We are a grant and donor-funded nonprofit arts services organization that serves ten Eastern Oregon counties by advocating for artists, fostering creative expression, and supporting arts education. We need engaged citizens like you to help us continue our work.

One way you can join us in supporting arts opportunities in Eastern Oregon is by taking part in our annual fundraisers! Be sure to look through our current fundraiser, current exhibit raffles, and more. 

ACE is again hosting its annual Galleries Fundraiser in collaboration with Wallowa Avalanche Center (WAC) to raise funds for WAC’s avalanche education programs and ACE’s Galleries Program. The fundraiser runs November 15 - December 10, 2022.

The fundraiser is a raffle of eleven original works by local artist and avid outdoorsman Craig Canoy who passed away in 2020. Craig bequeathed his art collection to ACE for the organization to use for fundraising.

Many of the beautiful pieces in Craig’s collection are his own work and many depict winter outdoor activities, environments, and landscapes in our region.

Raffle tickets are $20 per single ticket or $100 for six tickets. The eleven winning tickets will be drawn December 10 during one of ACE’s December Sip and Shop Saturdays. The first winner will have first choice from the eleven artworks. As the subsequent winners are drawn, each will select their choice from the remaining artworks. The pieces have a combined value of more than $3,000. 

 

 

To learn more about the Wallowa Avalanche Center visit wallowaavalanchecenter.org

 

To learn more about the Art Center East Galleries visit artcentereast.org/the-art-center-east-galleries

Telemarks and Glaciers (1991)

by D. Craig Canoy

Pastel (under glass)

27"x33" framed

Telemark (1992)

by D. Craig Canoy

Pastel (under glass)

32"x38" framed

Title Unknown (1990) by D. Craig Canoy

26x39 framed

Title Unknown by D. Craig Canoy

Oil

28x36 framed

Title Unknown

by D. Craig Canoy

Oil

26"x42" framed

Title Unknown (1983)

by D. Craig Canoy

Oil

20"x26" framed

Ladd Canyon Bluff

by D. Craig Canoy

Pastel (under glass)

18.5"x25" framed

Deep Winter in Ladd Canyon

by D. Craig Canoy

Pastel (under glass)

18.5"x25.5" framed

Late Winter in Ladd Canyon

by D. Craig Canoy

pastel (under glass)

18.5"x24" framed

Title Unknown (1992) by D. Craig Canoy

Pastel (under glass)

33"x40" framed

Topo (1990) by D. Craig Canoy

Pastel (under glass)

33"x40" framed

Dennis “Craig” Canoy was born in 1943 in Silverton, Oregon, to Frances Grace Walker and Virgil David Canoy. He had two siblings: Kent Canoy and Shelley DeSimone. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Craig enjoyed hiking, backpacking, free-heel skiing, and rock-climbing, including ice and snow climbing. 

Craig earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon and thereafter taught art and design in the Hillsboro Union High School District for three decades. He lived in several cities on the western side of Oregon before relocating to La Grande upon retirement in the 1990s. He loved the Elkhorn Mountains, Anthony Lakes, and the Owyhee high country of southeast Oregon. 

Often focused on depicting the beauty of the natural world, Craig worked primarily in pastel. He exhibited his work in three galleries in Oregon, including Portland State’s Littman Gallery, the Kathrin Cawein Gallery of Art at Pacific University, and Peterson’s Gallery in Baker City. 

Upon his death in 2020, Craig made a cash bequest to Art Center East (ACE) and left his art collection to ACE for the purposes of fundraising. Many of the pieces in the collection are his own work, but he also was actively attentive to and collected the work of regional artists. A benefit show was held in Summer 2021 to honor his legacy. Proceeds from this exhibit represent an investment in the community art classes and events that draw on the power of artistic expression to nourish us and connect us to one another through the joy of encountering and creating art.

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