RACC Blog

Regional Arts & Culture Council elects new board members

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PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) board of directors has elected two new members. They include:

  • Leslie Heilbrunn is director of the Business Customer Group at Portland General Electric. Prior to joining PGE, Leslie was Governor John Kitzhaber’s speechwriter and she also spent more than a decade in the magazine industry.

  • Eduardo Puelma is the lead account and program manager at Infinity Images. His efforts have helped ensure the rapid growth in revenue, staffing and physical footprint of Infinity Images.

RACC board officers for the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2017 include Mike Golub, board chair; Linda McGeady, vice chair; Eileen L. Day, treasurer; and Steve Rosenbaum, secretary and co-chair of the Equity Committee. Joining these officers on the Executive Committee are Osvaldo “Ozzie” Gonzalez, chair of RACC’s Grants Review Committee; Parker Lee, co-chair of RACC’s Business Committee for the Arts; Anita Menon, chair of RACC’s Leadership Development Committee; and Frances Portillo, co-chair of RACC’s Equity Committee.

Other continuing RACC Board members include Raymond C. Cheung, CPA, Eve Connell, Katherine Durham, Representative Lew Frederick, Debbie Glaze, Angela Hult, Brenda L. Meltebeke, Mitchell Nieman, Joanna Priestley, James Smith, Shyla M. Spicer and Anita Yap.

Board and staff profiles are available online at racc.org/about/staff-and-board.

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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.

Artist and filmmaker Elijah Hasan presents “12 Degrees Black” at the Portland Building Installation Space, July 10 – August 4

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PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is pleased to present an installation by artist Elijah Hasan in the exhibition space adjacent to the Portland Building lobby. Hasan’s installation, which runs from July 10 to August 4, combines a set of the artist’s stunning films with a suite of still images. The two mediums work together to poetically explore themes of race, place, and social consciousness.

Using Portland as his stage and backdrop Hasan’s work comments on universal themes, but is rooted deep in the African American experience in Portland and the Northwest. The three films on view at the Portland Building, all written and directed by the artist, are united by their ability to reframe and freshen critical conversations about social injustice, social consciousness, and who records history. The delicate, non-verbal sound tracks (written and performed by Hasan) that accompany the visuals complement content that is at turns challenging, comedic, dramatic and poignant.

“Every one of these pieces represent a degree of departure from the pervasive mindsets that perpetuate cycles of ignorance (darkness). Each of the works have a title as well as a unique symbolic category in which they exist. Whether a work expresses the sorrows of standing in the shadows of capitalism, or the exhaust of lugging around the weight of externally imposed artificial blackness, my challenge is the same. That is, how do I navigate through the flames of these hostile environments and retain my vitality and purity as a Human Being? A worthy question for which I present 12 symbolic realms of reflection.” – Elijah Hasan

About the Artist: Portland artist Elijah Hasan is an award winning filmmaker, photographer, writer and composer. While primarily known for his films and still photography, he describes what he does more universally—as “making art.” His films often employ experimental techniques that work to blend complex concept with powerful, graceful storytelling. Hasan is also an educator and has taught videography, 3-D animation, and photography to inner city youth for many years. His film Is That Me, which is included in 12 Degrees Black, was honored at the 36th Northwest Film Festival with both the Judges Choice Award and the Audience Choice Award for Best Experimental Film. www.elijahhasan.com

Meet the Artist: Join us for an opportunity to meet Elijah Hasan and discuss his work in person at the Portland Building Installation Space on Thursday, July 20, at 4:00 pm.

Viewing Hours & Location The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Ave. and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. 12 Degrees Black opens Monday, July 10 and runs through Friday, August 4. 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.

Now’s the time

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ELOISE BLOG:

The time has come for me to bid goodbye to my wonderful RACC family and close an exciting 30 year chapter here. It has been quite a journey from our early days in the Portland Building with a staff of 6 or so to the complex, non-profit we have become with great digs on the North Park Blocks, a brilliant and talented staff managing new and thriving programs, a hard-working and inspiring Board, and an ever increasingly diverse and rapidly growing arts community.

