RACC Blog

2014-15 RACC Professional Development Grants (Cycle 1)

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The RACC Professional Development Grant Program individual artists and arts organizations in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties with activities that improve their business management development skills and/or brings to them to another level artistically. 21 Professional Development Grants were awarded for Individual Artists and 6 for Organizations. A total of $32,187 was awarded. These grants were approved by the RACC Board on May 28, 2014:

Individual

James Allen, Website,  $800
Paul Clay, Attend SIGGRAPH 2014 IN Vancouver BC, $1,000
Kathy Coleman, DIY Documentary class at NW Documentary, $750
Tia Factor, Marketing booklet creation and distribution, $1,400
Joe Futschik, Consult with Strategic Marketing firm, $1,500
Subashini Ganesan, Consultation in Rasa with Dr. Douglas Brooks, $1,400
Nicole J. Georges, Attend Small Press Expo in Baltimore, $800
Erik Geschke, Exhibit in BAM Biennial 2014, $725
Alice Hill, Guild of Natural Scientific Illustrators Conference, $1,000
Joshua Hydeman, Attend Int’l Workshop on Ice Caves, $1,070
Chuck Israels, Perform at Western Arts Alliance Conference, $1,500
Ethan Jackson, Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, $1,400
Diane Jacobs, Install at Suho Memorial Paper Museum in Taiwan, $2,000
Alain LeTourneau, Photographic Process Workshops with Mark Eifert, $1,400
Dana Lynn Louis, Residency at Franz Meyer of Munich glass factory, $1,500
Adrian March, Website, $1,200
Jason Savage, Market “I Love Oregon” Postcards, $743
Graham Smith-White, Perform at Ecomusicologies 2014 in Asheville NC, $700
Mariana Tres, Consult with marketing expert and create website, $1,500
Leslie Vigeant, Residency at Artspace in North Carolina, $800
Lisa Ward, Website, $1,000
 
 Organizations
Boom Arts, Attend Panorama Sur 2014 Festival in Argentina, $1,372
Oregon Arts Watch, Devise marketing plan with Carrie Hoops, $1,500
Pendulum Aerial Arts, Attend American Youth Circus Educator’s Conference in Montreal, $1,777
Pride of Portland Chorus, Attend A Cappella Harmony Academy workshop in Tulsa, $900
Risk/Reward, Craft development plan with Lena Munday, $1,250
SoulPatch Music Productions, Redesign website, $1,200

