RACC Blog

RACC awards inaugural Arts Equity Grants

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $119,380 in Arts Equity Grants to 21 organizations for activities that advance RACC’s goals for equity in Portland and Multnomah County. These grants are funded by City of Portland’s Arts Education & Access Fund, along with support from Multnomah County.

The Arts Equity Grant program is an evolution of RACC’s former Expanding Cultural Access program. Following extensive community outreach, 90 organizations submitted letters of interest in February, and 30 were invited to submit full applications. Of the 21 organizations that were selected for grant awards, 11 are receiving RACC support for the first time.

“Access to the arts remains a top priority of all of us at RACC, and we have been working for several years to diversify the pool of grant applicants and awards,” said executive director Eloise Damrosch. “These new Arts Equity Grants will help get us to the next level, investing in programs and organizations that reach communities of color, underserved neighborhoods, people with disabilities and other under-represented populations.”

Two rounds of panels made up of RACC board members, staff, and community volunteers reviewed letters of interest and applications, evaluating them for impact, organizational capacity, and alignment with RACC’s equity goals. The RACC board of directors approved the final grant awards on May 25, 2016.

A summary of all 21 funded projects can be found at http://bit.ly/20RFdw8.

First Time Recipient Applicant Name Summary Award Amount

 
APANO Provide support for APANO’s Arts & Media Project to present “Mic Check! Voices from the Margins,” a series of cultural events in  summer 2016. $7,000
* Association of Russian-Speaking Compatriots United States (ARSCUS) Provide visual art classes for children in Russian at the East Portland Neighborhood Office. $5,000
* Community Vision, Inc. Outfit and support the first exhibition in a street level window gallery in Community Vision’s new headquarters building at SE 19th and Division. $5,850
* Division Midway Alliance for Community Improvement Produce the Festival of Nations, a multicultural event featuring traditional music, art, food, and culture from around the world. $5,950
* East County PFLAG Partner with Springwater Studio to create yOUTh OUT Arts, a 12-month series of multi-disciplinary art workshops for LGBTQ youth in East Multnomah County. $4,500
FusionArte Produce LenteMovil: “The Other Side of my Community,” a mobile multimedia project that interweaves video, photography and storytelling. $6,570
Hacienda CDC Produce a series of cultural events at the Portland Mercado, a Latino public market, that will showcase the music, dance, and cultural craft of Latino artists. $5,950
Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization – IRCO Work with artists Jacob Wachira Ezigbo and Baba Wagué Diakité to produce 8 monthly cross cultural arts workshops for youth and two events to showcase participant art. $7,000
* Instituto de Cultura y Arte In Xochitl In Cuicatl Produce Dia de los Muertos ceremony including workshops, mural making, traditional dance, and sharing the history of Dia de los Muertos. $3,500
Kukatonon Children’s African Dance Troupe Collaborate with the Portland Ballet to provide offering fundamental of ballet classes as part of ongoing West African Dance education programing. $5,000
latinoartnow Work with students from Scott K-8 School and PSU to learn about the history and creation of murals and Latino art. $5,950
LAX IdeAL Provide support for one day conference for Latino artists, hosted at Milagro Theatre. $5,000
Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon Produce arts performances and artist vendor marketplace to strengthen intercultural understanding and economic stability for underserved populations. $3,400
* Morpheus Youth Project Offer 8 weeks of breakdancing workshops for youth at Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center. $7,000
My Voice Music Provide songwriting, music instruction, and live recording sessions for unaccompanied migrant youth, in partnership with Morrison Child and Family Services. $7,000
* National Indian Parent Information Center Produce Native American Inclusive Culture Days which support cultural opportunities for youth with disabilities and learning challenges, and their families. $4,860
* Right 2 Survive Create art for Right 2 Dream Too location in SE Portland and host a House(less) Warming Party including art-making between houseless and housed neighbors. $5,950
* Russian Speaking Community Leaders Group Present a film, and a music and dance performance, at the 2016 Slavic Festival in Ventura Park. $6,750
* The Geezer Gallery Support for Story Catchers Art Therapy program to work with 4 groups of LGBTQ seniors of color for 13 week workshops in writing and visual arts. $7,000
* The Giving Tree Provide two 8-class series of Art Explorations classes for residents of affordable housing in Portland. $3,150
Wisdom of the Elders, Inc Produce Climate and Native Wisdom documentary film and radio series for Discovering Yidong Xinag Program. $7,000

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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.

City Club Forum: Are the arts getting squeezed out?

