Sisters local Ana Varas is an arts administrator with over a decade of arts-related experience in the academic, nonprofit, and private sectors. Before accepting a remote position with the arts and science residency nonprofit, PLAYA in Summer Lake, she was the arts program manager at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture.
Varas has a PhD in Art History and Theory from the University of Essex, UK. Her research focused on community-driven art practices addressing socio-political and ecological issues. Her research found that cross-disciplinary collaborations can offer solutions to complex global challenges. Those findings shaped a career focused on promoting the intersection of art and science.
Photo by Katy Yoder
Ana Varas will continue efforts to bring together the arts and science with the residency nonprofit PLAYA in Summer Lake.
Varas studied art history in Mexico City before moving to the UK for further studies. Halfway through her PhD her husband, James, who’s a scientist, was offered a job in Corvallis with Oregon State University. When she was hired by the Roundhouse Foundation four years ago, the couple moved to Sisters. With two children born in Central Oregon, they’re committed to remaining in Sisters where they’ve found a solid foundation of friends.
“I specialized my thesis, in art initiatives like art residencies created by artists. The whole idea of those initiatives focuses on the connection to the community. Moving to Sisters and working for Pine Meadow Ranch was the perfect job for me, because it really put what I learned in theory into action. Because James and I are international people, Sisters has given us a sense of community. We don’t have family here. When we consider moving, we’re reminded that we’ve really created a very supportive community here,” said Varas.
Becoming the Executive Director at PLAYA was a natural fit for Varas. When considering her next professional move, she looked at organizations that reflected her interests and expertise. PLAYA’s focus on the intersection between art and the sciences for the last fourteen years, felt like a perfect fit for her career.
“I have been on a quest to find the best way to provide a platform to make connections between the disciplines of art and science. Knowing and appreciating what PLAYA is doing had them on my radar. In my new role as executive director, it’s easy to see why PLAYA attracts international people in art and the science. In each cohort, there’s a scientist and artists from different disciplines. In addition to what they offer, what makes PLAYA so unique is where it’s located in the remote High Desert,” said Varas.
Along with PLAYA’s allure for artists and scientists, it’s also been powerfully supportive and welcoming to local people. Reaching PLAYA takes visitors on a beautiful drive through the Oregon Outback and a variation of the High Desert not found in Sisters Country. Although it’s located in a different county, PLAYA is still considered to be part of Central Oregon.
The remote location offers a connection to nature that’s compelling and inspiring for those seeking a way to disconnect from their daily lives and relax into a place that feels much farther than 130 miles from Sisters. PLAYA is a dark sky sanctuary with majestic night’s skies that harken back to a time when city lights didn’t pale nighttime’s show of stars and planets.
Varas says her new role includes raising awareness for PLAYA as a valuable resource that’s accessible for Central Oregonians and available for people of all ages, interests, and abilities.
“I’m encouraging more partnerships with organizations in the area that have complimentary demographics. We’re already serving a lot of people from Central Oregon, with workshops and experiences. We also offer self-directed residences where people can rent a cabin and write or do whatever they’re focusing on. We’ll be having some workshops on archeology next year,” said Varas.
Varas invites Sisters Country folks and beyond to learn more about PLAYA and consider the location and amenities as a great option for all kinds of events. She said the entire campus can be rented for retreats, from quilting to science clubs interested in astronomy, ancient cultures, migrating birds, and so much more.
Photo by Katy Yoder
The grounds at PLAYA.
PLAYA offers a chance for contemplation, stillness and being present in an intriguing environment. It’s a perfect place to work on a landscape quilt with the glittering lake, rugged hillsides, rock formations, and unique horizons. Very few places can offer what PLAYA has because of its location and the incredibly beautiful Summer Lake that sits next to PLAYA’s cabins and lodge. Varas wants people to experience what PLAYA offers to better understand the place itself and its role as an Oregon masterpiece worth preserving and cherishing.
Varas is exploring new partnerships with businesses offering tours, schools, nonprofit organizations, and special interest groups looking for a unique venue that offers an aspect of Central Oregon that’s less populated, full of incredibly beautiful landscapes and diverse plants and animals. She welcomes all inquiries and is happy to look outside the proverbial box and think expansively about what’s possible for PLAYA.
“We partner with schools in Portland and other places to bring students out of populated areas and into the Oregon Outback. A lot of kids have never been into the rural parts of Oregon,” said Varas. “We want to share PLAYA and Summer Lake’s beauty from the changing weather, dramatic rock formations, and ancient pictographs and petroglyphs.”
Varas imagines big things for PLAYA as she pursues new relationships. Once people are in the majestic location, settle into the quiet, and feel inspired to create art, or get curious about topics from astronomy, hydrology, archeology, and geology, she’s seen all kinds of breakthroughs from transformative art installations and movement towards scientific discoveries.
Varas invites folks to visit PLAYA’s website: playa
summerlake.org or contact her at [email protected]. She’s excited to talk with people about all the possibilities PLAYA offers, and maybe ideas she hasn’t even contemplated yet. Like the Sisters community she cherishes, she knows when people share ideas, great things can happen.