About Garry Oak Gallery

In a 2005 presentation to the Oak Harbor City Council, Nancy Sanders (then proprietor of NS Frames in the neighborhood now known as Harborside Shops) eloquently expounded the role art could play beyond the steps detailed in the city's new downtown/waterfront revitalization plan. After some media exposure and endorsement, the Oak Harbor Arts Commission was created to foster public art in the city.

Three well-known local artists needed no convincing that art could contribute to the local economy; Jeanne Valdez (co-founder of Artworks Gallery in Greenbank) immediately encouraged the new commission to create an arts center and gallery. When she learned, in the summer of 2008, that a suitable space on SE Pioneer way was to be available, she teamed with Margaret Livermore, and Joan Brosnahan (both founding members of Penn Cove Gallery in Coupeville) to establish a showcase for the work of visual artists. The three quickly recruited some of the island's most talented artists and Garry Oak Gallery was born.

Garry Oak Gallery opened on October 1, 2008 to rave reviews. It is not only a stunning showcase for an outstanding range of media, but a lively addition to the Harborside Shops as downtown Oak Harbor continues to provide more and more of the personal service and local goods island residents desire. Garry Oak Gallery is a not-for-profit co-operative enterprise owned by its members. This structure benefits art lovers by allowing the artists to offer greater value than is possible in a commercial gallery setting.