RACC Blog

Welcome New RACC Staff

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School’s out and summer’s here! While you’re getting ready to attend the countless arts and cultural events happening these warmer months, we’ve got some new faces at RACC we’d like to introduce you to. Meet the newest RACC staff: Jae, Lokyee, and Yessica:

Jae Yeun Choi

Jae received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has taught poetry at Reed College, Portland State University, and the University of Iowa. Her poems have been published in The Volta, A Plume Annual, Tin House, The Iowa Review, and Flying Object’s It’s My Decision series and in exhibitions at 356 S. Mission, 3 Days Awake Gallery, PMoMA, and Good Press Glasgow. Jae thinks of herself as an old hermit, but loves to hit up pretty much any road that ends at a lake, volcano, or hoodoo.

What do you do at RACC?                         

I program artists’ workshops and develop resources aimed at supporting artists in our community with foundational tools and skill-building. I also administer a grant program specific to advancing an artist’s creative practice or business–the Professional Development grant gives up to $2,000 of support to cover costs like travel or registrations costs for artist residencies, workshops, or professional consulting services.

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

In karaoke bars, I’m more of a back-up dancer than a singer. But I used to rent karaoke rooms by myself in Little Tokyo to the point of having a punch card, and I’d have a solid time with Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, and Rihanna.

What’s a secret talent you have, or little-known fact about you?

I’m a super intuitive person, I think I can predict the future sometimes.

How is art a part of your life?

I feel happy that almost element of my day has been totally affected or effected by artists. I’m a poet in my practice and within my communities, but ultimately I don’t believe that art is all that separable from life, regardless of what you do for work or fun. I’m interested in grappling with the question of who is coming up with those definitions or restrictions, and I love when those definitions get messier and are forced to evolve because they can’t be contained. Rules for me are the most helpful tool in giving me something to spring away from.

Complete the sentence: “Arts and culture are  _____________”

I fully believe that “arts and culture” is a patterning, a way for one person to address their least diminished self, then look at another person and see their least diminished self looking back.

Photo of Yessica AvilaYessica Avila

Yessica is a Los Angeles native from Huntington Park. She graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona where she received a BFA in Graphic Design. After graduating in 2012, she began her advocacy work as a volunteer for the local chapter, the Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition.

Yessica’s family and personal story as first generation immigrants from Mexico is the motivation for her advocacy work for the undocumented and immigrant community. Her work centers on equity for people of color and underrepresented communities. Her professional experience is grounded in community grassroots for anti-gentrification and anti-displacement.

What do you do at RACC?

I am an Arts Education Coordinator for RACC. I manage the communication and outreach of its program The Right Brain Initiative.

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

Selena- Dreaming of You/ Selena Como la Flor (sorry Selena is just too good to pick one)

What’s a secret talent you have, or little-known fact about you?

I can stipple forever.

How is art a part of your life?

I was very fortunate to grow up in a city like LA where murals narrate the stories of first generation-immigrants (Chicanos). Today, poetry has become my guide to listening to the people of color outside the Mexican hegemony.

Complete the sentence: “Arts and culture are  _____________”

stories and survival of our history.

Photo of Lokyee AuLokyee Au

Originally from Los Angeles, California, Lokyee is second generation Chinese American, whose roots go back to Hong Kong. Coming from a family of cooks and bankers, she is a first-generation college graduate, and recently completed two master’s degrees from the University of Oregon: Environmental Studies and Community and Regional Planning. A creative of color herself, Lokyee is a firm believer in the critical role arts and culture plays in social movements. Much of her professional and personal work intersects with her background in environmental justice, racial justice, policy, and communications.

What do you do at RACC?                                                                     

As the Communications Manager, I keep a pulse on a number of moving parts. Collaborating closely with the Communications and Community Engagement team, we work to strategically communicate RACC’s work, events, opportunities, and more to the many communities we work with and serve.

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

I Want You Back by Jackson 5

What’s a secret talent you have, or little-known fact about you?

I can beatbox.

How is art a part of your life?

I grew up playing the piano and singing in choirs, so music is a big part of my life. I’m also a self-taught illustrator (I call myself an amateur doodler), inspired by plants and whimsy.

Complete the sentence: “Arts and culture are  _____________”

A reflection of our realities, a tangible imagination of what’s possible, and catalysts for social change.

 

Get to know the other RACC staff and board by visiting our staff page

Why Can’t I Just Exist: Code-Switching in the Art World

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by Humberto Marquez Mendez

Code-Switching, the practice of alternating between different languages, ways of speaking, conduct, and presentation of self, is often the reality for people of color and other marginalized groups. From a young age, we learn from our community, personal experiences, and observations that “acting” a certain way results in access to resources or success, while behaving in other ways results in barriers or rejection. Accepted patterns of behavior generally fall under white dominant culture, while less accepted behavior falls outside of white dominant culture. Code-switching has become a survival mechanism for people of color in a system created by and for white people to succeed.

