About Us

“Vancouver is one of the few cities of its size and with a rampant interest in the arts that does not have an appropriate venue,”
~~Val Ogden
Board Chair

Board of Directors

Organized in the spring of 2003 and incorporated that fall as a non-profit corporation The Southwest Washington Center for the Arts, or SWC4A, has been busy building the foundation for a successful effort to construct a world-class performing arts facility in Clark County.

This group of optimistic visionaries saw a need, turned it into a dream and are still giving their hearts, time and individual skills to make the dream a reality. For years it was an unfinished story about searching for, finding and building a home for the arts in Vancouver/Clark County, Washington, and we are now, finally, very close to seeing that dream become a reality.

Those of you who have been following us for a while will know that this has not been an easy road to travel. We have enjoyed some victories but many setbacks as well, not to mention a recession that occurred at a critical time in our development. Yet even though we have struggled to pull the pieces together, we have persevered, knowing that there are many of you out there who are rooting for our success, and we thank you with all our hearts. We intend to provide Clark County with its own Center for the Arts. It is our dream and it is our promise.~~ K. Hibbs, Communications for SWC4A

History

Vancouver has had a long history of efforts to build a performing arts center going back as early as the 1970s. However, the most recent effort was the result of a project by members of Clark County Leadership in 2002. Led by Dr. Blaine Nisson, VP for Student Affairs at Clark College, the five member committee proposed a performing arts center for the college but with the offer of a partnership with the community. This partnership would meet College needs as well as provide an opportunity for the community to participate in building a first class arts center.

The group presented their proposal with a two day symposium supported by LSW architects of Vancouver and LMN architects of Seattle. Ralph Willson coordinated the effort. Several plans were developed. In summary, three buildings were envisioned, a fairly large auditorium, a black box, and a smaller concert hall. The concept was that the college would plan for a 600 seat auditorium and then the community would raise additional funds to add more seats and thus qualify for use of the auditorium.

Ralph Willson took the initiative to see that the work of the committee continued. He recruited Dr. Nisson and Val Ogden to serve as co-chairs and an initial board of directors was recruited with representatives of the arts community, advocates for the arts and an elected official of the city and county. The college provided meeting space and clerical support. In the fall of 2003, the group applied for non-profit status and was granted a 501 (c) (3) status.

A grant from the city provided funds to contract with AMS a nationally recognized arts consultant, to do a feasibility study. A very positive report gave credence to the effort. During 2004 a committee visited many sites in Washington and Oregon and gathered pertinent information on the building and operating of a performing art center.

In the spring of 2005 Clark College applied for a capital grant from the state for the replacement of Foster Hall, and included a performing arts auditorium in the proposal. The college received funding for several buildings, but the auditorium did not get funded. Sometime later, Dr. Branch, the president of Clark College, announced that the College was no longer interested in working with the committee and ended the partnership in January 2006. As a result of this development the Board decided to move ahead with a new direction. At a workshop, facilitated by John McKibbon, President of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, the Board redefined its mission and established new committees.

In June 2006, through the good offices of Jan Bader, we applied for the balance of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Committee funds held by the city and the county to hire Arlene Johnson as Executive Director. An office was opened in the Hidden building on the corner of Grand and Evergreen.

The Board of Directors set finding a site for the Center as the first priority. In January of 2008, another feasibility assessment was authorized. Five sites were considered, but the best and most feasible, was Block 10 in the center of town. A proposal was made to the City of Vancouver to hold the land for three years while the money was raised to purchase the property. Paul Christensen developed a proposal that included a condominium and retail space as a part of the development of the land with the auditorium. The city responded and included, as a condition of the development, the building of above ground parking. This was unacceptable. We dropped the proposal for Block 10 in September, 2008.

We again we were looking for a site and we had several options to consider. We looked at the current library site, the campus at WSUV, the waterfront, and the current police station located on the edge of the of the Fort Vancouver National Site (FVNS). Eric Hovee was retained to evaluate these sites. The partnership with the Historic Trust and the National Park service made the police station an obvious best choice. An art center near the fort would provide significant benefits to the community and the park including additional educational and historical resources, and increased tourism. A discussion was initiated with the city manager and the mayor. In the meantime our funding from the Lewis and Clark grant ended and the RealVest Corporations through the generous direction of Paul Christensen picked up the salary for Arlene Johnson.

In the spring of 2009, funding from RealVest was discontinued and Arlene Johnson left the employ of the agency. This left us with no paid staff. Volunteers, Sandra Hoyt and Bobby Forbes assumed responsibility for office management and the monthly arts newsletter. We moved our files and equipment from the Hidden building to a desk in the office of the Vancouver Symphony. In early 2010, Bobby Forbes resigned and Kitty Hibbs joined our volunteer team to redesign our website and continue communications to the community. Krissy Rowen also contributed. Then in June, Val Ogden had major surgery and for all practical purposes, any further discussion or work by the corporation was put on hold.

IIn December of 2010, the board held their annual meeting, elected officers and made plans to submit a letter of intent to the city. At their January, 2011 meeting the letter was approved by the Board and Steve Horenstein submitted the document to the city. Since that time there have been some additional changes. In the near future we expect to have additional information to announce. ~~ Val Ogden, Board Chair, October, 2011