Over the years I  have maintained fantastic friendships and professional relationships with people across so many elements of our community and I treasure them all. Thank you for what you have brought to me and to our work at RACC. We have made progress on many fronts by working together.

People ask me every day, “What’s next?” I have a list that includes not living by a schedule, yoga, walking, bike riding, travel with my husband, lots more time with my delightful year plus granddaughter and her adoring parents (in Eugene), relearning piano if that’s possible at my age, hanging out with friends, maybe some classes, and of course projects that pop up that I cannot resist. I am not moving away.

And I have no intention of turning my back on the arts community I love. That’s inconceivable to me. So it isn’t really “goodbye,” but more like “see you around town.” And to prove that I mean that, my new email is Eloise.damrosch@gmail.com. 503.307.3600.

Local nonprofit arts and culture organizations generate $330 million in annual economic activity

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A new study reveals that the nonprofit arts industry in the Portland tri-county region also supports 11,505 full-time jobs and returns more than $27 million in revenue to state and local coffers

PORTLAND, ORE – The nonprofit arts and culture sector in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties generated more than $330 million in annual economic activity in fiscal year 2015 according to Arts & Economic Prosperity 5, a comprehensive economic impact study released by Americans for the Arts, the Oregon Arts Commission and the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) with additional support from the Clackamas County Arts Alliance and the Westside Cultural Alliance.

“We all know that culture and the arts are essential to our neighborhoods, our schools and our way of life,” said Eloise Damrosch, executive director of RACC. “The arts are also a powerful generator of economic activity, and now we have impressive data to prove it. Nonprofit arts and culture organizations attract tourists, buoy local businesses and support jobs throughout the Portland metro region.”

The study reveals that 183 local nonprofit arts and culture organizations spent $214.4 million during fiscal year 2015. This spending is far-reaching: organizations pay employees, purchase supplies, contract for services and acquire assets within the community.

In addition, these nonprofit arts and culture organizations leveraged $116 million in event-related spending by their audiences. As a result of attending a cultural event, attendees often eat dinner in local restaurants, pay for parking, buy gifts and souvenirs, and pay a babysitter. Attendees from out of town spend even more, including overnight stays in local hotels.

The combined spending by both arts organizations and their audiences results in a total economic impact of $330.4 million – a 30% increase since the last study was published in 2012. A summary of the report is attached, and the report is available online at www.racc.org/economicimpact.

Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish was impressed with the results. “Portland is proud to be a creative city, one that honors and celebrates art and culture,” he said. “It’s in our DNA, and part of what makes Portland special. The economic impact of the arts, quantified in this report, helps to drive our local economy, creating good jobs and supporting a vibrant and growing city.”

Statewide, Oregon’s nonprofit arts and culture sector contributed $687 million and 22,299 jobs to Oregon’s economy in 2015. Nationally, the nonprofit arts industry produced $166.3 billion in economic activity, supporting 4.6 million full-time equivalent jobs and generating $27.5 billion in revenue to local, state and federal governments – a yield well beyond their $5 billion in collective government allocations for the arts.

“This study demonstrates that the arts are an economic and employment powerhouse both locally and across the nation,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “A vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive and helps local communities become stronger and healthier places to live. Leaders who care about community and economic vitality can feel good about choosing to invest in the arts. Nationally as well as locally, the arts mean business.”

The Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 study was conducted by Americans for the Arts and supported by The Ruth Lilly Fund of Americans for the Arts. Americans for the Arts’ local, regional, and statewide project partners contributed both time and financial support to the study. Financial information from organizations was collected in partnership with DataArts™, using a new online survey interface. For a full list of the communities who participated in Arts & Economic Prosperity 5, visit www.AmericansForTheArts.org/AEP5Partners.


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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.

 

National Endowment for the Arts awards $30,000 for The Right Brain Initiative

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PORTLAND, ORE — National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects across the country in the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $30,000 to The Right Brain Initiative, the arts integration program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

“The arts reflect the vision, energy, and talent of America’s artists and arts organizations,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as The Right Brain Initiative, in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences.”

