About the Park
In 1998, Kay Kammerzell created a nonprofit organization to establish a sculpture park on San Juan Island, originally called the Westcott Bay Institute for Art & Nature. The San Juan Islands Sculpture Park opened in 2001 and has operated continuously since. The Park is run by an eight-member board of directors, numerous volunteers, and continues to be a 501c3 nonprofit funded almost entirely by donations.
The Park normally has about 150 separate art pieces by about 90 artists from the Pacific Northwest and around the country. Artists well-known and unknown are equally welcome. The emphasis is on the art and the development of the artists and the Park.
More than 80,000 people visited the Park in 2022.
The 20-acre piece of land on which the Park sits is owned by Roche Harbor Resort. Before it was purchased, the land was a farm with a farm pond and orchards. You can still find several old apple trees, an old pear tree, as well as a couple of old fence posts.
Events
If you have a group or organization that is interested in using the park for an event or special celebration please contact us at info@sjisculpturepark.com so we can work with you to accommodate your needs. Unfortunately, we do not hold wedding ceremonies at the park.
Sculpture Submissions
All sculptors are welcome to submit works by following the Park’s submission guidelines. We accept submissions throughout the year.
To enter your work, email your images to info@sjisculpturepark.com with Submission in the subject line. Do not include images larger than 5 MB in size. Each submission must include the sculpture’s dimensions, material, and approximate weight. Up to five sculptures can be submitted for each artist.
View our exhibition agreement (PDF).
Board Members
David Mark Jenkins
David was born just after Pearl Harbor in San Francisco, California and grew up in the midst of the ponds, museums, and tea gardens of the Golden Gate Park. He has a Masters in Zoology from the University of Louisville and retired from the Smithsonian Institution as Associate Director of the National Zoo. David is blessed with a son, daughter and eight living grandchildren. He currently lives on San Juan Island and has been the board president of the Sculpture Park since 2017.
Farhad Ghatan
Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, Farhad discovered the San Juan Islands in 1991 and has lived there since. He is an innkeeper and classical pianist and supporter of all of the arts on the Island. He is a past council member and mayor for the Town of Friday Harbor where he successfully placed a number of new art pieces and was involved in the creation of the two new pocket parks. He has been secretary of the Sculpture Park since 2013.
Marita Holdaway
Owning and operating a fine art gallery in Seattle for over 25 years, Marita’s passion has always been supporting emerging and mid-career artists. As a lifelong Pacific Northwest resident, the San Juan Islands is where she feels most at home. She retired in 2009 and was fortunate enough to be able to move to Johns Island. Wanting to stay connected to the arts, she became involved with the SJISP as the curatorial director. “Continuing to be around creative people and their art brings great joy to my life,” she says.
Steve Spencer
Steve Spencer has been a business owner in the construction industry for over five decades, mastering a wide range of structural engineering skills. As an artist and certified welder, along with his technical knowledge, he provides expertise identifying quality craftsmanship to artworks installed at the park. Since joining the board in 2020, his skills and experience have helped improve the grounds, locations and selection of the artworks. He currently lives part time in the San Juan Islands.
David Halpern
Upon completing his graduate work at Brown University, David Halpern spent 10 years as a writer in Washington, DC and Los Angeles before shifting and working successfully as a cartoonist for the next two decades. He is perhaps best known locally for his whimsical sculptures of fish and birds as well as his flock of fishnet sheep. David leads the Summer Education Program at the park on summer Saturdays from 2–4 p.m.
Cyrilla Torres Salsedo
After 10 years of vacations to San Juan Island, Cyrilla retired and permanently relocated to Friday Harbor. She began volunteering at the sculpture park in 2015 as a greeter and then joined the board that same year. “I represent the guests who visit the park to enjoy art in nature and a passion for walking,” she says.
Judith Wright
Retiring from Hewlett Packard/Agilent Technologies in 2003, Judith returned to Santa Rosa Junior College in Northern California and completed a degree in Landscape Management and Design. She relocated to the San Juan Islands in 2015, where she continued her love of gardening and creative woodworking. Judith joined the Sculpture Park’s board in 2018 and spends much of her free time on carpentry and special projects at the Park.
Cassidy MacDonald
Cassidy began visiting the San Juans in 1978. Inspired by years of visits and an invitation from a friend, she moved there in 2009. First and foremost an artist, and later a landscape architect, she finds living in the San Juans endlessly inspiring. In 2022 she married Mark MacDonald and with their combined family of eight children they love visiting their property on remote Waldron Island. She was honored to join the SJISP board in 2021.
Elizabeth Gadbois
With a background in fine art, photography and business, Elizabeth Gadbois finds pure joy being around the nature preserve, wildlife, artists and art installations. Daily meditation walks inspire her to want to help protect and care for this special place that has become an integral part of her (and her active Mini-Aussies) lives. “It’s the best kept secret in the San Juan Islands.” Gadbois owns an online garden art gallery and a bookkeeping/tax service on San Juan Island.