RACC invests in ten nonprofit organizations to expand arts access in Portland

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PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $25,695 in special grants to ten Portland-based nonprofit organizations, using funding from the city’s voter-approved Arts Education and Access Fund (AEAF). The grants are designed to expand Portland residents’ access by investing in organizations that are serving underserved artists, communities of color, immigrants, refugees, Disabled and LGTBQ communities.
“Arts and culture are for everyone, but some people in our community haven’t had equal access in the past because of cultural barriers, financial constraints, geographic considerations, and a number of other reasons,” said Eloise Damrosch, executive director of RACC. “We at RACC have been working to dismantle these barriers with programs like Arts for All; translating our materials into other languages; building new relationships with culturally specific communities; and meeting regularly with residents and organizations in East Portland. Now, with help from the Arts Education and Access Fund, we are honored to support the collective efforts of ten organizations who are specifically working to help more Portlanders participate in the arts.”
The Arts Education and Access Fund generated enough revenue in 2013 for RACC to provide $150,072 in general operating support for 44 Portland-based arts organizations (see our 1/29/14 press release) plus these grants as described in the AEAF tax code: for “nonprofit organizations that are making arts and culture experiences available to more Portland residents, with particular emphasis on programs directed to communities who are underserved by local arts providers.”
RACC issued a Request for Proposals in February of 2014. Twenty-three eligible proposals were received, with requests totaling $116,598. A special panel reviewed and ranked all proposals – its members were Alan Alexander, local musician and RACC board member; Jedidiah Chavez, Ethos Music Center; Kathy Coleman, Disability Art and Culture Project; Eloise Damrosch, RACC executive director; Eric Hormel, Perkins & Company shareholder and RACC board member; Jennifer Kalez, Office of Commissioner Nick Fish; and Cynthia Knapp, RACC director of operations.  
Ultimately the panel recommended three proposals for full funding and seven proposals for partial funding. The RACC board of directors approved the panel’s recommendations on May 28, 2014.
The funded proposals are:
  • Cascade AIDS Project (CAP), $2,000 to present Concientízate, a day long festival in Portland to raise awareness of HIV prevention while celebrating Latino art, music and culture.
  • Center for Intercultural Organizing, $3,000 to host a workshop series and performance developed by CIO’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) group, Resilient Communities.
  • Fusionarte, $1,495 to present FUSE ME/collect-relate-integrate, a multi-disciplinary one day showcase featuring Latina artists celebrating individuality, the idea of freedom and their becoming identities; challenging clichés and cultural conventions.
  • Know Your City, $3,500 to host De-Gentrifying Portland, an 8-session video production workshop held at Portland Community Media; 10 young people from communities of color will learn production skills and work in pairs to create 5 final videos.
  • Latino Network, $2,750 to present a series of summer workshops for gang-affected youth, the highest risk youth in the Latino community and their siblings, Summer Academia; culminating in an end of summer event for the youth and their parents. 
  • Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), $3,800 to present a community event that highlights and promotes the arts and culture of the Native American community at the 2014 Neerchokikoo Honoring Powwow.
  • PassinArt: A Theatre Company/Juneteenth Oregon, $2,000 to present the 2014 Portland Juneteenth celebration—a celebration commemorating the true ending of slavery in America; June 19, 1865—designed for the entire family.
  • ROSE Community Development, $2,350 to engage diverse cultural communities through an interactive place-based project called Lents Grown-Our Stories (LG-OS) by utilizing photography, video, and storytelling to strengthen neighborhood connections and celebrate the vibrant culture of outer southeast Portland.
  • Visegrad Group PDX, $1,000 to host the first International Children’s Day in Portland to honor and celebrate the diverse cultures that exist, co-exist, and thrive in Portland and surrounding areas “through the children’s eyes” with the goal of celebrating children from around the World, all ethnic, cultural, religious and language backgrounds and from any heritage who live in Portland.
  • Zenger Farm/Lents International Farmers Market, $3,800 to present free weekly live music performances, occasional dance performances, and three bilingual poetry readings during the Lents International Farmers Market’s (LIFM) 2014 season.
For more information about the Arts Education and Access Fund visit www.racc.org/aeaf. To learn more about RACC’s equity initiatives visit www.racc.org/equity. Information on the events listed above will be made available at www.racc.org/calendar as they are scheduled.

“Public Displays of Affection,” a temporary installation opens June 2nd at the Portland Building

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Portland, Ore – Public Displays of Affection, a participant-driven installation by artists Erica Thomas and Emily Fitzgerald, explores the shifting terrain of relationship building through the lens of the family portrait.

The definition of the family unit is in flux. Opposite-sex, married couples with children now make up less than half of U.S. households, marking the first time this group has dropped below 50% since data on families was first collected in 1940. Nuclear families are no longer the most common family structure, both nationwide and in Portland.

Thomas and Fitzgerald will explore these changing dynamics with their project by transforming the Portland Building Installation Space into a photo studio. There, they will offer people who use and work in the building professional, studio quality portraits of them with their “chosen families.” Participants will be encouraged to think beyond traditional definitions and deeply investigate who they are closest to and what “family” means to them. This could include friends, domestic partners, co-workers, childcare providers, neighbors, ex-spouses, grandparents, godchildren, or any other important relationship they might choose to identify—even choosing to be photographed as an individual is an option. Public Displays of Affection seeks to promote interesting conversations and highlight the relationships between the participants and their chosen families.

About the Artists: Erica Thomas is an artist, filmmaker, writer, and project manager. Her art practice uses installation, performance, and interventions to explore how we construct our lives and values. Her projects examine the ways in which we structure our lives using relationship-building, dialogue, curiosity, and experimentation. Her work attempts to lead participants into authentic, shared experiences for further understanding of ourselves and each other.

