Scalehouse announced today that it has received a generous gift from At Liberty Arts Collaborative. The gift includes most of At Liberty’s assets, and will allow Scalehouse to expand its arts and creative programming. Moving forward, Scalehouse will continue a key portion of At Liberty’s mission by operating the Scalehouse Gallery. In response to community demand for more exposure to the arts, Scalehouse has been steadily increasing its year-round offerings. Acquiring the At Liberty assets will allow Scalehouse to add year-round contemporary art exhibitions to its programming and expand the reach of its arts and educational offerings. With this move, Scalehouse will be a step closer to fulfilling its original vision of building a contemporary creative arts center.
In addition, the At Liberty team has joined the Scalehouse Board of Directors and will continue to manage the daily curatorial and business operations of the Scalehouse Gallery moving forward.
Scalehouse produces year-round arts programming including artist talks, workshops, design equity tournaments, and the annual Bend Design conference with a focus on programming that shapes our shared future through creativity, collaboration, and conversation. Scalehouse Gallery will continue At Liberty’s evocative contemporary exhibition schedule featuring diverse artists.
“The coming together of Scalehouse and At Liberty could not be more timely as our arts organizations across the state continue to navigate these difficult times,” said Kiel Fletcher, Scalehouse Board Chair. “With this new addition, we’re able to strengthen and stabilize our future in the region while providing a greater level of support to our community. We feel that this move allows us to provide more impactful programming in a more holistic calendar of events,” added Fletcher.”
In addition, thanks to support from The Clabough Foundation and Maybelle Clark McDonald Foundations, Scalehouse will expand access and educational opportunities to the community.
“The gift from At Liberty is a great example of how public/private spheres can come together to support the arts especially in this challenging time,” said Jenny Green, At Liberty Arts Collaborative co-founder and partner. “The gift from At Liberty will allow Scalehouse to expand arts education opportunities, enhance the organization’s financial stability and continue to provide access to contemporary art to our region,” added Green.
Scalehouse has always believed its future presents complex challenges and opportunities, not just benefiting from creativity but requiring it. Scalehouse is currently finding creative solutions to a variety of challenges including COVID-19 and the closing of the historic Liberty Theater for renovations. The Liberty Theater has been home to At Liberty Arts Collaborative and Scalehouse for the past three years. Beginning in October 2020, Scalehouse will begin sharing a space with its long-time collaborative partner BendFilm. This move will allow both organizations to benefit from shared overhead and continue to bolster the arts with complementary programming.
Scalehouse will continue At Liberty’s exhibition schedule with a series of pop-up exhibitions throughout 2020/2021. These exhibitions, under their new name, Scalehouse Gallery, will take place in a variety of locations throughout Bend.
Scalehouse will use this coming year to finalize plans for a permanent contemporary creative arts center home dedicated to art, creativity and film
Scalehouse Gallery Events:
- Current exhibition, A Lie Nation, Alienation by Ka’ila Farrell-Smith (American, Klamath, Modoc), contemporary visual artist with a focus on the marginalization of Indigenous Peoples (On view through August 29)
- At Liberty’s final exhibition in the historic Liberty Theater: Gradients and Gatherings, An Exhibition of New Drawings by Bill Hoppe, local abstract artist and former Central Oregon Community College art professor providing an understanding of abstract art technique, process and appreciation (September 3-26)
- In September, a fundraiser to support the arts and creative thinking
- Creative Relief Fund to support creative thinkers and artists impacted by COVID-19
- New Creative Laureate process and application
- November/December exhibition featuring Shabazz Larkin, a Nashville-based multidisciplinary artist and activist creating images of Black culture and contemporary spirituality
- 2021 exhibition featuring artists Sam Stubblefield and Joshua Borsman, Seattle-based conceptual artists whose current work explores birth, death and suicide rates
- Exhibition in partnership with Portland gallery, Russo Lee, in 2021
