Putting artists to work in the recession, Studio Art Direct completes installation of extensive, permanent art collection for continued care facility featuring local artists

Just a few artists selected for Holladay Park art program. L-R Zeb Andrews, Allan Stephenson, Doreen Wynja, Donna Young, and Jeff White

58 paintings and photographs created by twelve regional artists were recently installed at Holladay Park Plaza, a 16-story Continuing Care Retirement Community located in Portland, Oregon. The art program was designed by and purchased through Studio Art Direct, a corporate art services firm specializing in regional art.

Artists were selected from the www.studioartdirect.com online art collection and direct from the studios of painters and photographers throughout the region. Final selections were honed from over 250 works presented. The residents of Holladay Park Plaza were included in the selection process. One artist was selected for each of 18 residential areas. Much of the art depicts scenes from around Oregon including the coast, vineyards, urban Portland, the Columbia Gorge, and Central Oregon. Although initial focus groups studies with the senior residents conducted by Studio Art Direct president Janelle Baglien indicated lyrical abstracts as a preferred genre, ultimately residentent’s primarily selected nature and landscape art works.

Typically, artwork selected for senior housing or healthcare settings is selected from national or international publishers and in no way support the local art community. Therefore, a lack of connection to the art or artist exists – either visually or monetarily.

The Holladay Park Plaza art program put money directly in the pockets of many local artists, framers, fine art printers and installers in a very tough economic year. The management team of Holladay Park Plaza deserves recognition for supporting local artists and craftsmen and going the extra mile to involve the residents in the process.

After all art was installed, Studio Art Direct and Holladay Park Plaza threw an art party with music, champagne, and appetizers. Serveral of the artists selected attended giving the residents an opportunity to learn more about their art and the process of creating it. Baglien also set up a blank canvas for a group painting involving residents and project artists.

About Studio Art Direct
Studio Art Direct, headquarted in Portland, Oregon, provides turn-key fine art solutions for healthcare, hospitality and corporate environments. http://www.studioartdirect.com features 1000 original paintings, limited editions giclees, fine art prints, and photographs created exclusively by emerging and established fine artists from Portland, Oregon and the surrounding region. The online art collection is now available to the general public for purchasing.