Camas Culture Art Block

The Downtown Camas Association, inspired by and in collaboration with Hayes Freedom 2024 senior, Maria Navarro Alejandres, established a Camas Culture Art Block in Downtown Camas to increase representation and celebrate the many diverse cultures of people living in Camas through art.

For this initial installation, all high school students in Camas were invited to submit artwork that highlights and celebrates their cultural background. The semi-permanent display of six art pieces will be updated periodically. The art is showcased on the Ziply Fiber building at 5th & Cedar.

The high school student artists that currently have their art shown include Xander Acain, Maria Navarro Alejandres, Shalaka Deshpande, Charlie Irwin, Blu A. Jimenez and Bailey Lim. Individual artist statements (see links above) are available at the art block describing the meaning and significance of the artwork as it relates to  their culture and also what they hope their audience will learn, feel or grow from their artwork. We thank them all for their artful contributions to Downtown Camas!

The Ribbon Cutting & Art Unveiling Event on May 17th at 5pm at 5th & Cedar celebrated the amazing artists and the cultures they represent. Thank you to Ziply Fiber for sponsoring and Attic Gallery for hosting the reception!  Click here for photos of the event.

For the full press release, visit here.

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Camas Culture Art Block Art Submissions

Everybody has a culture! Share and celebrate yours through art.

REQUIREMENTS:

  1.  The artist must be of high school age and a current resident of Camas, WA
  2.  Artwork must celebrate the culture(s) of the artist (“Culture” encompasses many groups of belonging: ethnicity, gender, community, religion, etc and is expressed in many ways: food, music, dance, art, attitudes, celebrations, beliefs, etc.)
  3.  Artwork must fit the image quality and formatting for printing
  4.  Artist statement must clearly explain the meaning and significance of the artwork

Please see application here which also includes further Artist Statement Guidelines and Judging Information.

IMAGE REQUIREMENTS:

Artwork must be formatted horizontally, proportioned twice as wide as it is tall, 1:2 ratio.

Any traditional 2D art media, digital art, photography, or 3D art is eligible to submit. However, artwork must be formatted horizontally, proportioned twice as wide as it is tall, 1:2 ratio. All artwork must be well lit and *photographed using a DSLR camera in order to scale up for high quality printing. 3D artwork must be photographed with a neutral gradient background.

*If you need help photographing your artwork, email art teacher miranda.wakeman@camas.wednet.edu and she is happy to help!

Digital images must be:

➔ 48” tall x 96” wide and 300 dpi
➔ 14,400 pixels x 28,800 pixels
➔ JPG or PDF format

Digital images of the artwork will be printed on 4’ x 8’ metal panels for outdoor display, so original artwork remains the property of the artist. Panels will remain the property of the Downtown Camas Association.

IMPORTANT DATES AND NOTES:

March 2024:  Suggested: Share your proposed artwork & statement with an art teacher or mentor for review before submitting

March 29, 2024:  Final Deadline to submit (before spring break)

April 2024:  Opportunity for feedback and revisions

April 19, 2024:  Selections will be announced

May 17, 2024:  Installation of selected artwork will be unveiled

Submit Your Artwork and Application Here!

Thank you for applying, sharing your talent, and helping to celebrate culture in our community!