To facilitate the building of a world class center for the arts to enhance the
educational, economic, and cultural vitality for Southwest Washington.
Board of Trustees
- Val Ogden, Chair
- Susan Courtney, Vice-Chair
- Paul Christensen, Treasurer
- Ralph Willson, Secretary
- Leslie Durst
- Jean Hix
- Steve Horenstein
- Dan Tonkovich
- Steve Stuart
- Chris Wamsley
Founding Board Advisory Committee
- Val Ogden
- Susan Courtney
- Paul Christensen
- Cindi Olson
- Connie Platt
- Jan Asai
- Melody Avril
- Jill Botvinik
- Virginia Holter
- Jim Keithley
- Hooja Kim
- Joel Littauer
- Sue Hennum
- Lisa Gibert
- Bruce Romanish
- Steve Stuart
- Dan Tonkovich
- Ralph Willson
Organized in the spring of 2003 and incorporated that fall as a non-profit corporation the Southwest Washington Center for the Arts has been busy building the foundation for a successful effort to construct a facility in Vancouver/Clark County. The first step was the authorization of a feasibility study by AMS a nationally recognized arts consultant. This study was generously funded by the City of Vancouver. The study demonstrated a strong support for an art center.
SWCA is currently negotiating for a site on the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. The site is currently occupied by the Police Administration Building and is owned by the City of Vancouver. The partners in the Reserve are familiar with the project and have affirmed their support for the project. The partners are the City of Vancouver, National Park Service-Fort Vancouver, United States Army and State of Washington- Washington State Historical Society.
The Center for the Arts will include a state-of-the-arts main stage theater and a smaller studio, or “black box” theater. There is a formula to determine the number of seats the community, the resident companies, the educational components, and the traveling programs will support. SWCA will engage a professional to determine the number of seats appropriate for the projected usage of the Center. The professional assessment is anticipated to be in the range of 750 to 1200 seats.
Board member, Susan Courtney commented on the new site, “This site is community owned and the Center for the Arts will bring added vitality to the Historic Reserve, the redevelopment of Downtown Vancouver, and the entire Southwest Washington Region”.