We explored this practice of code-switching to navigate the art world in our April Art & Power conversation with 5 panelists, including Demian DinéYazhi´, Jenny Chu, Melanie Stevens, Pepe Moscoso, and Roshani Thakore – led by returning facilitator, Anna Vo. While common practice, the panelists unanimously agreed that code-switching is constant, emotionally exhausting, and plays into respectability politics, where you have to ‘play the game’ and follow the rules of those in power to survive and succeed.

Throughout the discussion artists shared experiences of debating or strategizing how to act in order to navigate systems and situations, particularly in response to the tokenization, exploitation, and fetishization of their art by predominantly white institutions. Early into the panel, Jenny stated, white people don’t ever not have to be white. People of color on the other hand, have to learn how to go into a room and not be a person of color. How their art is seen, judged, and supported is colored by their identity, including their race and ethnicity.

Do you participate in institutions that tokenize artists of color? Do you change your art to “fit in” with institutions’ expectations, or do you challenge them, knowing it may cost you opportunities? Traditional arts institutions have, whether intentionally or not, developed and codified expectations of artists of color’s work based on stereotypes and fetishization – how do you challenge that if you want to work within the institution? Do you? How do you exist as an artist of color – as the way you are, and succeed within institutions that only see artists of color in one-dimensional ways? How do you create art based on your own experience and perspective when institutions are telling you that’s not what they want?

These questions are only a few that artists of color ask, yet illuminate the constant tension felt by artists of color in social systems and institutions that center whiteness and white art. An example Demian offered highlights this tension: when invited to show a piece at a prominent museum, he debated whether or not to accept the offer and work with an institution that had a problematic history with communities of color. If he declined, would there be another indigenous artist represented in the exhibition? He ultimately decided to accept the offer while finding ways to challenge it from within. For Demian, accepting the offer meant increasing indigenous visibility, reclamation of space, and using the platform to highlight another indigenous artist. In his words, “If I don’t represent, who will?

The scarcity model many institutions operate under exacerbates this tension. The idea that there aren’t enough resources for everyone permeates and shows up in the arts world through things like invite-only exhibitions, grants, open calls, etc. We also see this in the form of caps or limits to the number of artists of color represented in a show – the unspoken diversity quota.

Back to Demian’s example, he challenged the institution’s scarcity model by collaborating with another indigenous artist to show there is space for everyone, especially those most often shut out. This is a reminder that institutions hold the power and responsibility to move beyond the scarcity model, offer flexibility in processes, and check for bias and barriers that force artists of color to code-switch.

As we always ask: What is RACC doing to challenge these structures? One action RACC has taken is to re-evaluate our artist selection and granting processes by gathering feedback from past and current grantees and artists and changing them based on the feedback. We reviewed panelist processes, selection criteria, and fund distribution to better identify and remove barriers that unfairly burden artists of color.

So what can arts institutions do to challenge the systems and structure? Learn, support, deconstruct, and rebuild. Go through trainings and learning circles with all staff, board, and volunteers. Find and support the ongoing efforts led by artists of color. Challenge your organization’s “business as usual”, and map out what deconstructing a flawed system and building an equitable one looks like. Things will not change unless we all do our part, and arts institutions, as gatekeepers, funders, exhibitors, trend setters, have a very big part to play.

As we continue on our journey, here are a few resources or examples to check out:

  • Read Jenny Chu’s article “Race and reading: The white echo chamber.”
  • PICA’s Precipice Fund supports projects that operate outside of traditional forms of support, galvanize communities, and are often anti-institutional, innovative, and intentionally nebulous.
  • APANO’s Arts and Media Project challenges institutions and culture to reflect the diversity in the Asian American and Pacific Islander identity.
  • Ori Gallery is led by and for artists of color to “reclaim and redefine ’the white cube’” by amplifying voices of Trans and Queer Artists of color, community organizing, and mobilization through the arts.”
  • R.I.S.E. (Radical Indigenous Sovereign Empowerment) is dedicated to supporting two-spirit/gender gradient/non-binary indigenous artists.

Join us for our third Art & Power event as we explore the power of art and creative expression as tools for healing, survival and empowerment. June 20, 6 – 8:30pm at Teatro Milagro – El Zócalo. Full event details and registration link are here

Fresh Paint with Molly Mendoza

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In a city known for murals, how do you get your foot (or art) through a door when you’re an emerging artist of color? Fresh Paint, a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, offers that door to have artists work in the public space.

Last May, Molly Mendoza kicked off the Fresh Paint program as the first artist whose mural appeared on Open Signal’s wall. One of three artists in the program’s pilot year, Molly is an illustrator currently living in Portland, Oregon. She is a BFA graduate from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and now communicates visually through editorial and narrative mediums. Editorial clients have included Adobe, The New York Times, Hazlitt, The Atlantic, and more. Beyond editorial illustration Mendoza writes and illustrates comics that center on themes of relationship and turbulent emotion. She finds herself circling back to the use of tone in her work and how to convey intense feeling through the visual rhythms of composition and mark making — all under a narrative structure. Mendoza also enjoys creating portraits via one-on-ones with her viewer using water soluble crayons. The bright colors and haphazard mark making over conversation has been a new exploration in her art practice that she hopes to pursue further.

