Sisters Host to New Community Arts Center
by ABBY METZGER, A&E Editor

When Multnomah Publishers moved out of their facility on Adams Street in Sisters, artist Kathy Deggendorfer saw an opportunity to shift the artistic paradigm in her community. She snatched up the vacated building and is in the process of transforming it into a collaborative workspace for artists and other businesses in the area.

"Sisters doesn't have a community center, so it was really difficult to get together for community-wide exhibits or shows that weren't sales based," said Deggendorfer, a cultural representative for Community Action Team of Sisters, board member of Arts Central & Sisters Folk Festival and painter represented by High Desert Gallery.

The building, dubbed Sisters Art Works, will act as a workspace for artists in fields such as film, acting, writing and music-not just for those dedicated to fine art. Deggendorfer envisions presenting their first exhibit late October, which will feature the transition of the economy from logging to the art of fine woodworking. The community will have a chance to tour woodworking studios as well. This show will be in collaboration with Jeff and Sandra Mayernik of The Barclay Gallery in Sisters.

Half of the downstairs space will be donated to Sisters Folk Festival, and Deggendorfer and other volunteers are working to institute the Americana Study Center, a facility that will collaborate with Sisters High School and is dedicated to the study of American acoustic music and traditional craft.

Eventually the Sisters Art Works building will feature a recording studio that will provide programming for the new low frequency radio station at Sisters High School. There is also space in the downstairs portion of the building for Sisters Folk Festival to rent out rooms to arts or non-profit organizations

Other businesses are seeing the positive benefits of collaboration. Cycle Oregon and Fast Creek Productions, a coordination service for non-profits, will also be in Sisters Art Works. In addition to a music facility downstairs, there will be space for Five Elements Acupuncture & Healing Arts.

Jeanne Normand White, a nationally certified and state licensed acupuncturist, is the owner and coordinator of the healing arts center. "I'm excited to be able to integrate healing arts and visual arts," she said. "I think healing is about opening ourselves up to different possibilities of expression."

Five Elements will occupy five rooms, each representing a natural element, and Normand White plans on recruiting artists to represent these elements in their art. In addition to acupuncture, she has enlisted a reflexologist and hypnotherapist among other professionals, but is still looking for practitioners.

The rooms can be rented to practitioners by the day, which Normand White says, "gives people a way to come from other areas in Central Oregon and become established or develop a presence in Sisters." Interested practitioners may call 549-6910.

Much is still on the drawing board, but the Sisters Art Works is sure to provide a synergetic environment for artists and patrons alike in fields from literature to music. The ultimate goal is to establish community, stimulate the economy, and develop a sustainable business model for artists.

"There aren't that many layers of separation in Sisters, so we need to start breaking them down," said Deggendorfer. "People are looking for ways to re-connect with one another and I'm hoping Sisters Art Works will be a conduit to that." Sisters Art Works has a target opening of October 1 and is located on 204 West Adams Street in Sisters. Information: 420-9695