RACC Blog

Oregon Arts Funding Update

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Issued by Christine Drazan, Executive Director at Oregon Cultural Advocacy Coalition and Craig Campbell, Lobbyist, on May 26, 2017.

As we move into this Memorial Day weekend, we only have five weeks remaining in the Oregon Legislative Session. The process has narrowed the policy and spending bills that still have the opportunity to move. This narrowing of legislative measures allows the legislature to move noncontroversial policy bills early in the session and following the revenue forecast, shift their full attention to issues around the budget shortfall and discussions of new transportation and business taxes. Priority legislation for the cultural community is likely to remain in committee until these larger issues are resolved.

BALANCING THE BUDGET

The May Revenue Forecast was released on May 16th.   2017-2019 budgets are based on this forecast, and now that it has been released, the legislature will begin to finalize budgets and advance discussions around new revenues needed to limit cuts as they work to balance the state budget.

PRIORITY LEGISLATION

The Cultural Advocacy Coalition continues to lobby to restore funding for the Oregon Arts Commission and is supporting a package of endorsed capital construction projects in the cultural sector. Many proposals over the session to address the larger issues of balancing the budget and raising revenues have had the potential to harm the cultural sector. We have worked hard to ensure these issues are understood in their larger context as proposals that would harm the nonprofit sector broadly and would damage access to the arts in Oregon.

The session has been a whirlwind, and the final five weeks will be intense. The Coalition’s priority legislation is listed below. And, you can keep up-to-date on legislation we are tracking by visiting the Take Action section of our website.

  • Restore state-level cuts to the Oregon Arts Commission—HB5025
    • $272,000 proposed cut expected to be implemented by the OAC through a 30% cut in operating support grants
  • Support continuation of capital investments in cultural projects statewide—HB5530
    • $6 million in lottery bonds requested for construction projects in Cave Junction, Bend, Corvallis, Newport, Portland, Eugene and Cottage Grove that support economic development in the cultural sector.
  • Establish a Task Force on Equitable Access to Arts Education—SB313
    • The legislature’s first ever arts education task force is charged with quantifying existing access to arts education; identifying barriers to equity and recommending changes needed to encourage access to the arts within a well-rounded education

Restored funding for the Oregon Arts Commission and the appointment of an arts education task force will be difficult to achieve without substantial grassroots advocacy. If you have not already contacted your own legislators, please do so here. Thank you if you were among the many who sent a message to your legislator this month. Nearly 300 messages went out to 70 legislators, but we need to continue to keep the pressure on! When you click on the link to send your message, please personalize the intro and/or close to your email if you can—the more local and personalized your message is, the greater the impact.

ARTS AND CULTURE ADVOCACY DAY

Once again, thank you, to the many advocates who joined the Coalition for Arts and Culture Advocacy Day. Legislator meetings were plentiful and productive. It is so valuable when stakeholders take the time out of their schedules to connect as engaged constituents. With your help, we will continue to fight to ensure Oregon culture is preserved and protected in this session’s challenging budget environment.

MEMBERSHIP

Coalition members make this work possible. Your support defends fine art from harmful taxes, advances the conversation to address equitable access to arts education and fights for full funding for Oregon’s cultural sector.

For those of you who reading this but are not yet members of the Coalition, I hope you will take a moment to join. Individual memberships range from $50-$500 and can even be set up online with a monthly contribution that fits your budget. $5 a month or a $500 gift today—both memberships help keep the Coalition at the table on your behalf and sustain advocacy for arts and culture.

Thank you for your membership support and for your commitment to the growth and health of the cultural sector in Oregon.

Survey results

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POSTED ON May 25, 2017.

In April, the Search Committee launched an online survey to solicit community input regarding RACC’s next Executive Director. In all, 249 community members completed the survey, and we thank you for your input! Here’s who we heard from:

  • 54% identified as individual artists
  • 60% work at a nonprofit organization

When asked whether respondents had received a grant or public art commission from RACC,

  • 59% said yes, frequently or occasionally
  • 17% said they have never received a grant or commission, although they have applied

In terms of regional representation, 71% of respondents live in Multnomah County, 4% live in Clackamas County, 10% live in Washington County, and 15% live elsewhere.