Emily Fitzgerald has been a portrait and documentary photographer for the past 11 years, in the fall of 2012 she worked as a field producer for a Magnum Photo Agency project. She has extensive experience photographing people of diverse backgrounds; her documentary work explores relationships, intimacy, and the complex dynamics of family. You can view her work at: www.efitzgerald.com.

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in down-town Portland and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. To schedule a family photo session for Public Displays of Affections contact Emily and Erica at portlandportraitproject@gmail.com From June 2nd to June 27th the artists will be on-site Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3:00-5:00 pm.

For more information on the Portland Building Installation Space series, including images, proposals, and statements for all the installations since 1994, go to www.racc.org/installationspace.

The Right Brain Initiative releases Brain Food, a creative activity deck for kids

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A unique collaboration between non-profit and design industries raises funds for the arts in schools

PORTLAND, ORE — The Right Brain Initiative has released Brain Food, an exploratory activity deck designed for use at home and school by children ages 4 and up. The fifty activities reflect the integrated and creative learning that Right Brain brings to classrooms in the Portland metro area. Right Brain is an arts education partnership of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

100% of profits from Brain Food sales directly fund Right Brain’s school programming. The decks are currently available for purchase online at BuyOlympia.com, and in person at 11 New Seasons locations, Powell’s Books, and more. Over 1,000 decks have also been donated to teachers at Portland area public schools.

“We are thrilled to provide a product that parents can use to inspire creative exploration and dynamic thinking at home,” said Marna Stalcup, The Right Brain Initiative Program Manager. “The ongoing revenue generated by Brain Food is a creative approach to supporting the day-to-day operations of our program. It’s the ultimate example of commerce for good.”

Brain Food is the result of a unique, three-year collaboration between Right Brain and the Design for Good Committee of AIGA Portland, the professional association for design. Ten local designers were tapped to provide custom illustrations for the deck, and a successful Kickstarter campaign paid for the costs of printing 2,500 decks.

“As designers, we have powerful skills to communicate, activate, engage, and motivate the community around social issues,” said Melissa Delzio, Past Chair of the AIGA Portland Design for Good committee and project lead for Brain Food. “AIGA Portland was honored to partner with The Right Brain Initiative to co-create Brain Food, from idea to final product. The project represents a true example of Design for Good in action. Designers have moved beyond ideation to make a real impact on the community.”

A release event for Brain Food will take place on Wednesday, May 7 at 6pm at Poa Café, a child-friendly space located at 4025 N Williams Avenue in Portland. The event will feature Los Angeles-based children’s author and illustrator Dallas Clayton. Clayton, best known as creator of An Awesome Book!, will present a talk about children and creativity. This event is free and open to the public, and is best for ages 8 and up.

Click here for a complete and continually updated list of Brain Food retail locations.

The Right Brain Initiative is a public-private partnership established by the Regional Arts & Culture Council to bring high quality arts education to all children in Portland area public schools. Launched in January of 2009 with 20 school partners, Right Brain now serves 20 percent of the 110,000 K-8 students in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties. This school year a total of 14,000 students in 49 schools from six districts are being served. Other partnering districts are Corbett School District, Hillsboro School District, North Clackamas Schools, Oregon Trail School District and Portland Public Schools. The organization is made up of a sustainable partnership of public schools, local government, foundations, businesses and the cultural community, which launched its effort to bring the arts to every child in the Portland area in January 2009. The program’s vision is to transform learning for all children through the arts, creativity, innovation and whole-brain thinking. 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.

The Right Brain Initiative receives third grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

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$25,000 grant supports integrated arts programming in public schools

Portland, Ore – National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that The Right Brain Initiative, an arts education partnership of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, is one of 886 nonprofit organizations nationwide selected for an NEA Art Works grant. This is Right Brain’s third NEA award, following grants received in both 2011 and 2013.

Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,515 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $76 million in funding. Of those applications, 886 are recommended for grants, for a total of $25.8 million.

Right Brain is recommended for a $25,000 grant to improve classroom arts instruction throughout K-8 schools in the Portland metro area. Each school year, Right Brain provides professional development to hundreds of teachers, principals, and teaching artists, providing them with tools to embed theater, music, dance, visual, literary, and media arts into the curriculum. This professional training now helps educators use the arts to meet the expectations of the new Common Core State Standards.