Molly’s mural was up on Open Signal’s wall between May – September 2017. We caught up with her to talk about her work and experience with Fresh Paint:

Tell us about the mural you created for this program. Can you walk us through your process of conceptualizing a mural and bringing it to life?

Photo of Molly standing on a ladder painting the arm of the girl in her mural. Another individual is painting the bottom of the mural behind her.

Photo by Open Signal

When it was time to conceptualize the mural I knew that I wanted to not only make a mural for Open Signal but I also wanted to create a mural for the community in the area. I loved the fact that Open Signal had programs for the youth and I thought it would be so cool to engage with younger people on MLK and bring them to think, “Broadcasting…Film…I want to do that.”

The two figures are engaging with people on the sidewalk as though they are interviewing them — it is colorful, inviting, and loaded with healthy curiosity. The simplicity of their figures and the geometric nature also allows the mural to be enjoyed from any distance. All in all I wanted to make a piece that brought people inside but also made people happy on the outside.

What was it like to paint your first mural on the Open Signal building?

​It was a challenge! I tried to get away with using the projector ​but there was no way that would work. I used the good old fashioned grid method and found that, once you get through the math part, you can scale up or down any image. I made sure to use simple shapes and a limited color palette because I had a short amount of time and did not want to bite off more than I could chew. I am glad that I did! I also brought friends to help me apply extra coats to be sure the color popped. Murals really can be a group effort and a community experience — it was fun to engage with people on their commute and it made me really happy that they enjoyed the mural. It was a real show for the three days I worked on it.

Molly's illustration depicting two women standing next to each other under the shade. Art courtesy of Molly Mendoza

Artwork by Molly Mendoza

Since your Fresh Paint mural, what have you been up to? What are some lessons you’ve learned along the way since your first mural?

​Since Fresh Paint I have been working on a graphic novel that has now been a couple of years in the making. It’s funny how every new experience makes me stronger and although this graphic novel has some crazy crunch times ahead of it I find myself saying, “Well you painted a mural in less than three days so just do this.” I also have a couple of potential mural projects coming up this summer that I am very excited about! Because the Open Signal mural was my first mural, I think that I need to take all of the positive experiences I had from that process and apply it to the walls of my next projects. Be reasonable, consider the people who will be engaging with the mural the most, and reach out to friends for help.​

As an emerging muralist, what thoughts or words do you want to offer other emerging muralists/artists?

​Please learn about the history of street art and graffiti if you are creating a public mural. Also, consider the community that your mural is in, and the wall of the establishment that it is on. What is your work doing in that context? Who does it serve? Also, ​I know for myself that I am at my best when my work can communicate to most rather than an insular few. And one last thing, be sure to measure correctly and double check your grid.

What are you up to now? Where can we find you and your work?

​I am making stories with pictures at the moment but who knows what it’ll be next month. You can find me at mollymendoza.com and on Instagram at @msmollym

Did you miss our chat with Alex Chiu, another artist who participated in Fresh Paint program’s pilot year? Read his short interview here.

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Artists of color are invited to participate in Fresh Paint program’s second year cohort – get application details and apply here. Deadline to apply is July 16. Interested artist information session: Join us for an artist information session June 19 to get your questions answered.

Fresh Paint is a partnership between Regional Arts & Culture Council’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, a community-driven media arts center. To learn more about the program, contact Salvador Mayoral IV (RACC) or Daniela Serna (Open Signal).

June 8, 2018 update from the Search Committee:

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The new RACC Search Committee has met twice, and meets every Tuesday morning.

The job description has been updated and reposted to reflect a slight increase in the salary range. Our recruiter, Koya Leadership Partners, has also increased the number of sites where we are posting the opportunity.

We expect to review several new candidates this summer, and will then reconvene approximately 40 community members as part of a confidential interview process.  

Frances Portillo has left the Search Committee and Angela Hult has been added to the committee. The Search Committee roster now includes:

To apply or to recommend a candidate, please contact Koya directly at mbonoan@koyapartners.com or submit your resume here. We would also greatly appreciate your help sharing the updated job opportunity with your networks: https://koyapartners.com/search/racc-executive-director-21.

In other news:

We’ve received some questions and comments about the new search committee, and wanted to provide some background information that will set the context of where we are today.

RACC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that receives both public and private funding. The public funding is governed by multiple contracts and oversight bodies (including: The City of Portland, Metro, and Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties). RACC’s independent, voluntary Board of Directors is responsible for setting RACC’s vision, approving RACC’s budget and providing fiduciary governance, including hiring, oversight and support of the executive director.

Because  RACC relies largely on public funding, we have a heightened obligation to be inclusive, representative, equitable and transparent in our decision-making processes, above and beyond what is expected of most nonprofits.