 

Here’s what we learned:

In ranking the desired attributes of our next Executive Director, the community prioritized:

  1. Leadership for diversity, equity and inclusion (including 29% who listed this as the top priority);
  2. Strong and effective advocacy for public support of the arts (19% who listed this as the top priority);
  3. Visionary and innovative thinker (18% listed this as the top priority).

Through additional, open-ended comments about attributes, many respondents talked about the need to have a strong relationship with individual artists; community engagement; and the need to understand Portland’s unique cultural and historic disparities.

When asked to describe the top issues facing RACC in the future, the community prioritized:

  1. (Virtual tie:) Increase public support for the arts (23.8% listed as their top issue);
  2. Continue focus on equity and diversity (23.6% listed as their top issue);
  3. Increase support for the arts in minority communities (11% listed as their top choice)

Also in this section, many respondents articulated the need to increase support for individual artists, which was not one of the options listed; we appreciate that input.  

In closing, several respondents offered additional comments regarding RACC’s search for a new executive director. A representative sample of those comments:

  • “Please make this a transparent process.”
  • “RACC has ignored the facilities crisis in Portland.”
  • “Someone who reflects some of the many diverse voices and perspectives of Portland’s growing community and who has the life experience to cultivate a city of artists and art enthusiasts from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, especially those most often left out of the art community.
  • “There is no one advocating for the arts anymore and we really need someone to rally the community and think creatively and progressively about how to leverage the collective impact of the arts and culture sector in the region.”
  • “They should understand artists.”
  • “We need an outstanding leader to be a lightning rod for the mission of RACC. Energy, passion and commitment!”
  • “RACC is a REGIONAL arts and culture council. I would love the new ED to engage with artists and arts organizations from all over the Portland metro area.”
  • “I would suggest proactively seeking candidates of color, female candidates, and LGBT+ candidates for this position by promoting the opening through allied organizations and using the networks of board members and others to ensure the search reaches these demographics.”
  • “This person should listen to the needs of the whole community, instead of focusing on the large institutions that get most of RACC’s money and attention.”
  • “RACC is a strong organization, the new Executive Director will have opportunity to build on what currently exists and address the changing funding environment for the arts. The need to build alliances with other organizations and agencies to ensure the arts continue to grow and flourish in Portland and Oregon.”
  • “Ensure the new ED has a high public profile.”

Although the survey is now closed, community members can continue to ask questions and provide input to the search committee by emailing EDSearch@racc.org.

 

Artist Helen Lessick marks the 30th anniversary of “House for Summer” with a “Tree Celebration” and exhibition

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House for Summer, artist Helen Lessick’s living tree sculpture located within Portland’s Hoyt Arboretum, is turning 30 years old! This captivating installation of birch trees, part of the City of Portland’s public art collection, has been pruned and shaped to take the form of a house, a house that changes with the seasons and is a reflection of the shelter of the forest canopy. House for Summer is a prime example of the work Lessick has done over the past three decades investigating the imagery and metaphor of plants.

Coinciding with this anniversary Lessick’s is having an exhibition at Jeffrey Thomas Fine Art and the Murdoch Exhibition Space. Titled CANOPY, the exhibition showcases Lessick’s recent works with trees across the American west and features a number of her site-specific installations as well as sculpture, artists’ books, and works on paper.

A Tree Celebration: Join us for an on-site event celebrating the 30th anniversary of House for Summer on Wednesday, June 21, from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. The Hoyt Arboretum is located at 4000 SW Fairview Blvd., in Portland—within the Arboretum House for Summer is located adjacent to the intersection of SW Fairview Blvd. and SW Knights Road. Refreshments will be served to honor the trees and will be followed by a human reception at Jeffrey Thomas Fine Art at 6 pm.

Jeffrey Thomas Fine Art and the Murdoch Exhibition Space are located at 2219 NW Raleigh Street, Portland www.jefferythomasfineart.com  For a map to House for Summer contact RACC Collections Manager Keith Lachowicz klachowicz@racc.org  CANOPY runs from June 10 – July 29 with an artist reception on June 10 from 4 to 6 pm.

