About Art Presence Art Center
Art Presence Art Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit gallery and art center, EIN 51-0197068. We are located at 206 North Fifth Street in Jacksonville, Oregon, on the grounds of the historic Courthouse. Our gallery is open every Friday – Sunday from 12–5 pm.
On Sundays from May through October, we are open from 10 am–3 pm to accommodate visitors to the Jacksonville Market.
Our Mission
The goal of Art Presence Art Center is to provide a non-profit fine art and craft center in Southern Oregon that will enrich the lives of both residents and visitors. We will accomplish this with the following activities.
- Providing venues, exposure, and learning opportunities for members, regional artists, and authors. Our goal is to help develop and enhance their work as well as encourage sales and patronage.
- Using art to inspire, educate, and reach out to residents and visitors to Southern Oregon. We achieve this goal by providing exposure and access to meaningful cultural experiences and resources.
Additionally, we will honor our commitment to the local community by hosting a variety of events and exhibits that encourage visitors to explore Jacksonville’s many businesses, historic sites, and amenities.
Art Presence History
There was a time when our charming historic town boasted numerous art galleries and frequent exhibitions. However, over time they dwindled one by one until there were none left. Consequently, founder Anne Brooke and a group of local artists started the Art Amble in 2009 as a means for Jacksonville artists to secure small, temporary exhibition spaces within local businesses. This reciprocal arrangement doubled as a way to draw people to Jacksonville to shop with our merchants. It was successful in that it brought more visitors to Jacksonville and certainly provided some sales.
The organization grew and evolved, and in April 2012, we leased the Old County Jail, previously occupied by the Children’s Museum next to the old Jackson County Courthouse. Thus began the incredible 10 year journey of Art Presence Art Center, Jacksonville’s only non-profit gallery and art center.
The support of the City of Jacksonville, Booster Club and Foundation, grants from various organizations, and sponsors enabled our evolution into a premier fine art gallery. We are now known throughout the Rogue Valley and beyond. Many renovations and loving efforts have made this a beautiful gallery space for art exhibitions.
Importantly, some artists who’ve migrated here from high-value markets feel this is the most professional art gallery in southern Oregon.
Art Presence Board Members
Paula Bandy
Executive Director
Paula Bandy has had a wide and varied career. From commercial make-up artist, fashion and production stylist, wife, mother, going back to college ‘later’, librarian, writer and artist, she feels she was a born creative. Paula received her BS in anthropology from the University of Utah, and Master’s in Cultural Anthropology and Social Transformation from California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). During her doctoral studies in Transformative Studies at CIIS she began a lifestyle philosophy and practice that she calls, Beautiosophy, The Practice of Living Beauty.
Currently, Paula is the bi-weekly wine columnist for Medford Mail Tribune. She’s covered wine, lifestyle, food, and home for Oregon Wine Press, Southern Oregon Magazine, and additional national and international academic publications. She’s also a Certified Sherry Wine Specialist (CSWS) and creates one-of-a-kind jewelry, pb~bodyvine, which is available locally at Art Presence Gallery & Carefree Buffalo in Jacksonville.
Arlis Duncan
Board Member / Technical Support
Arlis Duncan is a business owner, retired videographer, and graphic and visual artist.
A native Oregonian, Arlis has lived in Jacksonville for more than 30 years. Her love and support for this community is reflected in her tireless work with the Jacksonville Boosters and Chamber of Commerce. A long-standing Art Presence board member, Arlis creates monthly virtual tours of the gallery’s exhibitions and provides overall technical support.
Vivian McAleavey
Board Member / Treasurer/ Member Artist
Vivian McAleavey was born and raised in Wisconsin where she received her bachelor’s degree with majors in math and geology. After moving to southern Oregon, she stumbled into a career as a tax professional.
Since childhood, she has been an avid traveler and views road-tripping as her bliss. From her base in Oregon, she regularly wanders throughout the Great American West with no agenda other than to see what’s around the next bend.
Vivian’s earliest memory is of lying in her crib watching the light play on the curtains as the breeze fluttered them at the open window. How beautiful the world is! To capture and share a world filled with such Pockets of Magic is her artistic passion.
Vivian views her nature photography as a spiritual Quest. She enhances her intimate landscapes and abstracts not to distort Nature but to reveal Gaia’s soul.
Charlotte Wirfs
Board Member / Secretary / Member Artist
member of the King Pioneer Family Association and publishes their newsletter, King Folk.
After graduating from Western Oregon University, Charlotte enjoyed a long career as an elementary school teacher. In 2003 she and her husband, Walt Wirfs, purchased a sawmill, Pony Lumber Company, located on the Hylebos Waterway adjoining The Port of Tacoma, near Fife, WA.
Nine years later, they moved to Jacksonville, where they are enjoining their retirement years. Charlotte, who signs her art pieces “Char Wirfs,” began creating through 4-H programs in sewing, quilting, and photography. Over the years she has displayed her art in fairs and art galleries in Oregon, Washington, and Louisiana. She has been a member of Art Presence Art Center for seven years and has served all but one of those years as secretary.
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