We do our best to answer all questions regarding our search, except when to do so would compromise the confidentiality of committee deliberations or candidate privacy. Most candidates in the process request that their applications remain confidential.

A common question is: Given RACC’s commitment to transparency and community involvement, why is the search committee now limited to five board members?  

Given the need to continue and complete the search expeditiously (and with minimal budget overruns), the Board agreed in April of 2018 that a committee of five people was the ideal size to have an accelerated but comprehensive, equitable and deliberative process.

In appointing five board members to this new Search Committee, the board focused on individuals who:

  • Bring a range of thought, skills, experience and networks of support
  • Understand RACC’s current situation (people, budget, opportunities, risks, etc.)
  • Are independent with no financial interest in the outcome      
  • Leverage the work of the prior search committee (2 prior members, 3 new ones)
  • Are fully dedicated to RACC’s mission
  • Will keep an open mind and solicit input from  the community
  • Have a history or likelihood of working well together
  • Have the time and willingness to serve


The Board’s new Search Committee is continuing the search and will recommend one or more candidates to the Board. As with the previous search round, the finalists will be offered confidentiality and the Search Committee’s recommendations to the Board will be non-binding.

A continued commitment to equity and community involvement:

Our Search Committee is committed to utilizing RACC’s equity lens and listening to the community. Throughout this search, we remind ourselves who is impacted and whose voices are missing from the decision-making table, and how to address those gaps. We acknowledge that we all have biases, and we work to disclose and eliminate them.

Our committee is being candid with itself and with the community. We need to face, and then quickly overcome, tough challenges. We need to make decisions quickly, but not too quickly – a small and cohesive committee is more able to be nimble and responsive.

In addition to the committee, more than 40 community members (including some from board and staff) will participate in the evaluation process, and their feedback will help the Search Committee to decide on a recommendation for the RACC board.

Here is the list of previous RACC search panel participants from semi-finalist panels. We will invite these previous participants back, and will be reaching out to people who expressed interest but were unable to attend. A limited number of additional panel spots may be available. Please email the search committee if you are interested EDsearch@racc.org.

We value the community’s input on how we can do better, and we thank those who have proactively shared their concerns, suggestions or support.

As part of continuing and enhancing community input, the Search Committee will:

  • Use substantially the same job description and hiring criteria that were informed by a community survey and numerous stakeholder meetings;
  • With the interim executive director, host meetings with various groups that have offered feedback;
  • Continue to invite Portland City Council and their staff to participate in the confidential evaluation of semi-finalists;
  • Continue to invite RACC board and staff to participate in the confidential evaluation of semi-finalists;
  • Continue to invite community members to participate in the confidential evaluation of semi-finalists (contact the Search Committee to volunteer)
  • Hold workshops with RACC staff to improve alignment of RACC’s values,  and to co-create interview questions and evaluations;
  • Continue listening and responding to the phone calls, letters and emails we receive.

 

To apply or to recommend a candidate, please contact Koya directly at mbonoan@koyapartners.com, or submit your resume here. We would also greatly appreciate your help sharing the updated job opportunity with your networks: https://koyapartners.com/search/racc-executive-director-21/ .  

 

 

Fresh Paint with Alex Chiu

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In a city known for murals, how do you get your foot (or art) through a door when you’re an emerging artist of color? Fresh Paint, a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, offers that door to have artist work in the public realm.

In our 2017 pilot year, Fresh Paint gave three emerging the opportunity to paint a temporary mural on the exterior of the Open Signal building facing the highly-visible Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Each mural is then up for a period of months until it is painted over in preparation for the next mural. But what’s unique about this program is that it doesn’t just provide a wall for a mural – the program offers resources emerging artists would not typically have access to, which then gives them space to explore working in the public sector and incorporating new approaches and skills in their artistic practice and experience.

Alex Chiu, one of the three artists who participated in the pilot year, is a Chinese-American painter, illustrator, and arts educator living in Portland, Oregon who has been practicing art professionally for over 10 years. Over the past few years, Alex has been an illustrator for children’s books for Little Bee Books, a muralist for Trimet and APANO, an animation instructor at Open Signal, and a stay at home dad to his 3 year old daughter.

Alex’s mural was up on Open Signal’s wall from October 2017 – April 2018. We caught up with him to talk about his work and experience with Fresh Paint:

Tell us about the mural you created for this program. Can you walk us through your process of conceptualizing a mural and bringing it to life?

As a stay at home father, most of my personal inspiration comes from spending time with my daughter. The mural that I created for this program is based on a home video that I captured of my daughter jumping up and down on a bed. Using computer software, I was able to isolate 6 separate frames from this video. I took those frames and used them for my mural image. The mural itself consists of 6 images of my daughter in different stages of jumping. They are depicted from left to right and are meant to evoke the concepts of movement, animation, and film.

alex chiu kneeling at the ground, paintbrush in hand, painting his mural at trimet.