About the Artist

Helen Lessick is a visual artist working in sculpture, installation, artists’ books and public art. She has received a Pollock Krasner Foundation fellowship, project grants from Art Matters, the Warhol Foundation and the Oregon Arts Commission and was the 2000 Bonnie Bronson Foundation fellow. Helen has been honored with solo shows at the Bellevue Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum and the Sierra Nevada Museum of Art, she has created commissioned artworks in Europe and Africa as well as across the US. Helen earned her BA in Art from Reed College and her MFA in Studio Art from the University of California Irvine. She maintains her practice in Los Angeles.  helenlessick.net

Artist Crystal Schenk presents “I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy” at the Portland Building Installation Space, June 5 – June 30

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PORTLAND, ORE – RACC is pleased to present a new work by sculptor and installation artist Crystal Schenk in the Installation Space located adjacent to the Portland Building lobby. I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy, opens June 5 and features an arresting sculpture that asks the viewer to look beyond their common understanding into the complexities of the mother/child relationship.

Schenk’s project is an expansive ceramic piece recently completed during her artist residency at Leland Iron Works in Oregon City. The work consists of a field of rocks—each handmade with black clay—which are smooth and satiny, as if tumbled by the sea. Over these rocks large white porcelain barnacles appear to have fastened themselves. The center of the field reveals a sculpture of her three-year-old son, also made in black clay with barnacles growing on his body.

“I like to let one material mimic and charade as another—as the process of discovery lends to an unfolding of understanding.” Schenk says. “Although some species of barnacle are parasitic, most are so harmless their hosts may not even notice them growing to cover their bodies. My relationship to my son has been similar. Starting as an almost unnoticeable seed in my body, he soon grew to take it over—and once on the outside he has been continuously attached to me, even now at three years old. This work was inspired by a moment while we were beachcombing, when he randomly told me, ‘Momma, I’m not a barnacle. I’m just a boy.’ The sculpture exposes my mixed emotions to being a parent, and my bond with this tiny being who is both autonomous and vaguely parasitic.”

About the Artist: Crystal Schenk has a labor-intensive and detail-oriented way of working, in which craftsmanship and material choices play a large role. Her mediums vary as she relies on a combination of material meaning and personal/cultural iconography to build concept. Her work incorporates a wide range of skills, including welding, stained glass, woodworking, crochet, beading, and casting to name a few. Woven through what may initially appear as visually disparate works are common themes of class structure, heritage, and the fluctuating perceptions of memory.

Schenk received an MFA from Portland State University in 2007, and a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1999. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon and is an adjunct professor at Pacific Northwest College of Art and Portland State University. She was awarded the International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award for 2006, and was selected as the recipient of ISC’s residency program at Art-st-urban in Switzerland. In 2009 Art-st-urban awarded Schenk with the institution’s first Emerging Sculptor Award, and represented her at Art Basel in 2013 and Open 18 in Venice Italy in 2015. Locally, Schenk’s work was represented at the Oregon biennial, Portland 2010, and has been exhibited at Bullseye and Linfield galleries. This All Happened More or Less, a public art commission Schenk completed with Shelby Davis in SE Portland was recently recognized by Americans for the Arts one of 2014’s top public projects nationwide. www.crystalschenk.com

Meet the Artist: Join us for an opportunity to discuss I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy with Crystal Schenk in person at the Portland Building Installation Space on Thursday, June 8th at 4 PM.

Viewing Hours & Location The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy opens Monday, June 5 and runs through Friday, June 30. For more information on the Installation Space series go to www.racc.org/installationspace.


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The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools 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.

Hampton Lumber, ZGF Architects and Stoel Rives win top prizes at RACC’s second annual Battle of the Bands

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PORTLAND, ORE – Six employee bands competed in RACC’s Battle of the Bands competition on Wednesday night, a benefit for Work for Art. More than 600 people attended the second annual event, held at the Crystal Ballroom. Celebrity judges Valerie Day, Rindy Ross and Edna Vazquez awarded the top prize – Best Company Band – to The Bears, from Stoel Rives. The Best Showmanship prize went to the ZGF Architects band, Pencil Skirt Paula and the Straight Edge Rulers.

