Washougal Arts and Culture Alliance will host an online art festival as an alternative to its annual August event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic public gathering restrictions.
“We are very excited that our virtual 2020 Washougal Art Festival will last not just one day, but the entire month of August,” said WACA president, Kelli Rule. “Our website will be the hub, and from there, people will be able to access the festival through our Facebook and Instagram pages.”
The goal of WACA’s art festivals is to create exposure and drive sales for local and regional artists. According to Rule, artists have pushed themselves to create exclusive videos, new and refreshed websites, and more to help promote their art in a new way online. “We hope our community will support these local artisans, hard hit by the cancellation of so many opportunities to sell their art,” Rule said. “We’ll do our best through social media to give the artists the attention they deserve. When you purchase original artwork, you are not only buying that object, but you’re investing in that person.”
Each year a local artist is selected to create an image for the event poster that reflects Washougal in some way. This year’s poster art of a deer among tall grass was drawn by Washougal artist, Suzanne Grover, a founding member of WACA, whose work will be a part of the virtual festival. Her beautiful spring meadow scene was created from the photography of John Rakestraw. Signed posters are available for a $20 donation. There is a limited number of signed posters from previous festivals available as well, which can be purchased directly from WACA by emailing [email protected].
“This year has been hard for artists who have seen so many fairs, festivals, and events canceled,” Rule explained. “Artists have not been able to meet potential customers face-to-face and we know it is hard for them to make connections. We hope this virtual event will help in some small way.”
The event will highlight the work of 25 artists, each selected to participate by a jury of art professionals. 2020 festival artists are:
Linda Andrews-Riggs, water color
Eric Berlin, porcelain jewelry
Shirley Bishop, fused glass
Jean Blatner, watercolor acrylic
India de Landa, plexiglass acrylic jewelry
Chrissie Forbes, found art and oils
Katy Fenley, silver jewelry
Kyla Rae Friedrichsmeyer, watercolor and ink
Anni Furniss, mixed media
John Furniss, woodworking
Suzanne Grover, pen and colored pencil
Charlene Hale, fused glass
Kellie Kuter, mixed media
Brenda Lindstrom, oil
Beck Lipp, woodworking
Toni McCarthy, jewelry
Diane Moeglein, fused glass
Liz Pike, oil on canvas
Spike Palmer, oil painting
Karen Reule, silver jewelry
Gary Suda and Pamela Hancock, ceramics
Tamra Sheline, watercolor on yupo
Hiroko Stumpf, watercolor and acrylic
Cyndee Starr, mixed media
Barbara Wright, watercolor, ink, pencil
Jeff Wirth, photography
Tom West, acrylic, stationery.
Join the festival at the WACA website , Facebook, or Instagram.
