
Joanie Thomson, executive director of Columbia Center for the Arts, has announced she will be moving on to a new opportunity as an independent marketing and promotions consultant. Joanie successfully led the Center since the doors first opened in June of 2006. All of us at the Center owe Joanie a debt of gratitude for all that she has done to make Columbia Center for the Arts the vibrant community asset that it is.
Her shoes will be hard to fill, but fill them we must. Thanks to Joanie, the new director will be entering into a situation that has a solid foundation, ready to be developed even further.
The executive director we are now seeking needs to bring a broad range of experience in managing non-profit organizations, fundraising, business management, and community relationship building.
To learn more about the position now open, click here: Executive Director
Columbia Center for the Arts' is a community art center that offers both art and entertainment — theatrical performances, visual arts, dance, concerts, lectures, film, and a whole lot more.
Our mission is to promote an arts-rich environment in the areas surrounding the Columbia River Gorge, where novices as well as established artists and performers, can discover and develop their full creative potential.
We are also a proud member of the Columbia Gorge Arts & Culture Alliance.
Learn more:

We're a non profit organization, and we're proud of the community support we enjoy.
Get updated monthly on art and entertainment events at the center by signing up for our eNewsletter. It's only sent once a month, so it's not a nuisance ... and it's a great way to stay connected with what's happening with arts in the Gorge.
Artists: Click to check for artist calls and other opportunities.
Performers: Click to check for audition notices and other opportunities.
Trash 2 Art features art from reclaimed items. Learn more: Trash 2 Art.
Fresh Faces features our newly juried gallery artists and the work they have created in the past year. Mediums include photography, ceramics, watercolor, oil, jewelry, and sculpture. Sponsored by Timberline Lodge, celebrating their 75th. Learn more: Fresh Faces.
All students 1st through 12th grade are encouraged to try out. Roughly 50 roles to be cast. MCT offers students a unique opportunity to learn the lessons of group dynamics while excelling as individuals—a lesson from art that carries into life. Learn more: Wiz of the West
Private Eyes is a comedy of suspicion in which nothing is ever quite what it seems. The audience itself plays the role of detective in this hilarious "relationship thriller" about love, lust and the power of deception. Learn more: Private Eyes
Join Judie Hanel and Kate Mills on Columbia Art’s 5th annual trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. Learn more: Shakespeare in Ashland
Music lovers won't want to miss this very special singer/songwriter evening with the San Francisco based guitarist J.L. Stiles, Ben Bonham and Captain James Cook. Learn more: J.L. Stiles, Ben Bonham, Captain James Cook
Join us for this seventh year of competitive poetry readings by Hood River Valley High School, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. Learn more: Poetry Out Loud
In commemoration of 75 years, Timberline Lodge has put together, Timberline Lodge: A Love Story. Editor Jon Tullis will be on hand to sign copies of the book and will be giving a short presentation at 6 p.m. Learn more: Timberline 75th
The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a Midwestern family in the 1950's. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father (Brad Pitt). Learn more: Tree of Life
Join us as we proudly present professional sports adventure-photographer and National Geographic adventurer of the year Erik Boomer. Boomer will share the story of his 1,485-mile circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island in Canada. Learn more: Ellesmere Island Expedition.
The Mt. Hood Independent Film Festival seeks to bring films of multiple genres including narrative, animation, documentary, and sports documentary to the community of Hood River, OR and the Columbia River Gorge area. Learn more: Film Festival
With Karen Watson
Back by popular demand. You'll work with pastels in open-ended exploration and expression. Karen will lead you through the process of letting go and allowing yourself to tocus on the creative process. Learn more: Expressive Pastel Painting
This winter we are proud to be partnering with The Confluence Project: Gifts From Our Ancestors to offer students the opportunity to explore traditional tools and techniques used by Native Americans along the Columbia Basin. The focus of this exploration is on the history of Celilo Falls. Learn more: School's Out / Art's In