RACC Blog

Jenna Reineking’s “Temporal Ecologies,” March 21 – April 15, heads up a new season of installations at the Portland Building

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PORTLAND, ORE – Artist Jenna Reineking’s upcoming installation in the lobby of the Portland Building, Temporal Ecologies, is designed to transform the architecture of the exhibition space into an activated environment; her choice of materials to accomplish this—the humble brown paper lunch bag: “I recently have become interested in creating systems using forms repeated in incremental units that can range from finite to infinite based on the constraints of the space.”

The choice to use inexpensive, readily accessible materials allows the artist to create environments that ask the viewer to revalue the mundane. Reineking’s process includes carefully manipulating or “sculpting” each bag and adhering them one by one to fit and transform the geometry of the Installation Space. She expects to use over 300 individual bags, “They will grow from the corners and utilize the walls, ceiling, and floor…and will be recycled upon completion of the exhibition.” In the process the artist hopes to transcend the “thing-ness” of these simple, overlooked manufactured goods and create a new set of biomorphic forms—design elements that are reminiscent of nature and living organisms but do not aim to directly reproduce them.

The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. Temporal Ecologies opens March 21st and runs through April 15th.


A New Season at the Installation Space:  Jenna Reineking’s installation kicks off a new season of exhibitions at the Portland Building. Over the course of the next year, nine artists will present installation based and experimental media installations in the small gallery space adjacent to the building’s lobby. Each four week long installation has been chosen by the program selection panel to present challenging and diverse work that encourages visitors to reexamine their expectations of what art is and can be.

New Season Schedule and Project Descriptions:

Jenna Reineking  March 21 – April 15, 2016

Temporal Ecologies – Description above

Larry Yes  April 25 – May 20, 2016

Radical Positivity – Picked for its punch of color and upbeat message, the selection panel said “yes” to Larry, an artist who’s work focuses on love and human connection and can be described as a meditation on color and joy. The installation will cover the walls of the space from floor to ceiling with positive words and symbols rendered in every color of the rainbow.

Hannah Hertrich  May 31 – June 24, 2016

Delicate Home – Many of us think of home as our foundation, an extension of self that is a base of stability, but is that perception based on reality? Hertrich’s Delicate Home explores the “fragility of self” by focusing on our notion of home. The installation stages a series of model houses constructed out of mirrors perilously set below gathering clouds of stone.

Yalena Roslaya  July 5 – August 5, 2016

Visual Sound – Roslaya will record sounds that occur within the Portland Building and translate them into sound waves sketched visually on the wall and rendered aurally via ceramic sound wave sculptures. Five of these sculptures will fill the space, each with a mp3 driver enclosed in the heart of the vessel. “The idea of visually displaying sound is inspired by my experience with hearing-motion synesthesia…I would like to share this experience with viewers through my installation and hear their response.”

Bukola Koiki  August 15 – September 9, 2016

JJC (Journey Just Come) – Koiki highlights the challenges immigrants face by spotlighting the linguistic slang and vernacular that people often need to learn and employ when navigating the spaces between and within disparate cultures. “As a Nigerian-American immigrant myself, I am particularly interested in pidgin, which is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups that do not have a language in common…In Nigeria, a country of over 500 known languages, communication can be truly daunting at times.” To explore this idea of communication and miscommunication, the artist will fill the Installation Space with a profusion of brightly colored flags that showcase Pidgin English sayings extracted from the local language in Lagos, Nigeria.

Benz and Chang  September 19 – October 14, 2016

The Bridge, 1910 – Based on an archival photo of the Hawthorne Bridge under construction, Benz and Change offer a thoughtful and dynamic homage to the crews that built Portland’s oldest existing Willamette River crossing. The Bridge, a set of four, 8 foot by 6 foot, hand cut silhouettes crafted in wood, will extend from the back wall of the exhibition space to render a life-sized composite image of the historic photo.

Alex Luboff  November 14 – December 9, 2016

Pipeline Obstruction Pathway – Takes the form of large (one foot diameter), hand-build pipelines installed to purposefully obstruct and obscure entry into the exhibition space—a project that will get viewers thinking about all the energy infrastructure in our lives. Are the pipes, deftly assembled from plywood, a network of interlaced craft objects? Or are they elements of a dystopian “extractive energy landscape” we may be headed for?