NEA Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, “These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation’s artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape.”

“We are thrilled to have the consistent support of the National Endowment for the Arts,” said Marna Stalcup, The Right Brain Initiative Program Manager. “It is very meaningful to us to keep federal funding in our cadre of public and private funders. It means city, state and national entities are all linking arms to bring the arts to children in our region.”

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at www.arts.gov.

The Right Brain Initiative is a public-private partnership established by the Regional Arts & Culture Council to bring high quality arts education to all children in Portland area public schools. Launched in January of 2009 with 20 school partners, Right Brain now serves 20 percent of the 110,000 K-8 students in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties. This school year a total of 14,000 students in 49 schools from six districts are being served. Other partnering districts are Corbett School District, Hillsboro School District, North Clackamas Schools, Oregon Trail School District and Portland Public Schools. The organization is made up of a sustainable partnership of public schools, local government, foundations, businesses and the cultural community, which launched its effort to bring the arts to every child in the Portland area in January 2009. The program’s vision is to transform learning for all children through the arts, creativity, innovation and whole-brain thinking. 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.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council is the local arts agency for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties, providing grants for artists, schools and nonprofit organizations; conducting workplace giving for arts and culture (“Work for Art”) and other advocacy efforts; presenting workshops and other forms of technical assistance; providing printed and web-based resources for artists; and integrating art into public spaces. Online at www.racc.org.

“In Truth,” an installation at the Portland Building by artist Wendy Given, opens April 28th

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Portland, Ore – Continuing her work centered on the production of uncanny and unnerving contemporary photography and sculpture, artist Wendy Given will present an installation at the Portland Building that employs three interactive sculptures designed to usher the viewer towards a face-to-face encounter with themselves. The three works, a “true mirror,” a wishing well mounted at inaccessible height, and a modern representation of a “scrying stone” (akin to a crystal ball for fortune telling), will work together to shuttle the viewer through a set of conceptual reexaminations and offer a chance to reconsider personal aspirations and wishes.

Guided by natural philosophy, history, folklore, myth and magic, Given’s work conjures the notion of interconnectedness and pushes viewers to expand their understanding of how they are seen in the world and consider where they might be headed next.

“Mirrors and wishes have been repeatedly represented and studied throughout the histories of art and literature. Both have elusive, mysterious, and magical traits…I want the work to occupy a place or feeling of familiarity with the viewer, it can be unsettling and at the same time comforting, a humorous position and intense recognition or premonition.”

About the Artist: Wendy Given received her BFA at The Atlanta College of Art; her MFA from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, she now lives and works here in Portland. She has shown her work locally and nationally and has completed multiple artist residencies on the West Coast, including a 2013 Signal Fire Alpenglow residency in the Mt. Hood Wilderness, and a Caldera Residency in Sisters, Oregon in 2010. To explore her work further visit www.wendygiven.com.

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday.

For more information on the Portland Building Installation Space series, including images, proposals, and statements for all the installations since 1994, go to www.racc.org/installationspace.

RACC music forum on April 6 to address the state of music in Portland

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Portland, Ore – On April 6, the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) will host a community forum for musicians, bookers, managers, writers, label owners, and all the folks who make music happen in Portland. “Happening! A homegrown local music forum” is an exploratory conversation about how music works around here, and how artists and supporters continue to shape it for themselves. This forum is presented as part of RACC’s 2014 workshop series.
“The idea for this event came from several discussions with musicians who want to connect more, talk about successes and challenges, and smarter ways to work together with all aspects of the music community,” said Becky Miller, RACC’s outreach coordinator and a professional musician herself. “This event will get people in the same room to have these conversations, and we’re optimistic about the impact they can make on the industry.”  
The event will feature a live DJ, time to meet and greet one another, and a panel of seasoned musicians and industry people, including Anna Jensen, Director of Underground Ops at Doug Fir Lounge;  Rebecca Gates,Musician and Artist; Jared Mees, Musician and Label Manager at Tender Loving Empire; Mic Crenshaw, Musician and Co-Manager at KBOO; Ryan White, Music Writer. ​ ​The panel with be moderated byDavid Gluck, Musician, and Artist Services Manager at Rumblefish.
After the panel, participants will break out into smaller groups to discuss a wide array of topics, so all attendees will get the chance to ask questions and be part of a discussion on their interests in music.  
Entry to the forum is available on a sliding scale ($5-$25), and includes a free drink + snacks for the first 50 attendees who register online. For more information and tickets, visit www.racc.org/workshops, or contact Becky Miller at 503-823-5428, or bmiller@racc.org.
Who: The Regional Arts & Culture Council and local musicians
What: Happening! A homegrown local music forum
When: Sunday, April 6, 2014 from 4:00-7:00pm
Where: Dig a Pony, 736 SE Grand, Portland

