PORT ANGELES — On Sunday afternoon, visitors to the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center will be able to step into a space-time continuum in which 1,000 images from the past quarter-century will wash over them, while the evolution of the center will unfold.
A slide presentation narrated by center Director Jake Seniuk will show the scores of exhibitions that have filled this one space: the gallery at 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd. in Port Angeles.
On the walls around visitors, at the same time, will be another show Seniuk brought together: “25! A Silver Milestone,” the multifaceted display of art from the center’s first two-and-a-half decades.
Admission to Sunday’s anniversary party from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. is free.
And those who can’t come to the center that afternoon can still see the “25!” art free another day, since the show has been held over until Jan. 8.
Those who do make it Sunday might indulge in some cake and champagne — or sparkling cider, depending on age and preference.
This isn’t just any little cake.
It’s the Garden Bistro & Bakery of Sequim’s hummingbird cake, chosen by fine arts center board member and party planner Maja Cox.
“No hummers were harmed” in the making of the cake, Cox noted.
It is in fact a Southern-style spice cake with pineapple, bananas, pecans and a cream-cheese frosting — “very yummy indeed,” she said.
Seniuk, for his part, has been compiling a big-screen photo album for the anniversary.
‘Feast for the eyes’
“It will be sort of a feast for the eyes,” he said.
“You’ll get a flavor of the shows” that have come to the fine arts center since it opened in 1986.
There have been 176 exhibitions — 164 in the gallery and 12 in the surrounding Webster’s Woods art park — by art makers from across North America.
Imagine, Seniuk said, strolling through time, wandering from room to room full of art — and then seeing that this is the same room, transformed by each fresh arrival.
“We’ve tried to make it new and different each time,” Seniuk said of the endeavor he shares with the center’s other staff member, education Director Barbara Slavik.
The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center has presented the work of artists famed and budding.
There have so far been six “ArtPaths” shows of art by students across Clallam County, as well as exhibitions by famed glass blower Dale Chihuly, painter and printmaker Dorothea Morgan, and photographer Ross Hamilton, to name a few.
Because of these, the center has become a treasure house, Seniuk said.
Sunday’s show will highlight not only the gallery and art park; it also contains pictures of the people and events that have supported the fine arts center over the years.
The gallery has been the setting for concerts, magic shows, discussions and movies, while fancy fundraising parties have taken place at venues around town.
Seniuk, Slavik and the center’s board must, of course, keep up the fundraising.
The city of Port Angeles provides some support but in recent years has cut its annual contribution to $24,750.
The center has to generate nearly $150,000 per year to continue its programming and keep its staff of two.
Art is a Gift sale
One important fundraiser, the annual Art is a Gift sale, is headed for a new location this year: The Landing mall at Lincoln Street and Railroad Avenue.
Art is a Gift, a boutique of gifts made by local artists, will debut the evening of Friday, Dec. 2, in the mall’s upstairs gathering room and stay open through Dec. 30.
To learn more about the sale, about Sunday’s party and other fine arts center offerings, visit www.PAFAC.org, phone 360-457-3532 or visit the center itself.
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, while the Webster’s Woods art park is open from dawn until dusk daily.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
