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Leaders of the Sitka Center for Art & Ecology have filled the gap left at Oregon Contemporary when the National Endowment for the Arts clawed back an award guaranteed for next year’s Artists’ Biennial. Sitka has pledged up to $30,000 to Oregon Contemporary (often referred to in shorthand as Ox), which had launched a fundraiser to make ends meet. Shannon Carlson, Sitka’s director of communications, clarified via email that Ox will receive a guaranteed $20,000, with another $10,000 available as needed.
“The move is motivated by a show of solidarity and alignment between the two organizations, as well as an affirmation of the importance of diverse voices in the art dialogue,” Sitka’s statement reads.
The Sitka Center for Art & Ecology opened as Camp Sitka in 1970. Named for a native spruce species, Sitka offers residencies and workshops for professional artists and curators to hone their craft in Otis, an unincorporated community north of Lincoln City. Its Sitka Invitational exhibition was founded in 1993 as one of Oregon’s longest continuously running art shows.
The Artists’ Biennial, an exhibition surveying art from across the state held every other year, is among the Oregon art world’s largest events. Ox and its predecessor, Disjecta, held the current format of the Artists’ Biennial since 2010, but it traces its roots back to the Oregon Biennial first thrown at the Portland Art Museum in 1949. Ox and Sitka routinely collaborate on programming, including the Sitka Art Invitational—an annual juried exhibition of Pacific Northwest artists running for over 30 years—and a residency program for curators.
Ox and this year’s curator, TK Smith, attempted to incorporate President Trump’s creative directive to prioritize American history ahead of the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary by examining which Americans were guaranteed “unalienable rights” and which Americans have fought, and still fight, for those rights today. Nevertheless, the art show will go on.
“Art has always tested the boundaries of freedom,” Alison Dennis, Sitka’s executive director, said in a statement. “The 2026 Oregon Contemporary Artists’ Biennial invites reflection on how identity, justice, and our connection to place continue to shape the American story.”
Ox’s fundraising goal has been updated since Sitka’s pledge was announced. The $86,100 Ox now seeks includes $10,000 for extra security and $570 given to the Oregon Food Bank amid President Trump’s attempt to defund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during the federal government shutdown. Blake Shell, Ox’s artistic and executive director, explained via email that more than half of the fundraiser’s new goal reflects the organization’s typical year-end donation drive. If the goal is met, Ox will accept only $20,000 from Sitka.
Shell writes: “$45,530 is how much Ox has budgeted to raise by end of year and if we only make the 30K from the NEA, we wouldn’t be able to do it (or anything really!). That is a normal amount for us for End of Year in these months, it’s just my attempt to be really clear about what is needed. We are so thrilled by Sitka’s pledge, it’s truly an unprecedented gift from an amazing partner in the Oregon arts and culture community. Sitka is making a courageous show of solidarity at a time when it’s never been needed more in the arts.”