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Eloise’s Blog:

On Friday, May 20th,  several of us from RACC attended the Friday Forum at City Club of Portland to hear a timely dialogue about what artists and arts organizations are facing in our booming city. The panel consisted of MaryKay West, Vice President at Colliers International, and City Commissioner Nick Fish. Kelley Roy, owner and founder of ADX, moderated.  Interspersed into the panel were individuals working in the arts who told their own stories about the extremely challenging current climate.

Commissioner Fish described the very real housing crisis for low income and homeless Portlanders and the City’s commitment to working on all aspects of this problem as it drives people, including artists and arts organizations, from the core of our city to the fringes and suburbs. The city he said has a “moral obligation to protect the most vulnerable people” but recognizes that artists, creatives and  non-profits help make Portland a vibrant and envied cultural destination and contributes to the fact that the Portland is one of the fastest growing urban economies in the US.

MaryKay West, who specializes in finding spaces for just these kinds of creative people and organizations, commented that many of them need large scale raw industrial spaces, many of which are now being snapped up and redeveloped for higher paying tenants. Zoning often is an obstacle, but also has the opportunity for change to accommodate the needs of a range of renters and owners. She also mentioned REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts) which enables anyone to invest in large scale real estate properties and earn income from their shares, without having to personally own the buildings and land.

Commissioner Fish looks forward to exploring what the new PDC will look like as it experiences leadership change for itself and for our City. He suggested a partnership between RACC and PDC to undertake an inventory of cultural assets (following Seattle’s model) and to bring in the Bureau of Planning to explore potential and protected cultural hubs around the area.

He questioned whether the City cares as much about the 95% of businesses who have 5 or fewer employees as it does about luring in a Daimler Trucks or Airbnb. These companies are in fact attracted to Portland because it is a city of small businesses. Both panelists cited the Creative Advocacy Network, which conceived of and helped pass the Arts Education and Access Fund in 2012 , and challenged that group of smart and strategic people to not only repair the tax once and for all, but also tackle the pressing problems discussed at the forum.

We at the Regional Arts and Culture Council welcome the opportunity to work with the City, businesses, real estate developers and of course all of our friends and colleagues in the arts to shine a very bright light on these issues before it is too late. We must ensure that artists can continue living and working here and that nonprofit arts organizations can thrive in affordable spaces strategically placed throughout our City and region. Let’s all pledge to keep the conversation moving and to taking action. I suspect a meeting with our Mayor-elect will be an important next step. Thank you City Club for this informative, timely and provocative discussion.

You can watch the entire Forum at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RulcumBeOkM .

Kaiser Permanente, The Standard and ZGF Architects win top prizes at Work for Art’s Battle of the Bands

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PORTLAND, ORE — Seven employee bands competed in Work for Art’s first annual Battle of the Bands, which drew more than 400 music fans to the Crystal Ballroom on Thursday night. Celebrity judges Christopher Brown, Steve Pringle and Rindy Ross awarded the top prize – best company band – to Pencil Skirt Paula and The Straight Edge Rulers, from ZGF Architects. The Best Showmanship prize went to Kaiser Permanente’s 1980s cover band, Members Only.

The Audience Favorite award, as determined by the band that raised the most money from the audience, went to The Standard’s Smoke Before Fire. In all more than $75,000 was raised through event sponsorships, ticket sales, a silent auction, a raffle and other cash donations.

Kaiser Permanente’s 1980s cover band, Members Only.

Members Only (Kaiser Permanente), photo by Erica Ann Photography.

All event proceeds will help Work for Art draw closer to its fundraising goal of $1 million by June 30. Work for Art is a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council that raises money and awareness for local arts and culture organizations, primarily through workplace giving. RACC distributes all campaign proceeds to more than 100 local nonprofit organizations – including Oregon Children’s Theatre, Ethos Music Center, Portland Opera and the Children’s Healing Art Project.

The Standard’s Smoke Before Fire.

The Standard’s Smoke Before Fire.

Battle of the Bands was the first-ever public fundraising event for Work for Art, which is now in its tenth year. The event was emceed by Joe Vithayathil of KPTV Fox 12 Oregon, and by singer-songwriter Merideth Kaye Clarke. The Brothers Jam, led by BodyVox artistic director Jamey Hampton, opened the show, and one of the Timbers Army bands, Greenhorn, played the final set.

Other competing bands included The Legal Limit (Tonkon Torp), The Red Keys (KeyBank), Larry and the Lightbulbs (PGE), and Dystopia (Burgerville). Companies that are interested in competing in next year’s Battle should contact Jeff Hawthorne, Director of Community Engagement for the Regional Arts & Culture Council, at jhawthorne@racc.org, 503-823-5258.

