Executive Director Valerie Munyon stands in one of Painted Sky’s classrooms with teacher Sam Adams in the background.

JOHN DAY — Painted Sky Center for the Arts, which for the past five years has fostered the practice and appreciation of art in Grant County, completed its acquisition of the former Madden Building in John Day on Nov. 1.

The building on Northwest Bridge Street, the former Blue Mountain Junior High School, has ample space for art opportunities with classrooms, a conference room, office space and a gymnasium that can be used for performing arts.

“Now that we’re expanding, the possibilities are endless with the kind of mediums we can offer,” said Painted Sky’s executive director, Valerie Munyon.

Painted Sky Center for the Arts had been leasing space in the Madden Building for about a year. The building was listed as sold for a price of $1,090,000 on a regional multiple listing service, and the closed sale was published on several local real estate websites on Nov. 2.

Prior to moving to the Madden Building in John Day, Painted Sky occupied two buildings in Canyon City.

A banner year

It’s been a banner year for the arts organization, which officially acquired 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in April and hired Munyon as its first full-time executive director in July.

Painted Sky will continue to lease office space to Child Care Resource and Referral, Umatilla-Morrow HeadStart, InterMountain Education Service District and the Oregon State University Extension Service as the Madden family had done when they owned the building for the past decade.

“All of these organizations will be great partners for the art center and will help sustain PSCA in the long term, making this building a great community facility,” Munyon said. “With more space to operate, we also plan on expanding our programs and services and making the gym space available to rent for private parties or community events. It has been our top priority to acquire this multiuse, permanent space in John Day to serve Grant County residents and visitors with art and cultural offerings.”

When the Maddens purchased the building in November of 2014, the old school was structurally sound but in need of beautification, Joe Madden told the Blue Mountain Eagle for a 2017 story about the building’s renovation. He said nothing was changed structurally, but the building got new floors, doors and paint.

The remodel resulted in 14,000 square feet of office space, and the gym began hosting concerts as the Madden Brothers Performing Arts Center.

“I’m very excited for them and very happy to see the community will still have a place (for performing arts) like we first intended,” said Jesse Madden, who co-owns Blue Mountain Custom Homes with his brother, Joe.

Munyon said she’s looking forward to offering performing arts classes and utilizing the gym space for recitals, plays, concerts and exhibitions. Painted Sky also plans to continue renting the space to the public if they need a large venue and leasing the space to the Grant School District as a sports practice facility, which will help bring in revenue.

“We’re very, very happy we can take on some of what the Maddens were trying to do initially with the performing arts,” said Painted Sky’s board president Kim Randleas. “They’ve been great partners for us for the whole thing and are really supportive of what we’re doing, so we’re really grateful to the Maddens.”

Randleas said the goal with the art center is “to have every (art) medium you can imagine and have people try those mediums out” in order for people to discover what really excites them.

“Everyone needs an artistic outlet, and so we’re able to have those things available,” Randleas said. “People can try different things until they find what is really their thing.”

More funding needed

Painted Sky officials said they are thankful for support from the Roundhouse Foundation and the Oregon Community Foundation to help with the down payment on the building. The center also obtained gap funding in the form of a loan to help secure the building.

They hope to secure another significant source of funding toward the acquisition of the building from the state’s Cultural Resource Economic Fund, known as CREF, in the upcoming legislative session.

Painted Sky’s proposal was among more than a dozen projects reviewed by the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon and chosen to receive CREF funds this year, but the Legislature decided not to allocate money to the program in 2023, Munyon said. It was the first time state lawmakers didn’t fund CREF, Randleas said.

“We did not get the funding, so the coalition is putting it back through to the next legislative session this fall, so we’ll know in early 2024 if we got the funding,” Munyon said. “We’re really reliant on that funding to help pay for the building.”

Painted Sky is asking the public to urge state legislators to support funding for the project.

For more information on how to donate or help, email paintedskycenter@gmail.com or call 541-575-1335. To learn more about Painted Sky Center for the Arts, go to www.paintedskycenter.com or see the center’s Facebook page at facebook.com/PaintedSkyCenter/.

Painted Sky Center for the Arts in John Day provides youth art classes after school and on Fridays, as well as special summer programs. Classes and workshops are offered every month for pottery, leather work, painting, writing and more.

To see the offerings, visit www.paintedskycenter.com.