WHAT WE DO

Who We Are

Stunning graphic design.
Lush photography. 
A radical reinvention of the playbill. 
We believe the arts are good for the soul and business.

Artslandia encompasses a diverse family of media including En Face Magazine, performing arts magazines of the most prestigious arts organizations, custom publishing services, new media options, and sponsorships.
We are publishers, marketers, and brand ambassadors. Our magazines boast a circulation of more than 1 million issues annually with a readership of 1.8 million across 16 diverse markets and counting.

Our mission is to celebrate and elevate the arts through the confluence of human connection.

16 and Growing

Markets across the United States

Why We Do It

Be it theater, music, or dance, the work each artist brings to the stage is centered on pushing the boundaries of expression, exploring the depths of the human spirit, and reaching new heights of beauty. And we believe that such a stunning display on the stage ought to never be paired with an uninspired playbill. Instead, beautiful art deserves an equally beautiful magazine. It is for this reason that Artslandia combines stunning graphic design, lush photography, and luxury ads together to create a radical reinvention of the playbill.

Where It All Started

Misty Tompoles launched her first publication — a hand-drawn tribute magazine to The Cars — as a 7-year-old in Indiana. Thanks to the kind of boldness and savvy that can’t be taught, her post as editor of her grad school literary review unfolded into a position at a local magazine. There she fell in love with design and voraciously mastered the art before launching a one-woman graphic design shop. 

In 2006, kismet and a childhood enchantment brought dance presenters Walter Jaffe and Paul King of White Bird Dance to Misty’s fledgling venture, and their partnership inspired a rebranding as PlaybillsNW. The business model was the antithesis of the traditional playbill. The books would be beautiful. The finances would work in favor of the artistry. With four clients in its first year and her brother on board to sell advertising, PlaybillsNW published 27 playbills with a circulation of 98,000. The company’s meteoric rise among a performing arts community in Portland, Oregon that was experiencing an explosion of creation and appreciation brought a transformation to Artslandia in 2008 and an expanded mission to innovate ways to connect those who create music, dance, and theater with those who partake of it and financially support it. 

Successes include a heavily trafficked website with a comprehensive calendar of performances, a vast social media presence, a subscription box, an app, a podcast, a recurring segment on local television news, new arts clients in San Francisco, Boise, Seattle, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Sacramento, Austin, and now the launch of En Face Magazine.

Where We Are Going

Since its founding, Artslandia has been part of the heartbeat of Portland. But then the performing arts community was brought to a near halt as the COVID-19 pandemic closed down performances globally. In a sea of cancellation notices, laid-off artists, and quarantined audience members, the printed playbill seemed like it may fade into the past.

Instead of stepping down, Artslandia rose to the challenge and not only pivoted to a digital space, but also began to lay plans to expand nationally. From one market to 10 markets, we grew. We added Pacific Northwest Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, The Washington Ballet, and more to our family. We launched En Face Magazine, a new publication entirely focused on celebrating and elevating the ballet community. And this is just the beginning.

Join our community and grow with us as we help the arts flourish across the nation.