To make a donation that will help Work for Art reach its million-dollar goal, visit workforart.org.

Celebrity judges Christopher Brown, Rindy Ross and Steve Pringle. Photo by Erica Ann Photography.

Celebrity judges Christopher Brown, Rindy Ross and Steve Pringle. Photo by Erica Ann Photography.

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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.

The Right Brain Initiative receives funding from National Endowment for the Arts to catalyze change in public schools

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Right Brain Initiative has received a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to deliver systemic and equitable arts programming to local K-8 schools. Right Brain, a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, works in partnership with local school districts to transform learning through robust arts programming that integrates with core curriculum. This is the fifth grant the Initiative has earned from the NEA.

“The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Supporting projects like this one from The Right Brain Initiative offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”

Right Brain invests in the professional capital of its partner schools by providing educators with the tools to seamlessly blend the arts with all other subject areas. The grant will help Right Brain bring its four-year hands-on professional development program to more than 1,200 area teachers, arts specialists, principals and teaching artists in the 2016-17 school year. Through collaboration between Right Brain teaching artists and classroom teachers, the program will serve more than 26,000 K-8 students in urban, suburban and rural communities of Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties, Oregon.

The NEA’s Art Works grants support the creation and presentation of work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement through 13 arts disciplines or fields. This award is part of $82 million distributed by the NEA to fund local arts projects across the nation. To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEASpring16. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit 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 eighth year, Right Brain serves 63 schools and approximately 25,000 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 an initiative of the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington serves as Implementation Partner. 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.

State of the Arts

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Eloise’s Blog:

Many thanks to all who attended our annual presentation to City Council when we thank Council for their on-going support. While we also talk about how we invested the City’s allocation to RACC over the past year, we focus even more on how powerful the impacts of these dollars are to artists, arts organizations, schools, and arts enthusiasts around our region and beyond.

The Obo Addy Legacy Project opened the event on April 21st with rousing and reverberating Ghanean drumming as people entered Council Chambers. RACC’s Board Chair, Jan Robertson, and I then ran through some highlights of our programs in 2015 and we were all treated to music performed by a quintet from Bravo Youth Orchestra.

These talented Rosa Parks Elementary students are evidence of what magic can happen thanks to their music teacher paid for by the Arts Tax, and an arts organization, Bravo, providing learning experiences inside the school. Jan also described the ever growing Right Brain Initiative and how supportive our City leaders have been since day one.

I ran through images of recent public art projects including a Buster Simpson sculpture in South Waterfront and a wide array of murals funded in part by RACC’s Murals Program and Forest for the Trees, an organization that brings together local artists and others from around the world to create large scale murals around our city. The audience also saw sneak previews of upcoming public art  in the works. To see some of these images for yourselves, click here (slides 27-31).

RACC Board member and Chair of our Grants Review Committee, Susheela Jayapal, described the various ways we award City funds to artists and organizations and the challenges facing RACC and the organizations who benefit from the Arts Tax, which currently is not bringing in the full amount voted approved by Portland voters in 2012. Susheela also introduced jazz musician and PSU professor, Darrell Grant, who described what he was able to achieve thanks to a RACC Project Grant. Literary Arts Executive Director Andrew Proctor explained the phenomenal success of the inaugural year of its Wordstock Festival, newly adopted by his organization, a longtime member of RACC’s General Operating Support program. And finally Luann Algoso spoke about APANO’s Expanding Cultural Access grant, which supported their well-received Cultural Events Series in the Jade District.

RACC’s Board member Mike Golub introduced RACC’s on-going programs which beneficially connect arts and business. When Business for Culture and the Arts closed last summer, RACC was asked to take on two of the organization’s most successful programs. Art of Leadership under George Thorn’s leadership provides seminars to train business people to be Board members of nonprofit arts organizations. RACC now also hosts The Arts Breakfast of Champions, which recognizes top donors and champions of the arts. We hope to expand the event’s scope going forward to celebrate all the ways arts and business can partner to inspire employees and foster creative collaborations.

Mike Co-Chair’s Work for Art, our workplace giving program, which typically raises about $750k a year for arts organizations. In this 10th anniversary year RACC hopes to raise a $1 million, through workplace campaigns and events such as the upcoming Battle of the Bands, May 12th. Part of ZGF’s competing band, Pencil Skirt Paula and the Straightedge Rulers, treated the audience to a musical tribute to Prince.  Finally Ian Mouser of My Voice Music testified about the amazing work his organization can do for kids with City funding, and the grand finale was a moving duet sung by Matthew Gailey and Lea Mulligan of PHAME (below).

