By Oregon Coast TODAY
Newport’s Nye Beach area has two buildings that support the arts on the Oregon Coast — the Newport Visual Arts Center and the Newport Performing Arts Center. Beginning Friday, April 4, the two sites will each host new, visually arresting exhibits.
In the Upstairs Gallery at the Visual Arts Center, “A Thousand Hands” features the work of Crystal Meneses, who is inspired by her devotion to harmony in community and her deep spiritual relationship with Kuan Yin, the deity of compassion and mercy.
The exhibit will kick off with an opening reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday, April 4 and her work will be on display through May 25.
Meneses is an interdisciplinary artist, death doula and hospice chaplain who guides communities in using art as a tool for healing. She was honored in 2019 with the Oregon Community Foundation Fields and the Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowships, and in 2014 with the Seeding Justice Lilla Jewel Award. Her academic and creative journey includes music therapy, art therapy, divinity and biomimicry studies.
Meneses practices Art Divination, a form of intuitive creation that has whispered to her since childhood. Her art emerges from dreams, memory, prayer, imagination and ritual. Mediums include fire, guava leaf, egg, water, candle and spirit.
Just a few blocks away, at the Olive Street Gallery inside the Newport Performing Arts Center, Jeremy Burke’s “Horizons” features ocean horizon-themed photography that captures the beauty of the Oregon coast. An opening reception will be 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 16. The exhibit will be on display through July 25.
Water is a recurring theme for Burke, who has more than 20 years of experience in the newspaper industry and more than a decade in photojournalism. As a self-taught fine art photographer, he specializes in creating large-format, museum-quality photographic prints.
The Newport Visual Arts Center is located at 777 N.W. Beach Drive and is open noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, go to www.coastarts.org or call 541-265-6540.
The Newport Performing Arts Center is located at 777 W. Olive St. and is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. most Tuesdays through Fridays. Olive Street Gallery exhibits can also be viewed up to one hour before most ticketed events at the center. For more information, go to www.coastarts.org or call 541-265-2787.
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