Joey Meador, lead singer for the Best Company Band, The Bears, from Stoel Rives. (Photo by Erica Ann Photography)

The Audience Favorite award, as determined by cash votes from the audience and online, went to Hampton Lumber’s Petty Crimes, a Tom Petty cover band. Audience voting raised over $11,000 for the cause, and while the overall fundraising totals from sponsorships and other donations are still being tabulated, all proceeds will benefit the 2017 Work for Art campaign and will be shared with more than 100 arts organizations that are funded by RACC and Work for Art.

The event was held at the Crystal Ballroom and co-chaired by Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly and ZGF Architects principal Sharron van der Meulen. Sarah G. from WE 96.3 FM emceed, and Alpha Media will provide the winning Bears an opportunity for an encore performance at the Skype Live Studio in downtown Portland (performance date to be announced).

The Audience Favorite from Hampton Lumber, Petty Crimes. (Photo by Erica Ann Photograph)

Portland jazz musician Christopher Brown mentored the competing bands, which also included Copper Goddess (Portland City Hall), Members Only (Kaiser Permanente), and Hair Nation (KeyBank). The Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers kicked off the event, and The Standard presented a special performance by Strawberry Jam from the Rock N Roll Camp for Girls. The Brothers Jam, led by BodyVox artistic director Jamey Hampton, and a Timbers Army band, Greenhorn, also performed.

RACC’s second annual Battle of the Bands was sponsored in part by Hampton Lumber, KeyBank, The Standard and Alpha Media/KINK 101.9 FM. Additional sponsors included Kaiser Permanente, The Portland Business Journal, Stoel Rives, The Portland Timbers, ZGF Architects, Erica Ann Photography, Ben & Jerry’s/New Avenues for Youth, Performance Promotions and Poster Garden.

Companies interested in competing in next year’s Battle are encouraged to contact Alison Bailey, RACC’s business partnership manager, at abailey@racc.org, 503-823-5424.

To make a contribution to this year’s Work for Art campaign, visit workforart.org. Donors who give $60 or more receive a special benefit – The Arts Card, which provides 2-for-1 tickets to hundreds of arts and culture events in the Portland area.

Pencil Skirt Paula and the Straight Edge Rulers, from ZGF, won the Best Showmanship prize. (Photo by Erica Ann Photography)

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The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) was established in 1995 and is funded by public and private partners to serve artists, arts organizations, schools and residents throughout Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties. RACC provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through workplace giving and other programs; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and integrates the arts into K-8 curriculum through The Right Brain Initiative. Online at racc.org.

Oregon Arts Funding Alert

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Issued by the Oregon Cultural Advocacy Coalition (5/15/17)

Last week 138 messages went out to legislators in support of funding for arts and culture in the Oregon Legislature. But we still have work to do, because at last check, 33 legislators did not receive any messages from their constituents. This includes the Speaker of the House! So, we need your help. The revenue forecast (this is the estimate legislators will use to balance the state budget) is released at 8:30AM tomorrow (5/16) –which means legislators need to hear from you right away!

As of today (5/15), budget-writers have slated the relatively small budget of the Oregon Arts Commission for cuts of up to 12%, which could result in reduced funding in grants for arts organizations–of up to 30 percent. Proposals at the federal level to eliminate funding for cultural agencies in FY18 could result in crippling shortfalls in state funding and direct grants to arts, public broadcasting and the humanities. The potential adoption of these proposals, and the proposed cuts at the state level, places arts and culture in Oregon at grave risk.

If you have already contacted your legislators through another email address–thank you!