“We are grateful for the continued support from the NEA. This funding helps us build teachers’ capacity to engage all learners through the arts and develop students’ creative and critical thinking skills,” expressed Marna Stalcup, RACC’s Director of Arts Education.

This award will support Right Brain’s innovative, systemic, and equitable approach to arts integrated education in Portland area elementary and middle schools. Its professional development model will equip an estimated 1,475 teachers, arts specialists, principals and teaching artists in the 2017-18 school year with strategies to promote students’ 21st Century Skills, and create environments where they thrive academically, socially and artistically. Through the collaboration of trained teaching artists and classroom teachers, the program will serve nearly 30,000 students in 70 schools across the region.

To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEASpring17. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov

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The Right Brain Initiative is a sustainable partnership of public schools, local government, foundations, businesses and the cultural community working to transform learning through the arts for all K-8 students in the Portland metro area. Now in its ninth year, Right Brain serves 68 schools and approximately 27,500 students from urban, suburban and rural communities in the Portland area. In fall of 2014, Right Brain released data connecting the program to an above-average increase in student test scores, with greatest results for English Language Learners. Right Brain is a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Operating partners include Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington (Residency Partner), Portland State University Center for Student Success (Research & Evaluation Partner), and Deborah Brzoksa of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Professional Development Consultant). Read more online at TheRightBrainInitiative.org.

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.

This Time in Portland

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ELOISE BLOG:

A week ago it seemed completely appropriate for me to write a sincere last Arts Notes post prior to my June 30th retirement. The idea was to talk about all the wonderful experiences I have had over 30 years with MAC/RACC and to thank the thousands of wonderful people I have had the privilege to know.

Then the tragedy struck on the MAX Friday and completely changed my focus. Since November Portland and communities across the country have clearly experienced a distressing increase in verbal assaults focused on people of  color going about their peaceful everyday lives. That is wrong and not what our city is about. Yet it happens and swells into violent protests and becomes what a fringe element of our population is very much about.

Last Friday three incredibly brave people stepped up to defend two young women being barraged with hate and threats by an individual known for incendiary racist behavior. Their own outrage and selflessness saved the women. In doing so two perished and one was saved though gravely wounded. I cannot imagine the horror of that scene though it has haunted me since that day.

In trying to think about how to move on all I can think to suggest is proving to hateful people that they will not prevail. I think we need to pull together as concerned, committed, peaceful and loving citizens to raise our voices against hatred, write and sing our music, paint our fears and feelings, act out our responses and hopes for the future, teach our children by example and conversations, gather in places we gather to explore the ways out, support our leaders who are caught in an impossible bind, face this current reality with passion to protect everyone. It has to stop.

And I will get back with my grateful letter to all of you in a few weeks, because I will not let this tragedy get in the way of thanking you and celebrating the wealth of creativity, excellence and positive human interaction, which to me is what my time here has been most about.

RACC board taps Jeff Hawthorne to serve as Interim Executive Director

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PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has announced that Jeff Hawthorne will fill the position of Executive Director on an interim basis, effective July 1 until the new Executive Director is hired. RACC’s current Executive Director, Eloise Damrosch, retires on June 30.

“We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Jeff as the Interim Executive of RACC,” said Mike Golub, chair of the RACC board. “Jeff is extremely talented, experienced and respected in the arts community and is the perfect person to steward RACC during our transition.”

As a 15 year veteran of the organization and RACC’s director of community engagement, Hawthorne is responsible for securing a large majority of the organization’s public and private revenue each year. He supervises RACC’s advocacy efforts, research activities, communications strategies and fundraising campaigns. Among his accomplishments at RACC, Jeff designed and implemented the state’s first United Arts Fund campaign (Work for Art), and secured funding for RACC to launch a new arts integration program in classrooms in 2007 (The Right Brain Initiative). He co-authored the region’s 2009 cultural action plan, Act for Art, which laid the groundwork for the city’s arts tax. In 2015 Jeff received the Michael Newton Award from Americans for the Arts, recognizing his innovative work in developing private sector partnerships and funding for the arts.

