When a trio of artists created River Arts Kamiah over the summer, they didn’t imagine its reach.
Now, as the holidays draw near, people in Kamiah and surrounding areas say the arts group founded by Theresa Henson, Stephanie Newkirk and Cynthia Valle is a gift to the community.
More than 1,000 people have participated in its visual arts, music and creative writing programs since River Arts began in August, a level of success that overwhelms its creators. Henson said she feels the “synchronicity, connection and magic” every day.
Henson and Newkirk met by chance last winter while walking their dogs along the Clearwater River. Becoming fast friends, they soon looped Valle, a longtime friend of Henson’s, into a conversation about creating community through art. The name of the resulting nonprofit arts group was inspired by the river along which Henson and Newkirk met, and River Arts Kamiah was born, with a mission “to bring ever-flowing, accessible arts programming” to the area.
They launched their venture with a free outdoor concert and grand opening of a studio/gallery, drawing a crowd of about 150 to Kamiah’s Riverfront Park and attracting funding from Freedom Northwest Credit Union’s board of directors.
“It was important to FNWCU to help this program get off to a good start,” the credit union’s president and CEO, Scott Garrett said, noting River Arts’ activities fit squarely with FNCWU’s mission of bringing family-friendly events to Kamiah.
Inspired by a free art space she encountered in a Nicaraguan village, Newkirk pressed the group to rent a small Main Street storefront so River Arts could offer a physical space. River Arts opened its studio during Kamiah BBQ Days, the community’s largest event of the year, and people streamed through the space to view a local art display, watch artists at work, create art themselves and learn about classes.
River Arts Kamiah has offered at least one class each week since it opened. Anyone can propose a class, and artists have flocked to the space to teach a diversity of media, techniques and styles, including watercolor painting, drawing basics, bubble painting, nature journaling, clay monsters, Native American beadwork and ceramic holiday ornaments. Each artist brings their own connections, expanding the River Arts community, Newkirk said.
Beyond the organized classes, River Arts invites people to drop in during studio hours to work on a guided art project of the week or simply create on their own.
She was surprised by River Arts’ intergenerational appeal, Henson said, not having envisioned kids, parents and grandparents all taking classes together.
Kamiah-area resident Wendi Thompson said she loves creating art in a room full of people of all ages.
“It is so great to see a 60-year-old sitting next to a first grader talking about their art projects,” Thompson said. “We have something in common just by walking in the door.”
Eve Stein and her 6-year-old son, Gus, said they love their time together at River Arts each week.