Like Dorothy’s house in the Wizard of Oz, the children’s classroom at The Old Hotel Art

Gallery in Othello, Washington was literally blowing away. Due to extensive wind damage, the City of Othello condemned the building where 350 children took art classes yearly for the last 29 years. Founded in 1975, The Old Hotel Art Gallery is an important landmark for local and regional artists to display their work.

In 2008, Inland Northwest Community Foundation awarded this nonprofit a $10,000 Community Strategies grant, thanks to the following funds: Spokane Foundation Fund, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Fund for Health & Human Services and RRCE Miller Family Fund. The grant was used to replace the Children’s Art and Art Education Center that now houses two classrooms including a pottery room with five pottery wheels and a kiln.

Since its completion, the education center has resumed art and pottery classes for children ages three to 15. Nancy Briggs, former Old Hotel Director, is passionate about the center: “The new Arts Building at The Old Hotel is a gift to the entire community of Othello, especially the children. You can’t put a value on what the “arts” do for children. They offer an opportunity—like no other—for them to develop creativity, to use their imagination, to learn new skills, and to find pride in accomplishment.”

As the only organization offering art classes for children in Adams County, The Old Hotel Art Gallery fills an important niche in the region. Briggs continues, “The new building, with its enhanced facilities, insures the magic will continue and that adults as well as children will enjoy the benefits.”