Silverton Arts Association provides avenues for self expression and arts education to students who otherwise might miss out. Established in 1963, this nonprofit organization is well rooted in Marion County, where they teach art to more than 1000 elementary and middle school students in Silver Falls School District classrooms. Their education portfolio extends to after-school programs at their park-side facilities which include a flexible, drop-in creative space; summer camps; and art workshops for adults.
“The heart of our organization, beyond a passion for creative output, is hospitality: It’s a sense of welcome and the prioritization of relationships and community-building,” says Board Member Jonathan Case. “That is something that I think a lot of us who went on to creative careers after growing up in small towns, that’s something that’s really a value for us.”
For the in-classroom arts education, Silverton Arts sends their staff, Angela McGraw and Christine Detweiller, to schools across the district. The lessons are for elementary and middle school students and help supplement classroom education. This arts hour in the classroom is often the only arts education students are receiving, due to massive budget cuts in the district. “We’re happy to serve in that role, but creative life exists — and should thrive — beyond school hours,” says Case.
Silverton Arts Association is looking to prioritize afterschool programs more with each calendar year. The program provides working families with the comfort of knowing their children are not only safe, but they are gaining skills that can help them express their creativity and support their overall mental health. A multi-year grant from Roundhouse Foundation will enable Silverton Arts Association to triple the amount of afterschool programming they currently provide. Last school year, they ran a program Thursdays from 4-5:30 p.m. and for 2026/2027, they are planning on adding one or two more afterschool options. The grant funds also include more support and subsidies for home-school families and scholarships for disadvantaged rural youth.
“In America, the narrative is that arts are the last priority, and that’s magnified in its own way in a small town,” says Case, who grew up in rural Pacific City on the Oregon Coast. “So to be able to be a resource for building community, and welcoming everyone, and providing education to everyone about the value of art and the value of what their kids are making in their bedrooms for hours at a time—all of that, I think, is the primary magnetic element of [Silverton Arts Association].”
Looking at the organization today, with its marquee events, the Silverton Arts Festival and Silver Falls Film Festival, it’s hard to imagine, but the organization recently faced unsteady times. With a small board focused on the banner events, COVID hit them particularly hard, and to find their own creative spark again, they had to recruit new committee members, board members and staff. Today the leadership includes documentary filmmaker Mike Turner; fine art sculpturist Anne Pinkowski; Case whose repertoire includes writing award-winning graphic novels; and many more.
“There’s people who are invested here who have had to be scrappy and figure out how to make a living creatively,” says Case. “That puts us in a unique position as an arts organization serving a small community because it gives families and the people who are coming to the art center a vision that their work has relevance, in the human story, and I think that’s vitally important right now…”
