Our Purpose

Art connects us to place, to one another, and to the communities we call home.

Art of Community works to develop, support, and advocate for art and a thriving arts ecosystem throughout the Columbia River Gorge—bringing art into the places people live, walk, gather, and explore and creating opportunities for discovery, wonder, conversation, and a deeper sense of place.

Our Story

Hood River and the Columbia River Gorge have long been shaped by an extraordinary relationship between people, creativity, and place. Art of Community began in Hood River in 2014 with a simple idea: bring more art out into the community, where everyone can experience and engage with it. Since then, we've worked with artists, supporters, businesses, cities, museums, and countless partners to bring public art throughout the Gorge—creating unexpected moments of discovery and bringing people together around art and place.

But the idea has always been bigger than the art we place. We believe a thriving arts ecosystem strengthens community—sparking curiosity, creativity, connection, and new ways of seeing the places we share. Art can also create common ground: a reason to stop, look, talk, listen, and experience something alongside someone else. Those small exchanges can build familiarity, understanding, and trust. AoC brings art into everyday life, serving as an invitation into the Gorge's broader creative community—its artists, galleries, studios, museums, performances, and cultural experiences. Our hope is simple: See the art. Get curious. Explore further. Meet an artist. Visit a gallery. Experience a performance. Join in.

Because art doesn't just reflect a place. It helps us see it, understand it, and tell its stories.

Our Board

Art of Community is shaped by people who bring different experiences, perspectives, and connections to a shared purpose. Together, our board helps guide AoC's vision, support its work, and strengthen connections among artists, communities, and the places we share.

Cathleen Rehfeld

Cathleen is a founding board member of Art of Community, longtime Gorge resident and accomplished landscape, figurative, and still-life painter whose work is collected throughout the region and internationally. A passionate artist, teacher, and advocate for the arts, she has helped shape the Gorge's creative community through decades of painting, teaching, mentoring, and collaboration. Cathleen founded the Pacific Northwest Plein Air event and the Columbia Gorge Arts & Culture Alliance and served for many years on the board of the Columbia Center for the Arts. She brings to AoC deep connections within the arts community and a commitment to supporting artists and making art part of everyday life in the Gorge.

CJ Rench

CJ is a founding board member of Art of Community and an artist, designer, fabricator, and problem-solver whose large-scale abstract metal sculptures have been exhibited in public and private settings throughout the country. His experience with sculpture walks and public art exhibitions throughout the U.S. inspired the idea for BIG ART and the formation of AoC in 2014. Today, CJ continues to create his own work while bringing an artist's perspective, technical ingenuity, and an uncanny ability to figure out how to build, move, install, and care for very large works of art.

DeeDee Hennessy

Originally from the great state of Iowa, DeeDee is a longtime Hood River community leader with a background in economics, business, and an impressive amount of volunteer number-crunching. Over the years, she has lent her time and talents to local schools, fundraising campaigns, public art, and community initiatives throughout the Gorge. DeeDee has also helped manage the business and financial side of Thread and Talkoot, Hood River/Portland companies whose storytelling work and technology serve familiar brands around the world. DeeDee brings to AoC a sharp financial mind, a love of public art, and a gift for connecting people, places, and stories—while somehow keeping the rest of us organized.

Kate Murray

Kate is a native Oregonian who after earning her degree in Art and Interiors, her career included residential design, commercial development, and leadership in multidisciplinary architecture and engineering teams. Over the years, Kate has also contributed her time and talents to local non-profit organizations including Mt. Hood Town Hall, the Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association, and Riverside Community Church. Thoughtful, articulate, and deeply connected throughout the Gorge, Kate brings to AoC a designer’s eye, organizational instincts, and a genuine love of the arts and community. She helps guide BIG ART’s artists, installations, programs, and partnerships, bringing new capacity, perspective, and outreach to AoC as it continues to evolve.

Kristen Godkin

Kristen is a planner, strategist, and founding board member of Art of Community. Her career spans private and nonprofit organizations, with experience in business development, branding, and strategic visioning for organizations working across the built and natural environment, as well as executive leadership and board governance. Her work has ranged from local community initiatives to projects and organizations across the U.S. and beyond, helping them develop and grow by seeing bigger possibilities and building the partnerships, systems, and resources to move them forward. At the heart of Kristen's approach is gathering, listening, and seeing—taking the time to understand people, recognize patterns and possibilities, and find the stories that connect different perspectives around a shared purpose. At AoC, Kristen helps connect ideas with the partners, resources, and occasional leap of faith needed to bring them—and public art—to life.

Mark Nilsson

Mark is a founding board member of Art of Community, native Oregonian and accomplished artist whose work moves easily between realism, whimsy, and abstraction. From large-scale murals to intimate paintings, his art reflects a love of nature, extensive travels, and the creative energy of the Pacific Northwest. His work can be found throughout the Gorge and in public and private collections around the world. A longtime and much-loved presence in the Gorge, Mark is also one of those people who seems to know everyone. He brings to AoC a playful creative perspective, deep relationships throughout the region, and a natural ability to connect people with artists and the larger Gorge arts community.