Emily Myers  January 17 – February 10, 2017

Mechanical Rituals – A comment on just how industrial our food production cycle has become. Myers will install a set of computer controlled mutoscopes—mechanized flipbooks mounted on rotating cylinders—on a prominently positioned dining room table. The mutoscopes, which show scenes of the food we eat as it travels from farm to table, are animated automatically as viewers approach. “My proposal for Mechanical Rituals brings the process of industrialized agriculture, which is so far removed from society’s consciousness, into the modern dining room.”

Stephanie Simek  February 21 – March 17, 2017

Following on her work with optical illusions, holograms and science themes, Simek will create a custom built “table of holograms.” Optics hidden within her table will reflect images of common minerals upwards and cause them to appear to hover above the table surface. Simek sees her structure as a vitrine or a container for a kind of t​able of elements. ​“The choice of content is based on my previous work and interest in basic, elemental materials and their inherent potential. This often includes unusual and interesting physical properties like magnetic, electrical, and optical capabilities.  For example, I have built sculptural objects that are also simple radios, an invisibility cloak, a compass, and a levitating sculpture, all reliant on the special properties of familiar minerals.”

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

A preliminary mock-up of Emily Myers’ Mechanical Rituals. This installation, along with eight others, is part of the new season of exhibitions at the Portland Building.

A preliminary mock-up of Emily Myers’ Mechanical Rituals. This installation, along with eight others, is part of the new season of exhibitions at the Portland Building.

For more information on the Portland Building Installation Space, including images, proposals, and statements for all projects dating back to 1994, go to http://racc.org/installationspace.

RACC Focus Groups

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RACC is seeking participants for three focus groups conducted this spring in partnership with Resolutions NW. The goal is to help RACC learn how we can be as approachable and welcoming as possible.

Two of the groups will be made up of past applicants, from underrepresented populations* and communities of color. RACC is specifically interested in hearing from applicants that have applied for opportunities through RACC’s Grants, Public Art and Right Brain Initiative programs and have not received the opportunity they sought.

The third group will be comprised of community members from organizations working with immigrants, refugees and English language learners that have had little to no interaction with RACC’s services.

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please respond to Tonisha Toler at ttoler@racc.org or 503-823-5866.

*Underrepresented communities include LGBTQ, persons with disabilities and residents of East Portland and East County.

 

RACC launches new website

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has launched a new website at www.racc.org.  With an average of 452 unique visits per day, RACC’s website has been redesigned and reprogrammed to help constituents access RACC’s abundant resources more easily. The new website is also fully responsive for tablets and mobile devices, which now account for 30% of all visits.

Among the services available on racc.org:

  • Artists can apply for RACC grants, discover public art opportunities, find workshops and networking events, and tap into a wide variety of other online resources.
  • Arts organizations can learn more about RACC funding opportunities, find technical assistance programs and download research to help them be strong advocates.
  • Arts educators can learn more about The Right Brain Initiative and other opportunities for teaching artists in our community.
  • The public at large can browse the public art collection, find arts-related jobs, connect with organizations who offer $5 tickets through the Arts for All program, and learn more about how the Arts Education & Access fund, or arts tax, is making a difference in our community.

RACC’s online resource database is one of the most comprehensive in the region, and web visitors can now search and sort a myriad of opportunities including calls for artists, residency opportunities, arts-related jobs, live-work space, workshops, lectures and more. The new racc.org allows community members to submit additional opportunities online for RACC to share with its constituents.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council 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.

A GREAT DAY

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Eloise’s Blog:

Wednesday, February 24th began early for me, but what a great day it turned out to be! We started at 7:30 a.m. with The Arts Breakfast of Champions – the first for RACC after “adopting” the event when NWBCA closed late last summer. Our goal was to make the breakfast feel familiar for long time fans of which there are hundreds and yet to give it our own flavor. We wanted to celebrate not only the generosity of businesses who support the arts but also the vital role arts and artists play in making Portland a wonderful place to do business, visit, give voice to our diversity, educate our young people and live in a thriving creative environment.

At the risk of sounding like an Oscar winner by thanking the entire world, I will extend a broad and profound thank you to everyone who supported the event with planning, sponsorships, table hosting, ticket purchases, testimonials, emceeing, brilliant performances, creation of the awards themselves, organizational wizardry, volunteering and anything I missed, which contributed to what appears to have been a well received Breakfast of Champions. There was also a great deal of social media chatter using the hashtag #artcreates, and some great photos from Andie Petkus are available on our Facebook page. Thank you all!