Photo credit: Alex Chiu

What was it like to paint your first mural on the Open Signal building?

The opportunity of painting a mural for Open Signal was exciting. I also felt honored to be one of the first artists participating in the program. The design that I chose to paint was a bit of a departure from my usual style of painting. I normally paint and draw in a very bubbly and cartoon-y style. For this image, I was working with photo reference and painting in a more proportionally realistic style. This shift in style pushed me as an artist. Also, working at such a large scale was a bit of a challenge. I found that the hardest part of the process was painting on a slatted wooden surface; the gaps between each wooden beam were difficult to paint. Overall, I learned a lot about painting on a larger scale and working outdoors. It was a great learning experience for me.

Since your Fresh Paint mural, your work has been popping up in other parts of Portland. What are some lessons you’ve learned along the way since your first mural?

Since the Fresh Paint mural, I have finished a large mural project at the NE 82nd Ave. MAX Station, collaborated on a mural with ALLY (Asian Leaders for the Liberation of Youth) at Mojo Crepes, and also painted an outdoor mural at Prescott Elementary School. I have learned several lessons from the Fresh Paint project including what tools to use for murals, how to paint while outdoors, how much time it takes to paint a mural, and how to keep proportions while painting at such a large scale. The experience was valuable to me and gave me exposure and credibility as a muralist in the city.

Wide shot of Alex turned away from the camera, painting on side of the MAX station wall white

Photo credit: Alex Chiu

As an emerging muralist, what thoughts or words do you want to offer emerging muralists/artists?

I believe that success in art comes from getting work done regularly and keeping up with the momentum. After working on several mural projects in Portland already, I have been doing my best to push myself to continue and build my skills and portfolio as a muralist. I definitely see myself as a beginner when it comes to mural work. I also feel like this process has pushed me to become a better painter and ultimately has improved my style and technique of painting. This project has definitely opened doors for me and I am working hard to keep moving forward with these new opportunities.

What are you up to now? Where can we find you and your work?

I am currently painting a second mural at Mojo Crepes on SE Division St. I have also signed a contract to begin brainstorming ideas for a mural at Robert Gray Middle School. I will also be the father of two in about a month. My wife is pregnant right now and due in late June. Most of my newest work can be seen on Facebook and Instagram. I also have a website that needs to be updated at alexdoodles.com.

Catch our short interview with Molly Mendoza, Fresh Paint’s inaugural muralist, here.

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Calls for artists to participate in Fresh Paint program’s second year cohort are now available. Deadline to apply is July 16. Join us for an artist information session June 19 to get your questions answered.

Fresh Paint is a partnership between Regional Arts & Culture Council’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, a community-driven media arts center. To learn more about the program, contact Salvador Mayoral IV (RACC) or Daniela Serna (Open Signal).

2018-19 RACC Professional Development Grants (Cycle 1)

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The Professional Development Grant program assists artists or arts administrators with opportunities that specifically improve their business management development skills and/or brings the artist or the arts organization to another level artistically. The RACC Board approved these 36 Professional Development Grants totaling $49,190 on May 23, 2018. (*First time grant recipients)

 

2018-19 Professional Development Grant awards (Cycle 1):

*Apricot Irving – Travel, lodging, and transportation for book tour to NYC, Boston, Florida, DC, and CA – $1,501

Aremy Stewart – Travel, childcare, and materials for 2-week residency at Sitka Center in Otis – $900

*Arwen Myers – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend 2-week program at American Bach Soloists Academy in San Francisco, CA – $1,820

*Ayako Kataoka – Travel and lodging to participate in research project in Copenhagen – $1,237

*Barbara Martin – Travel, lodging, and materials to attend 3-week residency at Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts in Saratoga, WY – $766 (Washington County)

*Benjamin Gilbert – Documentation by Aaron Johnson Photography – $600

*Brisa Gonzalez – Travel, lodging, transportation, and registration fees to attend Pocoapoco Residency in Oaxaca – $1,800

*Cambria Matlow – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend Getting Real conference in Los Angeles, CA – $1,227

*Catherine Egan – Website development and design by graphic designer Noelle Stiles – $1,998

*Chliu-Mie Wu – Travel, lodging, and registration fees to attend 5-day program at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA – $1,930

Cora Pearl – Travel, lodging, and registration fees to attend International Calligraphy Conference in Bellingham, WA – $1,530

*Crystal Zingsheim – Website, design, and brand development with Astro and Raffa Rodriguez – $1,500

Damien Gilley – Travel, lodging, transportation, and materials to install exhibition at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO – $545

*Emily Miller – Registration fees for 3-day watercolor workshop at Sequoia Gallery in Hillsboro – $300 (Washington County)

*Eric Buchner – Website development with Myles de Bastion – $1,500

*Erik Emanuelson – Transporation and lodging for 23-date band tour in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland – $1,586

*Jea Alford – Travel, registration fees, and materials to attend 1-month residency at Vermont Studio Center – $1,800

