FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information
- Meech Boakye
- Communications Lead, RACC
- mboakye@racc.org
Portland, OR – June 25, 2025. RACC is proud to announce that 74 Professional Development Grants totaling $116,000 have been awarded! Of this pool, 55% of these grantees are receiving a RACC grant for the first time.
Our Professional Development Grant Program supports artists and arts administrators by offsetting expenses related to unique opportunities that will significantly impact one’s artistic career or business development. This spring, RACC received a total of 234 applications and 32% of applicants were selected to receive funds.
Grantees will use these funds to attend artist residencies, conferences and workshops; consult with mentors; produce artistic research; and present work in exhibitions outside our region. Of this grantee pool, 34% of grantees identified as BIPOC, 32% identify as living with a disability, and 39% are members of LGBTQIA+ communities.
Examples of funded activities include:
- Workshops in Irish aerial dance, underwater cinematography, creative coding, digital weaving, signwriting, and copperplate photogravure.
- Mentorships with experts in Brazilian zouk, lenticular imaging, legal services, and digital marketing.
- National artist residencies in New York, California, Maine, and Ohio and international artist residencies in Argentina, Mexico, and Spain
- National conferences in Maryland, North Carolina, Illinois, Rhode Island, and Washington and international conferences in Spain, Norway, and Brazil
Read the full list of grantees here.
This round of grants was awarded through public investment from Multnomah County and Washington County and bolstered with funding from the estate of Harriet Beal Cormack. Harriet Beal Cormack was a civic leader with an interest in urban affairs, social justice, women’s rights, and the arts. She was known as a remarkable patron of the performing, visual, and literary arts, and RACC is pleased to honor her entrepreneurial spirit and artistic interests with this grant program to support the growth of artists and arts leaders across the tri-county region.
About the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC): For decades, RACC has aimed to serve every neighborhood of our region to ensure that arts and culture are accessible to all. Our nationally acclaimed public art program enlivens parks, community centers, government buildings, libraries and health clinics; brings people and communities together; and makes our region a more vibrant and welcoming place to be. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we work to elevate the voices and visibility of individual artists, creative organizations and arts nonprofits – especially those that serve underrepresented communities – amplifying their impact through grants, professional development and other vital resources. Through strategic partnerships, our team works to build coalitions and lead new initiatives, crafting a shared vision for an equitable future for arts and culture in our region. For more information, please visit racc.org.