RACC Blog

Here and There – Three Conversations with Mural Artists

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We are thrilled to introduce HERE AND THERE, a new series of conversations between Portland-area muralists and muralists working outside of our region. This three-part series, unfolding monthly through  October, hopes to serve as both a professional development opportunity for aspiring and working muralists and a point of connection for our communities to relate more fully with the art that surrounds us. Join us to listen, ask questions, and learn!

Check out the second in our fall series of conversations between Portland-area muralists and muralists working outside of our region. Next up, a virtual conversation between local muralist Alex Chiu and Brooklyn, NY artist Katie Yamasaki. Join us to listen, ask questions, and learn!

Thursday, Sept. 23, 6 p.m. Free of charge.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/here-and-there-a-mural-conversation-series-alex-chiu-and-katie-yamasaki-tickets-169675942311

How are artists today helping us understand our place in time? Kyra Watkins and Cece Carpio explored this question, and others, along with our Public Art Senior Specialist Salvador Mayoral IV in the first our series on August 27. You can hear more from these two artists – one from “Here” and the other “There” – by watching the video recording. Here’s a link to the full video: https://youtu.be/c9uSGdWYIK8 

Watkins, who is based here in Portland, plainly shares her point of view. “As artists we are historians,” she says. “We capture the moment. We canonize what’s happening in time. There’s the text but there’s also the visuals and we’re in charge of setting that.” Follow Kyra Watkins @hernamewaskyra.

Self-described “visual storyteller” Cece Carpi, who is based in Oakland, CA explains why she focuses on “everyday people” in her work. “We are worth the attention,” she says. “Our stories are magic.” Follow Cece Carpio @cececarpio.

 

Our three-part series wraps up in October. It’s an opportunity to hear from working muralists and connect with our communities. Learn about their practices and the role of artists and artmaking in a time of change.

October 21, 6 p.m. Watch for sign up details.

 

Portland General Electric Foundation Awards Arts Education Grant to the Regional Arts & Culture Council

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 20, 2021

logo for PGE FoundationPortland, Ore. – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is pleased to announce its Arts Education Program was awarded a Community Creative Expression Grant for $10,000 from the Portland General Electric Foundation. The purpose of the grant is to expand arts education advocacy and equity in Multnomah County’s middle and high schools with the expansion of advocacy into Clackamas and Washington County. This is a collective impact project with a focus on equity and access to arts education in underrepresented and underserved communities in the tri-county area compromised of Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties. As we emerge into a new post-COVID world with a focus on equity and access we look to include more counties (Washington and Clackamas) school districts on the artlook® platform, a unique data driven arts education platform that connects schools, families, students and arts organizations to quality arts programs in their neighborhood.

RACC will conduct outreach and engagement, and offer professional development opportunities for arts educators in seven elementary schools in the Reynolds School District in East Multnomah County, which are currently unserved by the Council. This effort will support equity and access in arts education in the tri-county region through advocacy, outreach, and engagement. RACC’s mission is to enrich our communities through arts and culture. Support for artlook® Oregon will support this through collaboration and community engagement.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council wishes to thank the PGE Foundation for recognizing the past work in arts education and appreciate their acknowledgment with this grant in RACC’s pivot to expand the scope of services, advocacy, and community engagement.

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An independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, we support greater Portland’s creative economy by providing equitable funding and services to artists and art organizations; managing and growing a diverse, nationally acclaimed public art program; and developing long-lasting public and private partnerships. For more information visit racc.org. 

Stronger Together – Reflections on RACC’s Advocacy and Engagement

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by Mario Mesquita, Manager of Advocacy and Engagement

Image of a large building mural with two hands clasped, one red and one grey, emerging from the flowers.

David Flores’ large outdoor mural, Helping Hand, located on the Century Building in downtown Portland, 1201 SW 12th Ave. The mural faces Outside In directly and can be seen clearly from the I-405 freeway. Mural supported by RACC.

Saludos, Greetings, and Hello fellow community members, supporters, artists, artist folx, and friends of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Hands outstretched in an embrace with one another. One hand reaching for the other, both springing from different colored bouquets, one red, one grey. Located at Southwest 12th Avenue in Portland, David Flores’ mural, Helping Hand, embodies what the past year and a half have been for many of us. As the artist himself put it: [it’s about] “…people helping people. Help a worn and weary [person]. Neighbors helping friends. Families helping families….This is what life is all about.”

