The world has completely shifted since the last open call exhibit at The Dalles Art Center. Since then events have been jarring to our lives and practices. This has been compounded by the isolation imposed by the shelter-in-place directive. One of the casualties is shared creativity and connection to art. Now more than ever, artists can be the force that brings people together. It is also the time that creatives need to show the value of art and all of its forms as a means to connect, to heal, and to help illuminate positivity in the community.

TDAC's exhibit shows what our community has been making in the past few months! It has been fascinating to talk with various artists about the work that they have been creating. Some of you have been painting the scenes of your walks in nature. Some of you have been making work in response to COVID-19 or the Black Lives Matter movement. Some of you have developed a practice integrated with social media. All of the work created during this time is important in order to continue the connection to each other and to our individual creativity.