Octagon Center for the Arts

At the Octagon Center for the Arts, we believe that art matters. Whether you are a creator or an observer…a veteran artist, emerging artist, hobbyist, or first-time maker…regardless of your age or background, art matters.

We believe that art pulls us together, makes us think, helps us express ideas and feelings that don’t have words, and brings us the joy.

Back in the early 1960’s, the founders of the Octagon visualized an art center that would foster active participation in the arts by:

• providing a place where the arts are taught to people of all ages
• giving serious practicing artists a meeting place to work together, exchange ideas, and discuss common interests
• offering activities that would stimulate the appreciation of the arts.

Today, the Octagon Center for the Arts encourages interaction and creative self-expression by providing inclusive opportunities and spaces that bring people together through art.

At the Octagon, we believe a few very important things.

Artists are essential, because art matters. Whether you are a creator or an observer…a veteran artist, emerging artist, hobbyist, or first-time maker…regardless of your age, background, or the number of dollars in your bank account, art matters and art is for all of us.

Art makes us think and question. It soothes and irritates. It helps us imagine, wonder, and discover. It reaches deep places that don’t have words. Art heals and empowers. Art brings us together.

So, we need artists to do their work — for all of us.

There is incredible power in community and in inclusion. We all yearn to belong and to be accepted as ourselves. We need each other to manage our everyday lives and to chase our dreams.

To do these big and small, hard things, we need our community — and life is so much richer with all the voices at the table. All have a right to a seat.

We understand that both words and actions are important, so we wish to be clear. We stand with BIPOC communities, LGBTQ+ communities, and folks who are differently abled. We know we won’t always get it right, and we pledge to keep doing better. We are in it for the long haul.