It has now been a little more than eight months since I’ve taken the role of the newly developed position of Manager of Advocacy and Engagement at RACC and have had the pleasure of getting familiar with the region’s thriving creative community, and the fundamental contributions of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to Oregon’s arts and cultural sector. I was excited to return to Oregon after more than a handful of years of working and attending school in southern California. In particular, I was enthusiastic about joining an arts organization that valued accessibility, advocacy, equity, diversity, community, and innovation of the arts and culture for everyone.

I bring to the role experience from my previous position as Manager of Education at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. A curious student and life-long learner, I’m always looking for communal solutions, constantly learning and sharing. Having joined RACC in a global moment of growth and reckoning, I look forward to using my experience advocating for funding, social justice, and artistic expression, as well as connecting people and bridging organizations.  I hope through our work together we will grow access, broaden perspective, close gaps, and make more sustainable connections with one another.

While it is not news to anyone, we have been reminded over and over again this past year and a half of the importance of advocacy as a way of helping people and the importance of arts and culture as key elements of not only self-expression but also in healing and recovery. Arts and culture have always played big roles in repair, knowledge sharing, and solution making. During this time, RACC has continued to raise up our values – advocating for equity in the arts, access to resources, and the role of our independent nonprofit as a connector of artists and opportunities.

Advocacy has always been a part of my professional path and artistic practice. As an active educator, artist, and activist, I returned to Oregon, my home state, to delve into reimagining and reintroducing what a regional arts organization can be and grow into. In this past handful of months, as part of RACC, we have been able to collaborate on advocating for federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, driving the conversation for equity, distribution, and resources to marginalized communities; filled gaps when necessary, with an ear to the ground listening to our community members. We have built connections internally and externally, updated the Arts Education Arts Fund logo and produced a video supporting Cultural Arts Advocacy Day with Executive Director, Madison Cario outlining RACC’s legislative priorities.

We have a busy year ahead of us as we continue to show up and take action together in support of our communities. Through various forms of recovery fund disbursement, bringing down barriers of access, facilitating community conversations, engagements, and opportunities, we will continue to move services and dollars into our communities and directly support artists and creatives. Through direct conversations and engagement, we are building connections across all three regional counties, participating in the City of Portland’s cultural and recovery planning, and developing partnerships that center the creativity of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

It sometimes feels overwhelming to know where to show support, how to show up, and what to focus on. Where do we begin? How do I contribute? Will my voice matter? As with many cities across the U.S., Portland is reexamining and reckoning with its history, future, and the role of public art as memorials, or beacons of painful pasts. Questions about relevance and representation are at the forefront of these discussions, highlighted by the destruction of the York statue that mysteriously appeared on the pedestal of what once held the now toppled Harvey Scott. What are your thoughts? We need to hear from you. We want to engage with you in the decisions about possible replacements and future monuments – and other topics that affect our community. Look for opportunities to share with us. Together we are stronger.

 

What Kind of Public Art Do We Want Now?

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 19, 2021

Three photos of the granit pedestal; one with people touching and reading the plaque, one without the artwork and one with the bronze head of Yorkrtwork atop a granite pedestal surrounded by tall fir trees.

Photo Credits: Mark Graves, Dave Killen of The Oregonian

A conversation with PSU Professor and York historian Darrell Millner, the unidentified York artist, and Kristin Calhoun, Director of Public Art, Regional Arts & Culture Council

Portland, Ore. – The Regional Arts & Culture Council today released a pre-recorded conversation with the unidentified artist who created York and PSU Professor of History and Black Studies, Darrell Millner. York, a piece of artwork depicting an enslaved man and significant member of Lewis and Clark’s “Corps of Discovery,” was mysteriously installed at Mt. Tabor Park in February. RACC’s Public Art Director, Kristin Calhoun, moderates the conversation. In the 50 minute podcast they discuss and answer many of the questions posed by the public. They also thoughtfully consider the benefits and risks of a “permanent” York sculpture that could continue to be a target of harmful and racist acts.