Hawthorne is expected to serve in this role for at least three months; he is not a candidate for the position permanently. The search for the new Executive Director is being managed by the RACC-appointed search committee. A formal posting of the position is expected in June. For regular updates, visit www.racc.org/executive-director-search-update. The search committee can be reached anytime by emailing EDSearch@racc.org.


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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.

RACC awards Arts Equity Grants to 24 organizations

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $126,540 in Arts Equity Grants to 24 organizations that are advancing RACC’s goals for equity and inclusion. These grants are funded by City of Portland’s Arts Education & Access Fund, or arts tax, along with support from Multnomah County.

Arts Equity Grants provide financial support to organizations that are conducting arts and culture projects and programming for communities of color, immigrants, refugees, underserved neighborhoods, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ communities, people experiencing homelessness and houselessness, and other communities that have historically been marginalized.

A total of 75 nonprofit organizations submitted eligible Letters of Interest in this cycle and 31 organizations were invited to submit full applications. A panel of RACC Board Members and community representatives reviewed the 29 submitted applications and recommended full or partial funding for 24 applicants, totaling $126,540. The RACC Board of Directors approved the final grant awards on May 24, 2017.

Here is a brief summary of the 24 Arts Equity Grants awarded (*First-time RACC Grant recipient):

  • Autism Society of Oregon – Art workshops for adults on the autism spectrum. $1,250
  • Cinema Project – Social justice film screenings at correctional facility in partnership with Liberation Literacy. $1,480
  • Cymaspace – Oregon Arts & Accessibility Festival to showcase the work of deaf and hard of hearing artists. $6,500
  • Fuse Theatre Ensemble – OUTwright Theatre Festival, celebrating the contributions of the LGBTQI+ community to the art of theatre. $5,000
  • Girls Inc of the Pacific Northwest* – Five week summer documentary filmmaking program that inspires girls to share the stories of Portland women. $6,500
  • Hmong American Community of Oregon* – New Year Celebration at Glenhaven Park. $6,000
  • Instituto de Cultura y Arte In Xochitl In Cuicatl – Dia de los Muertos ceremony and accompanying workshops/programming. $5,000
  • Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival* – 5th Annual Festival featuring and supporting Native American/First Nations artists, activists, and vendors. $6,000
  • Kukatonon Children’s African Dance Troupe – After-school African dance and drumming program, including partnership with The Portland Ballet. $6,500
  • Latino Network – Multi-media video art project with Latino youth in East County. $6,500
  • Morpheus Youth Project – Breakdancing workshop in partnership with Department of Community Justice, Juvenile Services.  $6,500
  • NAYA Family Center – Neerchokikoo Honoring Powwow, an annual celebration honoring Native American Cultural Arts. $5,000
  • New Expressive Works – Weekend of workshops and activities highlighting the experiences of urban South Asians. $6,500
  • Outside the Frame* – Intensive filmmaking workshop and subsequent weekly programming for youth experiencing homelessness. $6,000
  • Portland Art & Cultural Center* – Annual Chinese New Year Cultural Fair. $6,000
  • Portland Interfaith Gospel Choir* – Free community concert at St. Andre Bessette Catholic Church. $4,500
  • PreSERVE Coalition* – 12-week collaborative arts series with The Geezer Gallery for older African Americans. $6,500
  • Public Annex* – Two terms of art classes for people with disabilities and arts community. $5,000
  • Right 2 Survive – Support Ambassador Project to host writing and art workshops integrating housed and homeless people. $6,500
  • ROSE CDC* – Comprehensive music education, production, and performance program in partnership with Holla Mentors. $6,500
  • Slavic Community Center of NW* – Cultural music event for Slavic immigrants featuring local musicians performing music by Russian composers. $5,000
  • The Giving Tree – 4 session class for residents to explore their mental health diagnosis in relation to their creativity and art-making. $1,810
  • The Rosewood Initiative – Role Models Apply Positive Peer Pressure (RAPP) Music Program. $4,000
  • World Stage Theatre – Imagination Express Arts Education mobile outreach program in East County. $6,000

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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.