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Rotary member Bob Liddell cleans Zephyr by Devin Laurence Field during a Rotary volunteer day to assist cleaning the Gallery Without Walls sculpture, April 2009

A Community Coming Together Around Art

In Oregon, Lake Oswego’s Gallery Without Walls grew out of an idea brought about nine years ago by now Mayor Jack Hoffman. A city councilor at the time, Hoffman believed that an on-loan public art sculpture program could highlight original artwork by regional artists, help to beautify the redeveloping downtown area, and attract pedestrians. He had noticed the outdoor art of two other cities, Wenatchee and Puyallup in Washington state. The program, which is comprised of sculpture that is on loan from the artists, started with four sculptures in 2001. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department, with a volunteer committee of community members, oversaw the beginning of the program. Today, Gallery Without Walls is managed by the Arts Council of Lake Oswego and has grown to include 30 sculptures with 15 new artworks rotating in each year for a two-year stay. In addition, there are 30 sculptures throughout city parks, streets, and neighborhoods that are part of the city’s permanent collection.

The Gallery Without Walls offers sculptors an opportunity to showcase their work, which must be for sale, and makes it accessible to the public. While on loan by the artist for two years, the artwork is featured in a brochure, website, and other media. A public celebration features the new exhibition each summer, and other outreach efforts bring the artists and their work to the public’s attention. The Arts Council of Lake Oswego is developing an expanded program to market the artists and sculptures to developers, architects, and designers.

While creativity and quality of craftsmanship has become an overriding feature of the outdoor exhibition, the selection committee is also committed to a diversity of content, form, and materials. The committee juries the artists on artistic quality and their proposals on originality, craftsmanship, and public art standards, including public safety issues. One of the strengths of the program is the commitment to display a wide scope of artworks that includes realism and abstraction, and various subjects and materials.

The Arts Council of Lake Oswego offers free docent-led tours for groups of all sizes and ages. Book clubs, church groups, senior centers, school and family reunions, art classes, and individuals have taken the tours which are tailored for the various groups. This year the Arts Council of Lake Oswego is partnering with the Art Literacy program in the Lake Oswego School District to provide tours of Gallery Without Walls to all fifth and sixth grade students in the district. The organization also plans to offer the tours to surrounding school districts in the future. Additional marketing efforts are underway to promote the free docent-led tours throughout the region.

The Arts Council of Lake Oswego is a nonprofit 503(c)3 art organization that, through a contract, manages the city’s Gallery Without Walls program and permanent art collection, as well as develops and manages other arts and cultural programs. Gallery Without Walls is a collaboration between the nonprofit agency, city government, and local businesses and individuals. Gallery Without Walls has an annual program budget of $117,700 which covers artist stipends, engineering and installation of concrete pedestals, installation equipment, maintenance and repairs, photography and printed materials, and program management. Of the overall budget, $63,405 comes from the city, with the additional $54,295 coming from sponsorships, fundraising events, memberships, and commission from art sales.

The funding component is a challenge that must be met each year to continue to keep the program healthy. Another challenge is the perception that the Gallery Without Walls program is completely funded by the city and is not in need of additional support. The Arts Council of Lake Oswego has developed a public outreach effort to help educate community members and businesses on how the program is managed and funded.

While providing an opportunity to display and promote the artists and their work, Gallery Without Walls is also viewed as assisting in drawing community members and visitors to the downtown area. Strengthening partnerships with other organizations focusing on economic development will increase the visibility of the artwork through additional marketing and public relations.

With a small staff of only 1.5, it’s essential to the success of the Arts Council of Lake Oswego that they engage the support of their community. One of the strengths of Gallery Without Walls is the dedicated volunteers from the community. From the active all-volunteer Board of Directors to the Gallery Without Walls Selection Committee, the program relies on hundreds of volunteer hours throughout the year. In addition to fundraising, artist research and selection, and docent tours, volunteers assist with the public celebration and artist receptions, sculpture sales, and marketing. The local Lake Oswego Rotary Club has even devoted several days to assist with cleaning the sculpture throughout the year.

The vision of an outdoor on-loan exhibition of original sculpture came to fruition through strong partnerships and community involvement. The creative collaboration between the City of Lake Oswego, the Arts Council of Lake Oswego, businesses, and individuals must continue, as well as expand, to support the artists and their work in the dynamic and growing Gallery Without Walls program. The benefits to artists, community members, students, visitors, and local businesses support the continued need to bring original art into the public realm and provide more opportunities to create, share, explore and discover through artistic endeavors.