“Art is not neutral,” notes Madison Cario, Director of the Regional Arts & Culture Council in Portland. “York has sparked important conversations about who we are and what we stand for as a community.”

The public response to York demonstrates the power of art to raise new and hidden narratives and for community healing. The destruction of York, also elevates our knowledge that there is never a single narrative when it comes to our nation’s history and the political act of making art.

“Our goals for public art include integrating a wide range of art into public spaces in every community,” explains Calhoun. “As we consider the next steps for the statues toppled last summer, we see an opportunity for more interaction with temporary and permanent artworks representing more diverse cultural histories and identities. We also want to hear from the communities most impacted, recognizing how art has been used to reinforce power dynamics.”

Background
The bust of York, created and placed on the empty pedestal at Mt. Tabor Park by an unidentified artist, replaced Harvey Scott. The statue of the controversial local newspaper editor was pulled down during Portland’s racial justice protests last summer. The statue is one of many memorials and monuments in the public’s collection that were donated to the City by private donors that were toppled in 2020 and had to be removed.

Today, formal processes of commissioning artists and selecting artwork guide the addition of art to local public collections. RACC commissions, cares for, and maintains the City of Portland and Multnomah County’s public art collection. In recent years, they have worked to ensure that artwork added to the collection reflects the diversity of artistic disciplines, identities, and points of view. Memorials, monuments, and statues make up a small portion of the public’s collection.

After the temporary artwork of York was destroyed and removed, hundreds of people contacted RACC via email, phone, and on social media. Community members expressed anger at the destruction and anti-Black racism that appears to have fueled the act. Many offered support for installing a permanent version of the sculpture that would be indestructible. Others wanted to get involved in the conversation about what happens next.

This spring RACC’s Board voted to update City and County policies related to donations and deaccession (when an artwork is removed from a collection). They added review criteria to look at works through an anti-racist lens. The new Deaccession Policy paves the way for a community engagement process to determine what happens next to monuments toppled last summer, and an opportunity for RACC and partners to continue supporting thoughtful community dialogue about new and existing monuments, informed by a commitment to racial equity and representation. On July 30, the City Council issued a joint statement on the York sculpture, condemning what they viewed as a racially motivated act of destruction and reiterating their unified commitment to disrupting racism.

Join the Conversation!
Participate in the conversation by subscribing to Art Notes at https://racc.org/about/newsletter/ or by following the Regional Arts & Culture Council on Instagram or Facebook @regionalarts. You can also send an email with your thoughts to info@racc.org.

Also, check out Prototypes, a six-week exhibition that is part of Portland’s Monuments & Memorials Project Led by Converge 45 and supported by RACC’s Public Art Committee. The exhibition includes online and public events designed to bring people together to consider the conditions and impacts of public monuments. Through an open call, the project collected ideas for new and re-envisioned monuments and memorials. Indigenous tribal communities, artists, disabilities rights activists, neighborhood associations, and other groups and individual community members have submitted ideas and proposals. See them at Prototypes events.

Events are currently scheduled for 6 p.m., Aug. 25, and Oct. 9. 

Listen here

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An independent nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, we support greater Portland’s creative economy by providing equitable funding and services to artists and art organizations; managing and growing our diverse, nationally acclaimed public art program; and developing long-lasting public and private partnerships. For more information visit racc.org. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Nelson Kent, Communications Manager, hnkent@racc.org,  503-823-5426

What Kind of Public Art Do We Want Now?

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A conversation with PSU Professor and York historian Darrell Millner, the York artist, and Kristin Calhoun, Director of Public Art, Regional Arts & Culture Council

Three photos of the granit pedestal; one with people touching and reading the plaque, one without the artwork and one with the bronze head of Yorkrtwork atop a granite pedestal surrounded by tall fir trees.

Photo Credits: Mark Graves,
Dave Killen of The Oregonian

Listen to this pre-recorded conversation with the unidentified artist who created York and PSU Professor of History and Black Studies, Darrell Millner. York, a piece of artwork depicting an enslaved man and significant member of Lewis and Clark’s “Corps of Discovery,” was mysteriously installed at Mt. Tabor Park in February. RACC’s Public Art Director, Kristin Calhoun, moderates the conversation. The artist has chosen to remain anonymous.