*Jennifer Swanson – Registration fees for 3-day Photoshop workshop at ONLC Training Center in Portland – $995

*Jessica (Tyner) Mehta – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend 1-month residency at Crazy Horse Memorial – $1,750 (Washington County)

*Jo Hamilton – Travel and lodging to install exhibition at Timeless Textiles in Australia – $1,656

*Joshua Flint – Travel, lodging, and registration fees to attend Anderson Ranch Arts Center Advanced Mentored Studies Program – $1,767

*Kate Rafter – Travel expenses to perform in At Your Leisure festival in Scotland – $1,800

*Ken Yoshikawa – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend Asian American Theater Artists Conference in Chicago, IL – $683

*Lisa Brinkman – Website development and documentation – $1,080 (Clackamas County)

*Maura Campbell-Balkits – Travel, lodging, and residency fees to attend 6-week residency at the Burren College of Art in Ireland – $1,219

*Reid Psaltis – Travel, lodging, and shipping costs for installation at the Guild of Natural Science conference in Washington DC – $1,387

*Robin Bacior Emanuelson – Production costs for full-length vinyl record pressing – $1,428

*Roland Dahwen Wu – Travel and lodging to present documentary work at Fluminense Federal University in Brazil – $1,800

*Sundance Bleckinger – Travel, lodging, and festival fees to exhibit radio play at Hear Now Festival in Kansas City, KS – $1,213

*Taryn Tomasello – Travel and transportation for installation of site-specific work at Halka Art Project in Istanbul – $1,500

*Taylor Long – Travel, lodging, and registration fees to attend Darnstadt Festival in Germany – $1,787

Zoe Keller – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend 1-month residency at Zion National Park – $485

Boom Arts Inc. – Travel and lodging for founder to attend APAP Leadership Fellows Program in Los Angeles, CA – $1,000

Dance Wire – Website development and design by Payne Media – $1,800

*Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble – Consultant fees and staff time to assess database and communications procedures with Jim Fullan – $1,500

*Street Books – Travel, lodging, and printed materials for first Street Books summit in Austin, TX – $1,800

 

88 local artists and arts organizations awarded total of $451,037 by Regional Arts & Culture Council

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Portland, Ore — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $451,037 in project grants to 59 artists and 29 nonprofit organizations in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties. RACC’s project grants provide financial support for individual artists and nonprofit organizations, and align with RACC’s goal of advancing the region’s access to a wide range of arts and culture.

“Arts shape who we are, how we see each other and our community,” said interim executive director Jeff Hawthorne. “These projects are finding creative ways to connect, teach, and inspire us throughout the region. We are pleased to invest in this wide variety of projects, and I am particularly energized by the number of new and emerging artists funded this cycle, with 56% of all project grants going to first-time recipients.”

Thirty-four peer review panelists, consisting of professional artists, community representatives, and arts administrators, reviewed a total of 215 applications through 9 panels. “Utilizing a grants process that allows artists to be reviewed by peers ensures that the discussion begins first and foremost with a common experience of being an artist,” says Director of Grants Helen Daltoso. “That shared understanding helps not only to keep the discussion focused on the concerns most central to artmaking, but also grounds the discussion with a level of solidarity and open-mindedness from practitioners who have faced similar aspirations or obstacles.”

The RACC Board of Directors unanimously approved all panel recommendations on May 23, with awards in three categories: Artistic Focus, Arts Equity & Access, and Arts Services.

Artistic Focus projects help artists realize their vision, and help organizations support their artistic mission. Examples funded in this round include $5,240 for Julia Bray’s Matter is Mother, a one-woman magical comedy written, created, and performed by Bray; $6,650 to Derrais Carter for the project black girls: using archives, poetry, and visual art by black women to challenge historical narratives and ways black girls have been sexually exploited in the name of science and photography; $6,250 for M. Allan Cunningham, who will be publishing his multi-generational mystery novel PERPETUA’S KIN; and $5,120 to World Arts Foundation, Inc. for a historic album release and release party featuring songs from the organization’s archive of historic Albina recordings to bring life to the Albina music culture of the 1960s-80s.

Arts Equity & Access grants support programs and services with a strong community engagement component, including festivals, arts education projects, and programs that expand arts experiences for underserved communities. Albina Jazz Festival will showcase and celebrate the historical jazz scene in the Albina Neighborhood of Portland through a two-day public event with their award of $1,000.

Arts Services grants include projects that provide professional development opportunities for the arts community, including workshops or conferences. In this category, Celeste Noche will elevate the Portland in Color (PIC) blog series further by featuring, promoting, and connecting Portland’s talented pool of diverse professionals often overlooked by creative agencies.Project Grants are funded by a combination of public and private investments, including the City of Portland’s general fund, City of Portland’s Arts Tax, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County and Metro. Additional funding comes from RACC’s workplace giving campaign, Work for Art.

Project grants, which had been offered only once a year, are now available three times per year. The next project grant deadline is June 6. Guidelines and application can be accessed at https://racc.org/apply.