SOTAphame_CommFish1

We so value and appreciate everyone’s time and enthusiasm and the long-standing and heartfelt commitment by our supportive City Council!

Media artists invited to apply for RACC’s 2016 fellowship award

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is now accepting applications from media artists (including film, video and audio) for RACC’s annual artist fellowship award. Applications are now available through the RACC GrantsOnline system at http://racc.culturegrants.org.

Since 1999, the RACC fellowship award has honored and supported uniquely talented local artists who contribute to the community in very meaningful ways. This year RACC plans to award two fellowships, with each artist receiving a cash award of $20,000. RACC rotates the recognition among four disciplines every year – visual arts, media arts, literature, and performing arts. Past Media Arts Fellows have included Jim Blashfield (2001), Chel White (2004), Joanna Priestley (2007) and Lawrence Johnson (2012).

Guidelines and applications are available in RACC’s GrantsOnline system. To be considered, applicants must submit an Intent to Apply form no later than 5:00 pm, July 6, 2016.

A panel of community representatives with expertise in the media arts reflecting the disciplines of the applicants will select the two fellowship winners. An artist’s involvement in the community will play a significant role in evaluating each application. In addition, applicants must meet several strict criteria in order to be eligible for these highly competitive awards:

  • The applicant must be a professional artist, as recognized by their peers, with a minimum of 10 years of experience in the media arts.
  • The applicant must have been an Oregon resident for a minimum of 5 years and a current resident of Clackamas, Multnomah, or Washington Counties.
  • The applicant must demonstrate sustained high artistic quality of artmaking.

Other RACC fellows are listed at racc.org/fellows, and they include: Mary Oslund, Obo Addy, Christine Bourdette, Terry Toedtemeier, Michele Glazer, Tomas Svoboda, Keith Scales, Judy Cooke, Michael Brophy, Craig Lesley, Thara Memory, Henk Pander, Kim Stafford, Robin Lane, Eric Stotik, Sallie Tisdale, Linda Austin, Anita Menon, David Eckard, and Ellen Lesperance.

For more information about the fellowship award and other RACC grants visit racc.org/grants.

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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.

Work for Art announces line-up for Battle of the Bands competition on May 12

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PORTLAND, ORE — Bankers, lawyers, surgeons and engineers will be among the unlikely musicians competing in Work for Art’s first annual Battle of the Bands on Thursday, May 12 at the Crystal Ballroom. Tickets are only $10, on sale now at the Crystal Ballroom box office and online. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $100 each, including reserved seating, hosted food and beverage, and validated parking. All proceeds benefit Work for Art and its tenth anniversary campaign to raise $1 million for local arts and culture organizations.

Seven bands, made up of employees who play music on the side, will compete in front of family, friends, coworkers and a panel of celebrity judges. Several prizes will be awarded including the title of Best Company Band. Audiences will select an “Audience Favorite” as determined by the band that receives the most donations the night of the event.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Food and beverages are available for purchase, and guests will have an opportunity bid on 10 exciting silent auction packages to help raise money for the cause. As a warm-up act, Brothers Jam will perform at 6:45 p.m., featuring BodyVox artistic director Jamey Hampton and his brother David, both of whom work at Hampton Lumber.

The main event begins at 7:00 p.m., emceed by KPTV Fox 12 Oregon feature reporter Joe Vithayathil and local musical theater star Merideth Kaye Clark. The competing bands include:

  • Burgerville, Dystopia
  • Kaiser Permanente, Members Only
  • KeyBank, The Red Keys
  • Portland General Electric, Larry and the Lightbulbs
  • The Standard, Smoke Before Fire
  • Tonkon Torp, The Legal Limit
  • ZGF Architects, Pencil Skirt Paula and The Straight Edge Rulers

The judging panel includes three local music industry celebrities:

Dave Allen is founding member and bass player for Gang of Four and Shriekback, owner of the World Domination record label, and current Director of Artist Advocacy for Beats Music.

Christopher Brown is the drummer and bandleader for the Christopher Brown Jazz Quartet.  He has performed and/or recorded with Beyoncé, Esperanza Spalding, the Marsalis brothers and many others.

Rindy Ross is the lead singer and saxophonist of Quarterflash and The Trail Band. She was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2007 and serves as a mentor of young artists.

At approximately 9:00 p.m., while the judges deliberate and the cash is counted, the Portland Timbers Army band Greenhorn will perform. Timber Joey and Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish will be on hand to help announce the winners at the end of the evening.