The podcast runs about 50 minutes and the participants answer many of the questions we’ve been hearing including:  What would it cost to make York permanent? What inspired the artist to make this artwork? Why didn’t we know about York? They consider the benefits and risks of a “permanent” York sculpture and fears that York could continue to be a target of harmful and racist acts.

Public response to York demonstrates the power of art to raise new and hidden narratives, deepen our understanding of issues, and for community healing. 

Listen here:

Join the Conversation!

Learn more about York: link to the article by Professor Darrell Millner https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/black_studies_fac/61/

Transcript: PDF download 

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artlook® oregon Interactive Database Expands in Greater Portland

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An initiative of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, Parkrose, and Portland Public Schools in Partnership with The Kennedy Center and Ingenuity/Chicago

Portland, OR – Through a unique partnership with the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child and Ingenuity-Chicago, The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is pleased to announce the expansion of Portland Metro’s artlook® oregon. Selected for a 3-year pilot program, RACC joined other arts education organizations and school districts across the United States to work with the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child program and Ingenuity in Chicago to create a free, accessible, online arts/culture education search engine.  An interactive mapping platform and software, artlook® oregon, allows school districts of all sizes to collect, map, and analyze data regarding the availability and distribution of arts staffing, funding, and services on a school-by-school basis.

Chanda Evans, RACC’s AEAF Specialist, explains the importance of the initiative and how it fits into the art nonprofit’s strategic plan. “Our advocacy agenda includes creating a culture of accessibility and inclusivity as we move forward equitable arts/culture education for all K-12 students,” she said. “We know that supporting a well-rounded education includes an arts education: visual arts, dance, theatre, music, and media arts.”

As RACC looks to partner with more school districts and arts and culture organizations, artlook® oregon gives school districts a snapshot of the arts landscape within their district. It provides up-to-date mapping of how arts resources are allocated during the school day and uses data to help administrators set strategy and measure progress. Arts and culture organizations can more efficiently connect their services to schools and thousands of students.

The coalition partners, led by RACC, hope for collective impact including:

  • Accelerate arts equity for students in schools and monitor progress towards this goal over time
  • Build responsive, targeted, collective impact agendas with strong data backing
  • Use real-time progress indicators to guide monthly and annual decision-making
  • Leverage aggregated data to make a compelling fundraising case to supporters/donors
  • Make a data-driven case for better arts/culture policies and practices at district, city, and state levels.

The benefits of artlook® oregon reach across all levels of the community by unifying data in a comprehensive, interactive map.

You can find artlook® oregon at https://portlandmetro.artlookmap.com/

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About the Regional Arts & Culture Council

An independent nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, RACC supports greater Portland’s creative economy by providing equitable funding and services to artists and art organizations; managing and growing our diverse, nationally acclaimed public art program; and developing long-lasting public and private partnerships. For more information visit racc.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community grant review uplifts artists in RACC decision-making process

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Our grantmaking continues to change as we strive to align our values of access and equity in our services and investments. Feedback from an online survey in summer 2020, and a series of focus groups with Black, brown, and Indigenous artists who shared their perspectives and needs with us last fall, fueled the creation of our 2021 Make|Learn|Build grants.

By offering more flexible awards, we are supporting a greater number of artists and arts-based businesses, responding to what we heard the arts community in greater Portland needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists, creatives, organizations, and businesses were awarded either $1,500 or $3,000 to make work, gain skills, or build up their art business and creative practice during a time of rapid change and creative innovation.

Filmmaker Melina Kiyomi Coumas photographed with green leaves in the background.

Community reviewer and filmmaker Melina Kiyomi Coumas

We also adapted how the community participated in our decision-making processes. Through our survey and focus groups, we heard that artists and arts administrators wanted to know more about what happens behind the scenes in our grantmaking processes and needed more opportunities to get to know each other and their community. We embraced the call for more transparency and for engaging people more deeply in our processes.

As a pilot program alongside the Make|Learn|Build grants, RACC hired a cohort of contract grant reviewers called community reviewers to read and make recommendations about which grant applications to fund. The opportunity to review grants was shared through our networks with past grant recipients, arts and cultural organizations, organizations that have arts programming, and practicing individual artists. Between March and June 2021, we paid the community reviewers for two rounds of review of Make|Learn|Build grants.

