Welcome to the Sitka Center
About the Sitka Center
Founded in 1970, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology fosters creativity, intellectual inquiry, and education. By helping others discover more about their core creative selves and their connections to nature, the Sitka Center works to fulfill its mission of expanding the relationships between art, nature and humanity.
The Sitka Center offers workshops, residencies and community events, while maintaining a facility appropriate to its needs in harmony with its inspirational coastal environment near Cascade Head and the Salmon River estuary.
Literally a center at the edge, where land meets sky, saltwater meets freshwater, the Sitka Center is a place where a diverse group of people and ideas converge, co-mingle and depart transformed.
The Folks Who Work Here:
Meet our 2011 staff (from left to right and bottom to top): Eric Vines, Dawn Stetzel, Jalene Case, Mindy Chaffin, Teal Francis, Ernie Rose, and Rebecca Welti.
Sitka Center Programs:
Our Workshop Program (May through October) provides people of all levels the transformative and joyful experience of making art and
exploring their connections to nature. We offer over 100 one- to five-day intensives on
drawing, painting, music, nature, woodworking, encaustics, food, sculpture, fiber arts, kayaking, jewelry, metal work,
photography, printmaking, and writing. Professional artists and scientists guide the instruction in one of the Center's five studios
or outdoors in the natural environment of Cascade Head and Salmon River estuary. The annual Workshop Catalog is available in print
and online by February each year. Watch for earlier updates on this website.
More about the Workshop Program »
Our Residency Program (October through May) provides artists, writers, and natural scientists the opportunity to conduct their work
while deeply engaging with the environment of Cascade Head. Up to seven residents at a time (up to 28 per year), from different disciplines
and stages in their careers, live and work on campus for up to three and a half months, free of charge. All residents perform community
outreach during their stay, offering free exhibits and lectures on campus, presentations to area schools or community groups, and/or
conducting scholarly research for local educational institutions.This is often a life-changing experience for the participants.
More about the Residency Program »