(DCAA Board | Photo courtesy of DCAA)
Dry Canyon Arts Association (DCAA) fulfilled one of its founding goals on December 5 when it opened the doors of the Dry Canyon Community Art Center for the first time. Grand Opening festivities are scheduled during December’s First Friday Art Walk in downtown Redmond with a ribbon cutting at 4pm and an open house with art exhibits to follow.
The DCAA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting art and culture in the greater Redmond area, has tapped into a need for art expression through its mission to remedy the lack of gallery space in downtown Redmond. Membership growth, which has gone from 19 in 2019 to a current count of around 200, has been spurred by DCAA activities such as the annual Spring and Fall Art Shows, Downtown Redmond First Friday Art Walks and the Lend Me Your Walls program, which helps local artists find exhibition and sales opportunities where there previously had been none.
Now, after a remodel made possible by volunteer labor, donations and in-kind contributions by local building suppliers, the historical landmark Rogers and Lynch Building at Sixth Street and Deschutes Avenue will become the new headquarters for art education, expression and exhibition in Redmond. Initially operating in 3,000 square feet of high-ceilinged space with three art galleries, a gift gallery and two classrooms, expansion plans will add an additional 1,500 square feet of workshop space in 16 months.
DCAA members will now find even more opportunities to improve and share their art by taking and teaching classes in the new classrooms and showing their work in the galleries and gift shop. Opportunities for non-members, students, veterans and emerging artists to improve their skills or show artwork will also be offered as the Art Center becomes established in the community.
The Dry Canyon Community Art Center is funded through a combination of public grants, private foundations, individual donations and corporate sponsorships. Membership fees, program fees and donated percentages of art sales will contribute to the revenue stream to support the new Art Center.
The DCAA has already won praise for its initiative to build the Dry Canyon Community Art Center. The Deschutes Cultural Coalition presented the DCAA with the 2025 Ben Westlund Memorial Award in May. In 2024, Dry Canyon Arts Association was recognized for its value to the economic development of the Redmond community with the 2024 Redmond Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) Thrive Award. Most recently, Dry Canyon Arts Association was awarded a $34,000 FY26 Cultural Development Award from the Oregon Cultural Trust to assist in funding the Arts Center remodel.
Not content with just helping artists exhibit works, DCAA is also investing in the future of art in Central Oregon by encouraging and funding art education. DCAA works with the Redmond School District and cultural and educational foundations state- and nationwide to fund visual art education in all Redmond elementary schools. This project is called Jumpstart Art and many DCAA events include a fundraising element to raise money for these elementary school art education programs. Redmond school-age artists are always welcome at DCAA events.
The Grand Opening will be held at the new Dry Canyon Community Art Center at 415 SW Sixth St. in Redmond on Friday, December 5 from 4-7pm.