This is the first event of its kind for Work for Art, which is an annual campaign to raise money and awareness for local arts and culture organizations. Last year, the campaign raised $750,396, primarily through workplace giving. This year, in celebration of Work for Art’s tenth anniversary, organizers aspire to raise $1 million by June 30.

“This new event will help us take Work for Art to the next level,” said Mike Golub, president of business for the Portland Timbers and co-chair of this year’s Work for Art campaign. “Through our workplace giving campaigns over the last nine and a half years, we have raised more than $7 million and built Work for Art into a strong mechanism for employees to support arts and culture in our region. Now we get to put some of those same employees in the spotlight and we invite the community to come cheer them on.”

Battle of the Bands is sponsored by headliners Burgerville, KeyBank, Portland General Electric, The Portland Timbers and The Standard. Co-sponsors include Alpha Media/KINK 101.9 FM, NW Natural, The Oregon Cultural Trust, Portland Business Journal and Willamette Week.

“We are excited to sponsor this event because we know how important it is to support arts organizations and arts education in our community,” said David R. Lofland, president of KeyBank Oregon and SW Washington and co-chair of this year’s Work for Art campaign. “This is also proving a fun way to celebrate the creativity of our employees – even bankers have some amazing hidden artistic talents!”

In a related fundraiser, event goers and the public at large can purchase tickets to be entered into a raffle to win a handcrafted electric guitar, built by Burgerville president Jeff Harvey. The guitar is valued at $3,000 and the winning ticket will be drawn at approximately 9:00 p.m. on May 12. The winner need not be present to win. Raffle tickets are $20 each and are available at workforart.org/raffle.

Work for Art is a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), which distributes a full 100% of all Work for Art donations, including Battle of the Bands proceeds, to arts organizations in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties. For more information visit workforart.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.

Every Portland elementary school now has an arts teacher, thanks to the arts tax

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Find stories about the impact of the tax online in April at #pdxlovesart

PORTLAND, ORE —In November 2012, 63% of Portland voters overwhelmingly passed Ballot Measure 26-146 to create the Arts Education & Access Fund, now known as the “arts tax.” The tax directly funds 72 K-5, music, dance and visual art teachers in the city’s six school districts: Centennial, David Douglas, Parkrose, Reynolds and Riverdale School Districts and Portland Public Schools. Thanks to the $35 income tax, every elementary school in the City of Portland currently has at least one art, music or dance teacher on staff.

“The arts tax has nearly tripled the number of elementary arts teachers in Portland and we’re so proud of this early success. On that score, Portlanders got what they voted for,” said Eloise Damrosch, executive director of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC). “Cities all over the nation are eager to replicate this sustainable funding stream for arts education.”

Arts Tax by the Numbers

  • In the 2012-13 school year – before Portland districts began receiving arts tax funds – City of Portland elementary schools had 31 arts teachers. By 2015-16, the total number of K-5 arts teachers has increased to 91.
  • Ballot Measure 26-146 ensures one arts teacher for every 500 students. As of 2015-16, districts have beat that promise, providing one arts teacher for every 398 students across the City.
  • Portland Public Schools has more than quadrupled its number of elementary arts teachers, jumping from 15 teachers in 2012-13 to 64 in 2015-16.

A total of $6,820,136 in arts tax funding went to Portland elementary schools in 2015-16. Broken down by district, total allocations are:

$4,558,212 – Portland Public Schools
$956,169 – David Douglas School District
$541,171 – Centennial School District
$393,788 – Reynolds School District
$324,847 – Parkrose School District
$45,950 – Riverdale School District

In addition to the arts tax dollars funneled to school districts for teacher salaries, $139,000 of the fund goes to RACC for arts education coordination expenses. RACC now offers professional development workshops for music and arts teachers hired through the arts tax, at no cost to districts. This training helps arts teachers connect their work to Common Core State Standards, and collaborate with colleagues in their buildings. RACC is also building new ways to connect the cultural resources of Portland to local schools.

The remaining dollars raised through the tax funds much-needed general operating expenses for local arts organizations, and projects that increase access to the arts for underrepresented communities. As tax collections increase, RACC will allocate additional funds to these causes.

The arts tax is due Monday, April 18 for City of Portland income earners at bit.ly/pdxlovesart. Read more about the arts tax at http://bit.ly/ArtsTaxFAQ.

Stories about the impact of arts tax-funded teachers can be found online throughout the month of April at #pdxlovesart.

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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, a workplace giving program; 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.