A complete list of project grants appears below, and more detailed summaries of each grant are available here

RACC project grants for individual artists: May 2018 (cycle 2)

Note: (*) denotes Clackamas County applicants, and (**) denotes Washington County based applicants.  All other applicants are based in Multnomah County.

Applicant Project Type Discipline Award
Kamee Abrahamian Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,950
Oluyinka Akinjiola Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $7,000
Nii Ardey Allotey Arts Equity & Access Folk Arts $6,800
Rory Banyard Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,950
Avantika Bawa Artistic Focus Visual Arts $6,320
Virginia Belt Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $3,600
Irena Boboia ** Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,160
Ron Bourke Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Julia Bray Artistic Focus Theatre $5,240
Derrais Carter Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,650
Tomas Cotik Artistic Focus Music $5,250
M. Allen Cunningham Artistic Focus Literature $6,250
Martha Daghlian Arts Services Multi-Discipline $2,290
Roland Dahwen Wu Artistic Focus Media Arts $4,860
Eileen Finn Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $3,880
Lara Gallagher Artistic Focus Media Arts $6,300
Darrell Grant Artistic Focus Music $6,300
Cheryl Green Artistic Focus Media Arts $4,800
Chisao Hata Artistic Focus Theatre $4,880
Jessica Hightower Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $3,250
Anthony Hudson Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,527
Garrick Imatani Artistic Focus Visual Arts $6,650
Simeon Jacob Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $3,370
Zoe Keller Artistic Focus Visual Arts $1,950
Andrea Leoncavallo Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,140
Emily Lewis Arts Equity & Access Visual Arts $5,140
Béalleka Makau Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $7,000
Margaret Malone Artistic Focus Literature $4,650
Tina McDermott Arts Equity & Access Visual Arts $4,540
Megan McGeorge Artistic Focus Music $4,460
Pam Minty Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,190
Elise Morris ** Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $5,230
Jose Moscoso Artistic Focus Visual Arts $6,300
Emily Nachison Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,950
Tylor Neist ** Artistic Focus Music $5,600
Tabitha Nikolai Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,310
Anders Nilsen Artistic Focus Literature $5,520
Hunter Noack Artistic Focus Music $7,000
Celeste Noche Arts Services Multi-Discipline $5,770
Eleanor O’Brien Artistic Focus Theatre $5,890
Brian Padian Artistic Focus Media Arts $3,960
Hajara Quinn Artistic Focus Literature $3,820
Rángel  Rosas Reséndiz Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,690
Alicia Rose Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Paul Rutz Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,160
Ivan Salcido Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,650
Heidi Schwegler Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,000
Matthew Sheehy Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,650
Mike A Smith Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Todd Strickland Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,200
Cornelius Swart Arts Equity & Access Media Arts $4,690
Devin Tau Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Roshani Thakore Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $5,600
Lindsay Trapnell Artistic Focus Media Arts $7,000
Freddy Trujillo Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Grace Weston Artistic Focus Visual Arts $1,710
John Whitten Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,250
Dan Wilson Artistic Focus Music $5,000
Renee Zangara Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,840

 

RACC project grants for organizations: May 2018 (cycle 2)

Note: (*) denotes Clackamas County applicants, and (**) denotes Washington County based applicants.  All other applicants are based in Multnomah County. 

Applicant Project Type Discipline Award
Albina Jazz Festival Arts Equity & Access Music $1,000
Andisheh Center Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $4,080
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $5,250
Blackfish Gallery Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,510
Design Museum Portland Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,000
Enso Theatre Ensemble Artistic Focus Theatre $3,750
Estacada Area Arts Commission * Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $5,520
Hacienda CDC Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $7,000
Jim Pepper Native Arts Council Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $6,270
Ko-Falen Cultural Center Arts Equity & Access Folk Arts $5,950
Many Hats Collaboration Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,240
Media Institute for Social Change Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,250
MediaRites Artistic Focus Theatre $5,950
Mittleman Jewish Community Center Artistic Focus Music $4,800
Northwest Art Song Artistic Focus Music $4,470
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,600
Portland Japanese Garden Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,650
Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble Artistic Focus Music $3,310
Portland Meet Portland Arts Equity & Access Music $5,250
Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival Arts Equity & Access Media Arts $5,600
Rogue Pack Young Portland Speaks! Arts Equity & Access Theatre $6,210
SoulPatch Music Productions * Artistic Focus Music $5,600
Staged! Musical Theatre Artistic Focus Theatre $7,000
Street Books Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $4,860
Tavern Books Artistic Focus Literature $5,000
Verde Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $5,250
Vibe of Portland Arts Equity & Access Dance/Movement $1,160
Village Coalition Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $7,000
World Arts Foundation, Inc. Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,120

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The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) provides grants for artists, arts organizations, and artistic projects in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through Work for Art; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and oversees a program to integrate arts and culture into the standard curriculum in public schools through The Right Brain Initiative. RACC values a diversity of artistic and cultural experiences and is working to build a community in which everyone can participate in culture, creativity, and the arts. For more information visit racc.org.

