Two New Exhibits at Columbia Center for the Arts Reconsider the American West

Aug 28

Written By Columbia Community Connection

From Columbia Center for the Arts:

By Cole Goodwin

Hood River, Ore., Aug. 28, 2026 — Columbia Center for the Arts will open two exhibitions Friday, Sept. 4, that converge around identity, ecology, and the layered histories of the American West as well as the geological, cultural, and political story of the Columbia River. Both run through Oct. 30 and open with a First Friday reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at the center, located at 215 Cascade Ave.

In the main gallery, "Belonging Otherwise" brings together new work by Epiphany Couch and Charlie-Anne Hopkins, two artists whose distinct practices converge around identity, ecology and the layered histories of the West.

Couch, a spuyaləpabš (Puyallup), Yakama and Scandinavian/mixed European interdisciplinary artist and writer, works across photography, beadwork, weaving and collage, drawing on family stories, archival research and her childhood in caləłali (Tacoma, Washington). She reinterprets traditional forms into heirloom-like objects that hold space for reflection, care and healing.

Hopkins forages materials to make inks, sculptures and works on paper, building a direct and tangible relationship with the land their work describes. Their practice confronts climate change as lived experience from wildfire evacuations, drought, to shifting ecosystems and pushes back on myths of rugged individualism in favor of interdependence, adaptation and reverence for the land.

In the lobby gallery, "Columbia River in VI Sections" presents handwoven tapestries by Kristie Strasen that map the river's full length, from its headwaters in British Columbia to the Pacific, across six woven segments. The 14 dams that interrupt the river's flow are called out in red. Originally shown at the Gorge Museum, the series traces the geological, cultural and political story of the Columbia and its central role in Native American sovereignty, fishing rights and environmental balance.

Both exhibitions are on view through Oct. 30 during regular gallery hours, Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free, donations encouraged. Work in the main gallery is available for purchase and proceeds directly benefit the artists and Columbia Center for the Arts.

About the Artists

Epiphany Couch(she/her) is a spuyaləpabš (Puyallup), Yakama, and Scandinavian/mixed European interdisciplinary artist and writer. Drawing on family stories, archival research, her own dreams, and her childhood in caləłali (Tacoma, WA), she works across photography, beadwork, weaving, and collage. Her recent honors include a Percent for Art commission, the Oregon Contemporary Artists' Biennial, residencies at MASS MoCA and the GLEAN Program, and a Career Opportunity Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. She lives and works in Portland, OR.

Charlie-Anne Hopkins(they/them) holds an MFA in Sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute. They have held residencies at the Museum of Arts and Design (NYC), Vermont Studio Center, Caldera Arts, Brush Creek Foundation, Mildred's Lane, Leland Ironworks, Sou'wester Arts, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, and Aunt Dofe's, and have exhibited nationally and internationally. They co-founded Carnation Contemporary, a cooperative gallery in Portland, OR championing emerging and underrepresented artists. Hopkins lives and works in Thorp, Washington. Kristie Strasen built a highly successful career in New York City as a textile designer and colorist for leading companies in the interior furnishings industry before returning to her roots as a hand weaver and launching Little Weavings Co in 2017. Committed to making "things worth keeping," she creates artisanal, one-of-a-kind pieces from natural fibers - often hand spun or produced by small-batch spinners, and both commercially and naturally dyed. Known for an intuitive command of color drawn from years of building color systems for clients across North America and Europe, Strasen weaves work of unusual richness and significance.

About Columbia Center for the Arts Columbia Center for the Arts is a nonprofit community arts center at 215 Cascade Ave. in downtown Hood River, serving the Columbia River Gorge region. Its mission is to cultivate the arts in the Gorge by providing experiences that connect the community — art that sparks conversation, challenges the intellect and touches the heart. The center houses a rotating gallery featuring Gorge-area and regional artists, a 136-seat theater, and year-round classes, camps and workshops for children and adults. More at columbiaarts.org.