Our mission is "to provoke and stimulate the imagination while opening hearts and minds through excellence in diverse arts programming."
We do this by offering exhibitions, lectures, classes and performing arts events that touch on issues relevant to our times and by bringing some of the world's most interesting artists, writers and thinkers to our small community in central Idaho.
We care about arts education and are committed to partnering with local schools to bring artists and authors into the schools. The Center's outreach programs supplement the school curriculum with in school classes and workshops, many of which are offered free of charge to area students and teachers.
We also sponsor a robust scholarship program that, since 1999, has given more than $500,000 to over 200 local students and educators. Funds for scholarships come from The Center's annual Wine Auction and private donors. |
Founded in 1971, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts is the oldest arts organization in central Idaho's Wood River Valley. The Center has grown from a few people presenting classes and events to an organization that serves more than 40,000 attendees a year (in a valley with a population of 22,000).
The original campus of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities was established on land deeded by the owner of Sun Valley Company, Bill Janss. The property consisted of six acres along Trail Creek that had formerly housed dog kennels for Sun Valley Resort. (The dogs were used for dog sledding for guests of the Union Pacific's Sun Valley Resort. The property is now home to The Community School.) The Center flourished as a facility for an exceedingly high level of fine arts residencies for several years and many of the participating artists and faculty have gone on to achieve celebrated careers.
During the early years, the highly regarded faculty taught photography, printmaking and ceramics, and established the first art gallery in the Wood River Valley. Dance and theater workshops offered a broader arts experience than was previously available. Conferences held by the Institute of the American West attracted prominent historians and an audience hungry for knowledge of the Western experience. Because of the Janss Corporation's commitment to developing a year round resort and attracting second homeowners, an expanded community began to demand and support what the Sun Valley Center for the Arts offered.
In the early 80s a decrease in federal funding for the arts found The Center examining its programmatic and financial responsibilities. After careful consideration, the Board of Directors chose to restructure The Center's activities to more appropriately fit its financial capabilities and the needs of its community. At that time, The Center's philosophy was redefined and it was then that programming for the local community became The Center's first priority. Art workshops were redesigned into various new formats to accommodate a broader community constituency. A commitment was made to present the talents of nationally and internationally known artists in both the visual and performing arts as well as in the humanities that would otherwise not be available to our area.
The Center is now recognized nationally for its unique multidisciplinary programming. The Center's visual arts, performing arts and education and humanities directors work in tandem with the artistic director to develop three or four multidisciplinary projects a year that explore timely themes and topics from multiple perspectives. Recent topics include biodiversity, Tibetan art and culture, corporate America and philanthropy, and Mexican immigration and labor.
In 2006 The Center received accreditation status from the American Association of Museums in recognition of its adherence to the highest standards of operation and programming. Only five percent of America's arts and cultural institutions share this distinction.
The Center's main gallery and offices are in Ketchum, and in addition, The Center operates a location in Hailey to better serve the needs of the growing population of southern Blaine County. The Hailey location consists of a historic house that was the birthplace of Ezra Pound and a newly built, state of the art freestanding classroom. The Center is in the process of raising money for a new building in Ketchum that will include flexible spaces for exhibitions and performances and will be a gathering place for the community. |
Over the course of a typical year The Center's activities include:
- Unique, nationally recognized multidisciplinary programming that explores themes and topics of relevance to our times and of interest to our community through the visual arts, performing arts and education and humanities.
- Original visual arts exhibitions (in addition to those developed in connection with multidisciplinary projects) curated by staff or guest curators. Exhibitions range widely in scope, structure and subject and include works by nationally and internationally recognized contemporary artists. Some of these shows have traveled to other institutions in the West. Many well known artists have been shown at The Center including: Morris Graves, Kiki Smith, Walton Ford, Margarita Cabrera, Andy Goldsworthy, Shazia Sikander, Emmet Gowin, Jane Hammond, Xiaoze Xie, Paul Kos, Enrique Chagoya, Anslem Keifer, Carl Andre, Frank Stella, Agnes Martin, Hung Liu, Kim Abeles and more.
- Performing arts events ranging from intimate jazz and chamber music concerts to modern dance and multimedia performances to large outdoor concerts with top entertainers that attract up to 4,000 people per event. Past performers include Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, Arlo Guthrie, Vienna Choir Boys, Neal Conan and Ensemble Galilei, Ailey II, Meredith Monk, Ethos Percussion Group, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Carol King and James Taylor, Zap Mama, and The Avett Brothers.
- Public lectures and visits by artists, authors, and world renowned scholars, many of whom also visit local schools or teach classes. Recent visitors include Scott Simon, Terry Tempest Williams, Louise Erdrich, E. O. Wilson, Stephen Lewis, Henry Louis Gates, Jr, Michael Pollen, Mary Oliver, Dan Cameron, William Kittredge, Barbara Ehrenreich, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Jonathan Franzen, Reza Aslan, David Sedaris, Ira Glass, Sir Salman Rushdie, and Garrison Keillor.
- Classes for families and children, including free after school classes in English and Spanish and free family workshops that relate to The Center's current exhibitions. In addition, many of the valley's students regularly visit The Center on field trips.
- Classes for adults that run from one-night classes on mosaics and beading to week-long writing workshops with well-known authors like Danielle Trussoni and Anthony Doerr. Most classes are held at The Center's classroom in Hailey, which has a printing press, ample space for easels and 10 iMacs which are used for photography classes.
- More than $500,000 in scholarships over twelve years to local students and teachers to further develop their artistic talents through specialized studies.
- Free professional development workshops for area teachers.
- One of the country's top-ranked Arts & Crafts Festivals, which features 130 artists and attracts more than 10,000 visitors.
- An annual Wine Auction that raises more than half The Center's budget and is consistently ranked among the nation's Top 10 Charity Wine Auctions by Wine Spectator magazine.
Close to 60 % of all Center programs-and 80% of children's programs-are free of charge.
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