Filmmaker and community reviewer Melina Kiyomi Coumas shared what she felt made some applications stronger than others. “The ones that stood out to me, that got the most positive response, had the most community impact to them. In these times it’s nice to see applicants think about the community – how they can inspire, and make change, and help people out right now.”

All of the community review cohort are practicing artists, with experience managing or designing arts programming or running an arts-based business. We prioritized artists without regular employment, or whose work was disrupted by COVID-19, and who were living in Multnomah, Washington, or Clackamas counties. Additionally, we looked for diversity on our panels, including consideration of artistic genre, age, race, gender, ability, and geography. The contractors read, scored, and discussed the Make|Learn|Build grant applications from artists, arts organizations, and arts-based businesses and recommended a slate of awards to the RACC board and grant program team members.

Bathed in rose-colored light, actor Claire Rigsby tousles her long, dark curly hair.

Community reviewer and actor Claire Rigsby. Photo credit Phil Johnson

Claire Rigsby, an actor who served as one of the 14 community reviewers, described what the experience meant to her. “I have only so many resources to share. To be given the chance to support artists by giving funds felt good. Uplifting artists in a way that I can’t in my day-to-day life.” She added, “this really opened my eyes to what a massive community there is in Portland. To see the larger community gives me hope for Portland generally and in the future of art in Portland.”

See who was awarded the first rounds of Make|Learn|Build grants. Rounds 3 & 4 open Monday, August 9, 2021.

2021 Make Learn Build Community Reviewers

  • Yathzi Turcot Azpeitia
  • Melina Kiyomi Coumas
  • Brendan Deiz
  • Monet Ezra
  • Sarah Farahat
  • Brisa Gonzalez
  • John Akira Harrold
  • Vaughn Kimmons
  • Machado Mijia
  • Kelly Moe
  • Claire Rigsby
  • Devin Tau
  • Erin Yanke
  • Xavier “Decimus” Yarbrough

Capturing the Moment artist Luvjonez

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Outraged by the senseless killing of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police, instrumental hip hop producer LuvJonez waged a 50-day Instagram campaign starting on July 19, 2020, to “shine a light” on an all-too-common story. Originally from Kentucky but now based in Portland, Luvjonez wanted to do something to bring more attention to Breonna Taylor’s case and keep her name in the public conversation.

Black and white photo of hiphop artist Luvjonez standing with arms folded.

Hiphop artist and producer Luvjonez

He collected all 50 tracks into this album, a collaboration with Devine Carama and others who contributed beats, shout-outs, voice memos, and more. “At first we were going to do it all on social media,” Luvjonez explained. “Just an Instagram campaign we would share, tagging folks – activists and others in Louisville to keep her visibility. We were going to do it every day until they read the verdict. But it was unsatisfactory so we just kept going.” One year later, this compilation still resonates as the wheels of justice slowly turn in the case of Breonna Taylor, and another unarmed black man was killed by police in June in Louisville.

When he saw RACC’s call for submissions “Capturing the Moment” was a perfect opportunity to create a time capsule of what had happened and what they had done as artists. “If people had missed the news of the world, they could put on a headphone and hear this,” he said.

Looking back on what’s happened since the project started nearly one year ago, Luvjonez reflected, “Sadly whether Portland or Kentucky it’s still relevant.” Today he sees the album as “a launching point for how we entered into the conversation” as he looks for new ways to address the ongoing instances where the killing of Black and brown people by police happens across the nation.

Front cover of album Squad. Image of rainbow-colored line drawings of a group of people..

Compilation album, Squad, released in July 2021

Luvjonez’s new album, Squad, is the result of the call he put out on social media in March 2020 when he was laid off from his job at Portland Center Stage due to the Coronavirus global pandemic shutdown. He reached out directly to friends to see if they wanted to collaborate while in quarantine and continued to stay active with other artists. “We kept each other company via Discord, Zoom, and Instagram, trading ideas and samples back and forth as often as possible,” he explained.

“I gathered enough material from friends and homies to make an entire compilation of these collaborations.” This compilation album gathers all of those elements into a single project and celebrates his coast-to-coast community of artists and creatives in the aftermath of 2020. “This entire project is a celebration of the people around me and a document of a time when the world shut us down but couldn’t shut us up.”