Worth a flutter
Now in its 13th year, the Nye Beach Banner Project celebrates Nye Beach as the “Art Heart” of Newport, beautifies the coastal neighborhood and highlights the creative talents of community artists. It also raises funds for Youth Art programs, sponsored by the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts and the City of Newport.
The auction will be a multi-day, multi-platform event, starting with an in-person kick-off party on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 1 to 5 pm at the Newport Visual Arts Center, with music provided by Barbara Turrill. On Saturday, Nov. 13, there will be a family friendly activity at the VAC from noon to 4 pm. Banners will be on display and available for in-person viewing Nov. 6 through 14. The online bidding will be open until 7 pm on Nov. 14.
Artists who donate their time and talents to the project are encouraged to depict some element of Nye Beach on one side of the banner, like music, dance, acting, writing, art and architectural or natural elements. Meanwhile, the other side of the banner sports a thought-provoking or smile-inducing quote or simply the words “Nye Beach.”
Artists are also welcome to create a banner based on a theme. This year, with a challenging 2020 behind us, they included “A Tribute or Thank you to our Front Line Workers” and “Looking Towards New Horizons.” Some artists addressed the theme while others responded to the pandemic. Many artists included conceptual statements on their banners.
Nine banners are part of the second year of banner exchanges with Newport’s Sister City, Mombetsu, Japan.
Banner artists range from young students to seasoned crafters, all who have stepped up to the challenge for another year and strengthened Lincoln County’s sense of community.
For this year’s project, 41 adult artists donated their creative talents along with 19 youth artists, six individual artists from Newport’s sister city and the Mombetsu High School art club.
“I’m amazed by how the Banner Project continues to grow in scope and reach,” said Veronica Lundell, the project founder and owner of Jovi in Nye Beach. “We continue to support projects such as Art Fridays classes and summer art camps, plus we now have a banner partner in Japan and are part of the Oregon Coast Art Bus Project. Creative outlets for youth are particularly important this year.”
The 2021 Banner Project artists are: Merlin Armstrong, Olive Armstrong, Robin Beckwith, Charlotte Boxer, Chris Bucheit, Jennifer Bucheit, Arlon W. Gilliland, Linda Briggs, Ann Clark, Dagny Hatch, Trish Epperson, Jill Falk, Graece Gabriel, Bo Harrington, Eileen Hearne, Cynthia Jacobi, Cristina Kartsioukas, Kay Kartsioukas, Marcy Kenyon, Jennifer Larsen, Stuart Larsen, Rowan Lehrman, Carlo Navarra, Helen Nighthawk, Caroline O’Brien, Clinton O’Brien, Amy Pattison, Jill Pridgeon, Sandra Roumagoux, Carol Shenk, Sara Siggelkow, Ben Soeby, Bonnie Soltan, Rowan Lehrman, Carlo Navarra, Helen Nighthawk, Caroline O’Brien, Clinton O’Brien, Amy Pattison, Jill Pridgeon, Sandra Roumagoux, Carol Shenk, Sara Siggelkow, Ben Soeby, Bonnie Soltan, Jocelyn L. Stoody, Emy Syrop, Jeff Syrop, Anita Tanner, Linda Taylor, Marilyn Van Buren and Shonnie Wheeler.
The Newport Visual Arts Center is located at 777 NW Beach Drive and is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 pm.
For more information, go to coastarts.org.