Portland Auditor: Clearer Goals, Strong Leadership, Better Results

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On May 22, 2018, RACC participated in a Portland City Council work session with Portland Auditor Mary Hull Caballero and her staff as they presented their findings from a 9-month performance audit of the organization.  This is the first ever audit of RACC, and was requested last summer by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Nick Fish. The audit presented an opportunity to examine the relationship between RACC and the City as we negotiate a new five-year service agreement with the City.

While the audit was intended to assess RACC’s performance, the report findings indicated the assessment was difficult because the City does not have clear goals for arts and culture. To improve arts and culture services, the audit suggests clarifying the City’s goals and RACC’s strategy to address these goals. As a result, the auditor delivered five specific recommendations as part of their report:

  1. The Arts Commissioner and the Mayor should work with the Arts Council, City leaders, City agencies involved with arts and- culture, and community stakeholders to: (a) Assess the state of arts and culture in Portland; (b) Identify needs; (c) Develop clear goals, vision, and strategy for arts and culture for City Council adoption.
  2. The Arts Council should conduct a strategic planning process to clarify the organization’s mission, goals and vision for arts and culture. Update bylaws to reflect governing agreements.
  3. City Council should review the intergovernmental agreement with the Arts Council, and in conjunction with other jurisdictions party to it, recommend changes that reflect the appropriate level of board representation and funding from each jurisdiction.
  4. The Arts Commissioner, Mayor, and the Arts Council’s Executive Director should update the contract, consistent with the City’s goals for arts and culture.
  5. The Arts Commissioner and Mayor should appoint a contract administration professional to: (a) Monitor compliance with the contract; (b) Provide technical assistance on performance measurement and reporting to the Arts Council; (c) Review the annual budget submitted by the Arts Council; (d) Develop a consistent mechanism to track all City funding to the Arts Council; (e) Develop procedures for the Art Council’s reporting so that there is consistency over time.

 

An important clarification:

One statistic reported by the Auditor has created confusion on City Council, and has been mischaracterized by the press. The auditor calculated RACC’s internal expenses, including “salaries, staff training and rent,” as 33% of our overall budget of $11.2 million, but failed to provide any context for that number, leaving the impression that RACC’s internal expenses are excessively high. Working with the auditor’s staff and perusing public records at https://www.portlandoregon.gov/cbo/72512 , we were able to determine that RACC’s “internal expenses” are, in fact, very low compared to the city’s own bureaus. Portland Parks and Recreation has internal expenses of 40%, the Water Bureau is 51%, Equity and Human Rights is 84%, the Auditor is 85% and Fire is 86% — just to name a few. We believe that internal investments, including personnel, are essential to move the city’s agenda forward, but it is important for people to understand that “internal expenses” are not the same as “management and overhead” expenses.

RACC’s independent financial audit confirms that 15% of our budget is spent on management, overhead and fundraising, while 85% of RACC’s budget goes toward program delivery. This includes RACC’s grant awards and public art commissions, of course, but also community engagement staff who actively connect people in underrepresented communities to our services and other arts experiences in town; arts education coaches who train classroom teachers to integrate the arts into their curriculum; and public art maintenance technicians who keep the city’s public art collection in tip-top shape.

 

Moving forward:

Notwithstanding the City Auditor’s misleading calculations, RACC supports the recommendations in the Auditor’s report. As reflected in interim executive director Jeff Hawthorne’s recent op-ed piece, we look forward to helping the City identify clear goals for arts and culture. In the meantime, RACC continues to strengthen our leadership role within the arts and culture arena.

  • RACC has awarded more than 5,000 grants totaling $44 million in the past 23 years.
  • Our nationally-recognized Public Art Program manages a widely-celebrated public art collection of more than 2,000 artworks for the City of Portland and Multnomah County, and grows artist capacity through programs and resources
  • Through our workplace giving campaigns, we have raised more than $8 million for local arts organizations
  • RACC organizes networking events, forums, and workshops for thousands of artists every year
  • Under our Arts Education programs, RACC builds capacity for teaching artists, educators, and curriculum developers to integrate arts into the K-8 subjects in the region, serving more than 27,000 students a year.
  • For the past three years, RACC has been keenly focused on identifying barriers in arts access and pathways to better serve underrepresented communities. Our 2015 Equity Statement articulates the organization’s equity philosophy and frames how we operate, and we have conducted focus groups to understand barriers to access. More recently, our 2017-18 Community Engagement Plan lays out our strategies to equitably expand outreach, collaboration, and resource distribution efforts. Additionally, we have been developing new programming that fills in gaps in arts participation by artists from marginalized communities, with our Art & Power conversation series as an example.

For more information on these and other RACC program accomplishments, visit RACC’s online annual report for 2017.

We look forward to collaborating with the Mayor, the Arts Commissioner and City staff to implement these recommendations and better support culture, creativity, innovation and the arts in our community.