Artist Jea Alford kicks off a new season of installations at the Portland Building

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PORTLAND, OR — New Season at the Installation Space: The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is pleased to announce a line-up of nine new installations by local artists at the Portland Building Installation Space. Over the next twelve months artists representing a wide range of approaches to art making will be featured in 4 week installments. Since 1994 RACC has managed the Installation Space in the Portland Building (located downtown at 1120 SW 5th Avenue) and has presented some of Portland’s best interactive and experimental media installations.

This year, 53 artists submitted proposals in the Professional Artist category, and 21 applied in the Student category. An independent selection panel reviewed the proposals, and ultimately selected nine site-specific projects that are challenging, topical and diverse.

Jea Alford’s A Prayer for More Equal Distribution of Wealth, which opens March 24th and runs through April 18th, will kick-off this new season. Alford has elegantly re-purposed common trash bags to construct an overhead cascade of prayer flags across the space. Her prayer references both a childhood growing up in poverty and her current experience navigating the upper-middleclass world of art and academia.

Portland Building Installation Space — New season schedule and project descriptions:

Jea Alford (Student PSU) March 24 – April 18, 2014
Artist and Portland State University MFA student Jea Alford opens the new season of installations with a quiet and thoughtful work built around a cascade of prayer flags that cross the space overhead. The plastic trash bags the flags are crafted from references the artist’s personal experience growing up in poverty, conscious of the phrase and connotations of being “white-trash.” The prayer flag form is a nod to her current experience, navigating the primarily upper-middleclass worlds of art and academia. From each of the individual prayer flags, rectangles the size of dollar bills have been removed, a ghostly reference to the equals or equality sign. The flags convey a personal prayer of the artist’s, and create a calm space for viewers to reflect on their own hopes and prayers. Jea Alford’s installation (below), shown here under construction in her studio, kicks-off a new season at the Portland Building.

pdxbLDG_Alford-1

Wendy Given April 28 – May 23, 2014
In Truth – Three interactive works occupy the space: a “true mirror” in the far corner; a sculpture of a wishing well mounted at a tall, unattainable height in the center of the space; a contemporary representation of a “scrying stone”
(akin to a crystal ball for fortune telling) formally framed on the wall. Guided by natural philosophy, history, folklore, myth and magic, Given seeks to conjure the notion of interconnectedness in the space and stimulate the viewer to explore their personal understanding of how they are seen in the world, what their aspirations are, and where they think they might be headed next.

Erica Thomas & Emily Fitzgerald (Student – PSU) June 2 – June 27, 2014
Redefining Family: A Portrait of Portland – Thomas & Fitzgerald transform the Installation Space into a photo studio to make professional, studio quality, portraits of employees who work in the Portland Building and their families. The artists will offer an invitation to all who work in the building to bring their families, however they choose to define family, to a portrait session. Participants will be encouraged to think beyond traditional definitions and deeply investigate what “family” means to them. This could include domestic partners, childcare providers, neighbors, close friends, ex-spouses, grandparents, godchildren or any other important relationships they might choose to identify—even choosing to be photographed as an individual is an option. Redefining Family seeks to promote interesting conversations and formalize bonds between the participants and their chosen families.

