Oregon Coast School of Art
Oregon Coast School of Art, 325 High Street, Gardiner, OR 97441
About
Oregon Coast School of Art offers specific art activities including Figure Drawing, Printmaking: Linocut & Rubber Stamp Techniques, a Weaving Club, an Open Ceramics Studio on Tuesday nights, Beginning Ceramics on Thursdays, RAKU at the school, a pottery class for six, and a SUMMER ART CAMP. The program also hosts events that feature art exhibitions and community art activities.
• Schedule: Holiday Arts Festival on Friday, December 1, from 4–8pm, and Saturday, December 2, from 10am–4pm; open hours Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–5pm; SUMMER ART CAMP & JORDAN WALKER exhibitions reception on Friday, August 8 from 3–5pm, with exhibitions on display from August 8–September 13; Art About Agriculture on display from August 30–November 9, with a grand opening reception on August 30 from 5–7pm
• Price: Tickets are $5 to enter for a chance to win a two-night getaway and a pottery class for six
Oregon Coast School of Art is a non-profit started by Emily Free Wilson and Matt Wilson and was founded in 2020. The mission of Oregon Coast School of Art is to inspire through creativity and support the arts through teaching programs and a multi-media residency program. The organization promotes education in the arts and provides space for artists to make art and live on the Oregon Coast, and it supports the arts through various teaching programs that bring artists and art enthusiasts of all mediums together to learn, create, and collaborate. The program hosts the 4th Annual Holiday Arts Festival, which features art, crafts, food, and performances, and invites local and regional artists, makers, and food vendors to participate, with special support from Oregon Arts Association, OCF Douglas Community Fund & R.E.E.F., and Reedsport Education Enrichment Foundation. The building is a 45,000 square foot former middle school that is shared with Free Ceramics, a small family pottery, and it includes an Upper Gym used for events, a large open gymnasium, a lower gym planned for large scale construction, a future wood shop and small theater, a first floor ceramic community classroom and cafeteria/auditorium for workshops and multi-media classes, and second-floor “classroom” apartments where residents will work and live, with residencies varying in length from 2 weeks to 3 months to 1–2 years as apartment/studios are remodeled. Oregon Coast School of Art uses a Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging framework that emphasizes growing diversity, promoting inclusion, and enabling belonging.
Executive Director Emily Free Wilson has a background in gallery work and exhibitions and spent over 10 years as Gallery Director at the Archie Bray Foundation. Events Director Sean Sisson and Bookkeeper Elba England are part of the leadership team, and the Board of Directors and staff include Vince Adams of Corvallis, Oregon, Matt Wilson of Gardiner, Oregon, and Jo Beaudreau of Florence, Oregon. Matt Wilson has over 20 years of experience in construction and assists artists with technical challenges. Art About Agriculture’s 41st annual competition and touring exhibition at the school presents juried selections that highlight the Pacific Northwest’s agricultural diversity, economy, communities, culture, and natural resources.
Last updated December 27, 2025.
• Schedule: Holiday Arts Festival on Friday, December 1, from 4–8pm, and Saturday, December 2, from 10am–4pm; open hours Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–5pm; SUMMER ART CAMP & JORDAN WALKER exhibitions reception on Friday, August 8 from 3–5pm, with exhibitions on display from August 8–September 13; Art About Agriculture on display from August 30–November 9, with a grand opening reception on August 30 from 5–7pm
• Price: Tickets are $5 to enter for a chance to win a two-night getaway and a pottery class for six
Oregon Coast School of Art is a non-profit started by Emily Free Wilson and Matt Wilson and was founded in 2020. The mission of Oregon Coast School of Art is to inspire through creativity and support the arts through teaching programs and a multi-media residency program. The organization promotes education in the arts and provides space for artists to make art and live on the Oregon Coast, and it supports the arts through various teaching programs that bring artists and art enthusiasts of all mediums together to learn, create, and collaborate. The program hosts the 4th Annual Holiday Arts Festival, which features art, crafts, food, and performances, and invites local and regional artists, makers, and food vendors to participate, with special support from Oregon Arts Association, OCF Douglas Community Fund & R.E.E.F., and Reedsport Education Enrichment Foundation. The building is a 45,000 square foot former middle school that is shared with Free Ceramics, a small family pottery, and it includes an Upper Gym used for events, a large open gymnasium, a lower gym planned for large scale construction, a future wood shop and small theater, a first floor ceramic community classroom and cafeteria/auditorium for workshops and multi-media classes, and second-floor “classroom” apartments where residents will work and live, with residencies varying in length from 2 weeks to 3 months to 1–2 years as apartment/studios are remodeled. Oregon Coast School of Art uses a Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging framework that emphasizes growing diversity, promoting inclusion, and enabling belonging.
Executive Director Emily Free Wilson has a background in gallery work and exhibitions and spent over 10 years as Gallery Director at the Archie Bray Foundation. Events Director Sean Sisson and Bookkeeper Elba England are part of the leadership team, and the Board of Directors and staff include Vince Adams of Corvallis, Oregon, Matt Wilson of Gardiner, Oregon, and Jo Beaudreau of Florence, Oregon. Matt Wilson has over 20 years of experience in construction and assists artists with technical challenges. Art About Agriculture’s 41st annual competition and touring exhibition at the school presents juried selections that highlight the Pacific Northwest’s agricultural diversity, economy, communities, culture, and natural resources.
Last updated December 27, 2025.
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