Port Angeles has created a state-of-the-art center called the Field Arts & Events Hall. It is the first of three buildings planned for the Port Angeles Waterfront Center campus that is to  include the Marine Discovery Center plus a building devoted to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

Besides showing local, regional, national, and international music and performance artists inside the 500-seat Donna M. Morris Theater, Field Hall also hosts  regular open mic nights, weddings, and school proms.

The facility also features a cutting–edge conference and event center, the Waterfront Coffee Bar, and the 1,000 square-foot Laura Cooksey Gallery.

Ms. Cooksey is one of many supporters of the construction of Field Hall, alongside generous local donors such as Donna M. Morris, Dorothy Field, and the Elizabeth B. McGraw Foundation, as well as corporate and individual donors who value a vibrant arts community on the northern Olympic Peninsula.

The gallery features rotating exhibits highlighting local and regional artists. On view through January 31, is a show titled, “Retrospective,” which showcases 21 local visual artists who have worked with Field Hall in some capacity over its first few years of operation. Artists include Jesse Joshua Watson, Jeff Merrill, Amber Bach, Terry Breen, Katie Harmon, Jodi Riverstone, Evette Allerdings, Shari Beals, Lisa Fagerlund, Erica Iseminger, Mahina Hawley, Ines Epperson, Cody Hagen, Keith Ross, Christopher Allen, Kaisa Lemley, Sarah Tucker, Raquel Stokes, Irene Peters, Tracy Grisman, and Timothy O’Connell III.

“We’re fortunate to have a really tight-knit community with people who want to work together to make incredible things happen,” explains Field Hall’s marketing and communications director Jess Grello, “We’re really blessed to be sandwiched between the mountains and the ocean, to be surrounded by so much natural beauty. A lot of people who come out here are inspired to come back and put their all into the community, so you end up with an exciting vibrancy among the population.”

Feeling envious of this amazing facility and community, I began to dream of exhibiting my own art there. I asked Ms. Grello if artists outside of the larger region may be considered to exhibit in the future. “It’s possible,” she said, “but leaving it local still leaves a lot of room for growth and change.”

All I can say is, “Bravo, Port Angeles.”

Edie Everette

Edie Evertte is a local artist and writer. To view her art, visit www.edieeverette.com.

The Laura Cooksey Gallery at Field Hall, located at 201 W. Front Street, Suite 102, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For information and events, please go to www.fieldhallevents.org/gallery.