If not, please use the link below to send a message to your legislators immediately to ask that legislators work together to protect Oregon culture. If you know your legislator personally don’t click a link to send a standard message–take a moment to make a personal call to the legislator’s office to thank them for their hard work this session, and request that arts funding to be restored.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/XfxJTj5mpXxCupG–XUsQw

Temporary mural wall pilot program Fresh Paint, a partnership between RACC and Open Signal, to launch in May

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Local artists will paint temporary murals at Open Signal over the next year

PORTLAND, ORE – Fresh Paint, a temporary mural wall project, begins in mid-May as part of a new professional development initiative of RACC’s Public Art Murals programming. Three artists have been selected to paint a temporary mural on an area of the exterior west-wall of Open Signal facing the highly-visible Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Each mural will be up for a period of four months and then painted over in preparation for the next mural.

The pilot program for Fresh Paint is a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, a community-driven media arts center. Artist participation required living in the Portland metropolitan area, having a consistent studio or mural practice, and not having received any public art commission through RACC nor having created an exterior mural in the City of Portland. The selected artists will receive a stipend for their participation and are offered the opportunity to engage with the myriad of resources at Open Signal.

Public Art Manager Peggy Kendellen elaborates: “This program offers emerging artists the opportunity to work in the public realm—and, in many cases, on a larger scale —with the support of both RACC and Open Signal. The partnership provides artists additional resources that they would not typically have access to as they explore working in the public sector and incorporating new approaches and skills in their artistic practice and experience.”

Open Signal is a 13,000-square foot media arts center that provides the public with easy access to media tools, training, broadcast and opportunities for experimentation. According to Open Signal Executive Director Justen Harn, “We have been working hard this year to reimagine our physical space and connect with the community in new ways through that space. We are thrilled to work with RACC to explore new forms of public engagement.”

Illustrator Molly Mendoza will be the first artist to paint. Her mural is a nod to Open Signal’s youth programs with a vibrant image of Portland youth engaging with the community through broadcasting and video media. It will be painted in mid-late May and remain up through September. The second artist will be Alex Chiu painting in the early October. The third artist will be featured in early 2018.

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About Fresh Paint
Fresh Paint is a temporary mural wall project that furthers mural painting skills and promotes digital media engagement. From May 2017 – May 2018, selected artists are able to showcase their work on an area of the west wall of Open Signal. The program is a partnership between Open Signal and RACC.

About Open Signal, Portland Community Media Center
Open Signal is a media arts center making media production possible for anyone and everyone in Portland, Oregon. Launched in 2017, the center builds upon the 35-year legacy of Portland Community Media to create a resource totally unique in the Pacific Northwest. Open Signal offers media workshops, an equipment library, artist residencies and programs five cable channels with locally produced content. Open Signal delivers media programming with a commitment to creativity, technology and social change. Learn more at opensignalpdx.org.

About RACC
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) was established in 1995 and is funded by public and private partners to serve artists, arts organizations, schools and residents throughout Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties. RACC provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through workplace giving and other programs; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and integrates the arts into K-8 curriculum through The Right Brain Initiative. Online at racc.org.

Community input continues

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POSTED ON May 12, 2017.

Lead recruiter Anne Johnson of Aspen Leadership Group was in Portland recently to meet separately with the Board-appointed search committee, with RACC staff, and with community representatives including:

  • Kristen Brayson, Portland Public Schools
  • Eva Calcagno, Washington County Libraries
  • Ronault Catalani, City of Portland New Portlanders Program
  • Erik Ferguson, dance artist and educator
  • Victoria Frey, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
  • Jim Fullan, Oregon Symphony
  • Subashini Ganesan, New Expressive Works
  • Jose Gonzales, Miracle Theatre
  • Joaquin Lopez, music artist
  • Mike Murawski, Portland Art Museum
  • Martha Richards, Miller Foundation
  • Toni Tabora Roberts, Esper House
  • George Thorn, Arts Action Research
  • Carlos Windham, Resolutions NW

After much discussion and reflection and several follow-up meetings, the search committee has concluded that we would like to spend more time working on our process and consulting with the community before advertising the post of Executive Director. We know how eager everyone is to move forward, but we feel strongly that for the search to be as equitable and successful as we can make it, we need to take more time at this stage of the process.

Updates will continue to be posted on a regular basis, including the results of our community survey which will be published soon. (The survey is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated!)

To contact the search committee, email EDSearch@racc.org.