The Right Brain Initiative unveils imaginative new website

On November 11, The Right Brain Initiative launched a vividly animated and upgraded website, providing increased program information and capability for interaction. The site, found online at www.TheRightBrainInitiative.org, was created by local firm NORTH, who generously provided the design and construction on a partial in-kind basis. The Right Brain Initiative is a unique public-private partnership managed by the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), which works to make sure all K-8 students of the Portland metropolitan area receive high quality arts education. NORTH and Right Brain began their relationship in 2008 when North developed branding for the Initiative.

To attract traffic to the new site, the Initiative invites visitors to scout for links hidden throughout its pages. Links lead to tickets and other prizes courtesy of Right Brain arts partners, including the Oregon Ballet Theater, Oregon Symphony, Portland Taiko and Wordstock.

This new site is launched in conjunction with Right Brain’s inclusion in the 2010 Willamette Week Give!Guide, which also publishes this week. In the 2010-11 school year, Right Brain has focused on activating the public to advocate for its programming and vision through small donations, support through online social media, and volunteerism.

TheRightBrainInitiative.org includes the following new features:

• Artist roster database, allowing Right Brain partner schools to search for artists using a sophisticated set of search fields, including artistic medium, and curriculum and grade-level specialties
• Expanded, more user-friendly information about Right Brain’s program and partners
•  “Brain Food”—Creative activities that parents or teachers can try with their children. Users can also submit their own activities for inclusion on the site.
• Expanded blog
• Arts education resources and advocacy tools
• Calendar of events
• Password-protected microsite for Right Brain partner educators

Read more about the vision behind this site in an introductory blog entry written by Lori Jones of NORTH at www.TheRightBrainInitiative.org/the-right-brain-blog.

About The Right Brain Initiative
The Right Brain Initiative is a sustainable partnership of public schools, local government, foundations, businesses and the cultural community, which launched its programming in Portland area classrooms in January 2009. The program’s goal is to achieve a measurable impact on learning by integrating the community’s arts and cultural resources into the education of every K-8 student in the Portland metropolitan region’s school districts. The Right Brain Initiative is a project of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, with Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington serving as Implementation Partner. Read more online at www.TheRightBrainInitiative.org.

About Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC)
RACC is a nonprofit arts services organization serving the Portland metropolitan area, including Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties. In addition to serving as the managing partner for The Right Brain Initiative, RACC provides grants for artists, arts organizations, schools and other community-based arts projects; conducts workplace giving for arts and culture (“Work for Art”) and other advocacy efforts; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance; shares printed and web-based resources for artists; and integrates artwork into public places. Read more online at www.racc.org.