artists and see all the new artwork.

Now we face a new day with a very difficult year behind us. The guild had a wonderful Pop-up art event in May when we saw new faces out to enjoy an open-air event. In 2 weeks we celebrate the annual Oregon City Festival of the Arts where we will welcome thousands of visitors.

The guild will have a gallery once again and we will continue to work with other organizations to put on city events. We’ve helped the Library celebrate its birthday, worked with the Heritage community, had an art show in the Forest and worked on projects with the Main Street Organization for many years.

We remain a very vital part of this community and continue to contribute to the arts and culture of the city. Brighter days are ahead!

Lynda Orzen
Founding Member
Three Rivers Artist Guild
Main Street, Oregon City