Jesse Taylor (Student – OCAC) July 7 – August 1, 2014
Deconstruction Reconstruction: Office – Taylor proposes to deconstruct the contents of a typical Portland Building office cubical and rebuild the pieces into a dynamically arranged abstract sculptural installation. Rather than a strict formalist exercise, he sees the project as a work of joy and finds that “deconstructing labor” is labor that contradicts the daily grind variety—something done with the same energy that would go into making, but without the need for purpose or production. The abstractions will be completely recognizable as elements of office furniture and fittings, but the recontextualizations and new juxtapositions infuse the bits and pieces with new perspective—one based on their real (and unappreciated) shape, form and texture.

Abigail McNamara August 11 – September 5, 2014
660 Strings – 660 strings hung in a line across the center of the Installation Space—they run from ceiling to floor. Each individual string represents one minute in the working day of the Portland Building. This shimmering visual statement, that will respond to air currents made by passers-by and refract light that strikes it, also has another purpose. The strings will be precisely plotted with knots and dye to create a graphic representation of the number of individuals that enter and exit the building, minute by minute, over the course of a day. McNamara sees her rippling screen as a way not just to get visitors to stop and consider the role they play in a set of daily migrations, but also as a way to comment on the organic patterns and forms that observation and a little math can manifest from our unconscious comings and goings. Abigail McNamara’s Circuits/paths installation (below) from 2013; McNamara and eight other artists will present new a new set of installations at the Portland Building over the next 12 months.

PDX_mcnamaraa_(300)

Yoonhee Choi September 15 – October 10, 2014
Stratascape – Artist Yoonhee Choi was intrigued by a comment made in the RACC information session about the Portland Building application process; specifically that there are literally hundreds of layers of paint on the gallery walls. Choi began to wonder what these layers might look like if someone could display a cross-section. As the idea developed, she considered how she might mine the archeological stratigraphy in a manner that would get visitors thinking, in deliberate terms, about all art installations that have taken place in the space since 1994—nine installations a year x 20 years. Choi will first mark her own installation by applying a fresh top-coat of gray paint, she will then cut into the walls to reveal the history concealed within the strata. By systematically excavating (with utility knives and carving tools) and formally presenting the unearthed layers in a museum case and a specially built display wall, she will create a wordless homage to all the artists before her who have labored at the site in the name of art.

Noah Greene November 10 – December 5, 2014
Parts of No Sum, or Trails Do Not End Only Infinitely Disperse –Like Wendy Given, Noah Greene proposes an installation of three elements in cryptic conversation. Here, the trio will consist of broken concrete stacked on the floor; a partial set of salvaged wooden steps mirroring the existing stairwell; and a painting composed of ash, wallpaper scrap, and other debris material. Responding to Michael Graves’ emphasis on symbolic structure in his design of the Portland Building, Greene attempts to invert this concept by investigating the symbolic life of decommissioned and dislocated design elements. By examining the passage of material from its function within a structure to its end state in landfill, Greene looks to highlight a new set of symbolic meanings for the visitor to consider as these trace remains of witnessed experience linger and hint at the object’s former self.

Jessica Hickey January 12 – February 6, 2015
Pliable Planes – Jessica Hickey sees parallels in textiles and architecture—both originated as a means to protect and insulate that which they enclose, both developed geometric and decorative designs for aesthetic and symbolic purposes (“fashion” and “style” are used to describe trends in both disciplines), both often rely on patterned grids and lines for their visual language. Capitalizing on this common ground, Hickey, a skilled textile designer and fabricator, will present a scaled-down, quilted version of the Portland Building that will cover the entire entryway of the Installation Space. Her soft façade will offer an alternate, more accessible, more “protecting and insulating” environment that will bring the form and style of our famous post-modern landmark to a scale all can see and explore up close.

Peg Butler February 17 – March 13, 2015
Control R – Through a project the artist describes as “both absurd and practical,” Butler intends to bring together multiple methods that have been shown by studies to make people feel happier and offer them as a quick restorative treatment to Portland Building visitors in the Installation Space. Building employees and visitors will be invited to unplug from their screens and duties, have a seat, and take a shortcut to boosted feelings of refreshment. They will have the opportunity to bask under full spectrum lighting, don headphones playing a soundscape of laughter, and connect with nature via a large forest view that fills the main wall. Butler sees the piece as an earnest attempt to provide Portland Building denizens with a quick mid-day energy lift and on another level, alludes to a culture with habits steeped in shortcuts and supplements.