My next stop was the Schntizer concert hall where I joined thousands of Portland school children and their teachers and chaperones for a concert by Black Violin. The entire hall was filled with cheering, clapping, singing, texting, and dancing kids inspired and energized by the music and the magnetism of the performers. Black Violin was founded by two black men who met in a Miami high school where they studied classical violin and viola. After perfecting their classical offerings they transitioned to infusing that music with hip hop rhythms wanting to debunk stereotypes and inspire people – especially young people – to  try whatever they are passionate about and do it in ways all their own. And those kids were definitely into them – loudly and enthusiastically.

Kudos are due to Portland’5 and Robyn Williams who presented the  concert, provided all the buses, paid the bills and made sure that the hall was filled with kids from Title 1 schools. And praise also goes to Carole Smith and all the participating schools who arranged to make this experience happen for so many kids. I expect many will be changed and encouraged and will not forget that magical day in that fancy place and of course the music that made them feel so good.

Candidates Take on Arts and Culture

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Eloise’s Blog:

First of all, thanks to the many hundreds of people who just about filled the Gerding Theater at the Armory for our candidates forum. Your numbers underscored for the candidates on stage how important this topic is for our city. Thanks also to the five candidates who came prepared and spoke with eloquence, passion and ideas about how as elected officials they can work with all of us to continue strengthening this vital sector. And last but certainly not least we thank Portland Center Stage for hosting, OPB for providing the stellar moderator, April Baer and her crew, and City Club for helping to publicize and for adding Civic Drinks to the a post-forum discussion.

You may hear the edited version of the forum on April’s “State of Wonder” on OPB radio.  Meanwhile I will share a few highlights that struck me.

When asked about their vision for the City, both Mayoral candidates, Jules Bailey and Ted Wheeler, characterized themselves as passionate arts supporters and promised to be future champions for the arts.  Both will reinstate arts staffer(s) to the Mayor’s office and collaborate with Commissioners around placement of the arts portfolio. Jules focused on wanting to make the city great for everyone and highlighted the role of the arts as “bedrock of the community” – a fundamental service. Ted cited statistics about arts related jobs, cultural tourism, the huge impact of the city’s modest investment in RACC, and reminded the audience that he was on the Cultural Advocacy Network Steering Committee with Mayor Adams, which ultimately resulted in the passage of the Arts Education and Access Fund. Jules pointed out that he was responsible for almost doubling RACC’s Multnomah County’s allocation this year and pledged to do more. Ted championed his leadership in bumping the Percent for Art set aside to 2% when he chaired that County Board of Commissioners.

And speaking of the Arts Tax, Commissioner Fritz stated how proud she is to have voted with Council to unanimously refer the tax to the voters and how important the new art and music shopantibioticsonline teachers are to Portland schools. And, while the tax has not resulted in the expected funds to support arts organizations there is  increased support as a result of the measure’s passage. Commissioner Novick and candidate Stuart Emmons agreed with Commissioner Fritz that the regressiveness of the tax and its collections’ cost and process could use improvement, but no one on stage suggested taking the measure back to the voters nor did they offer concrete solutions about how to improve it. Jules Bailey did suggest that the City should take responsibility to “back fill” the financial short-comings.

Photo: John Strieder/OPB

Photo: John Strieder/OPB

There was universal concern about  critical problems facing the city — homelessness, affordable housing, aging infrastructure, the potential loss of artists, arts venues and Portland’s creative edge. Stuart vowed to bring connectivity and creativity back into City Hall. Amanda commented on the need for repairing broken services and noted that she passed a measure requiring half of surplus funds be spent on these basic services. Steve admitted that sometimes Council makes funding decisions without as much discussion as might be warranted, such as for the indoor track and field finalists events. Jules is very committed to connecting arts and social services and vowed to work with RACC to ensure that funds are spent in that direction benefitting people who need safety nets. Ted echoed this need for accountability for all public funds. He also believes the city can work with the state on new solutions to affordable housing issues.

There was so much more.  I urge you to listen to OPB. Also, RACC will soon send a survey to all candidates asking for their thoughts on these and other important issues to the arts community. Since we were unable yesterday to accommodate the many people who have generously stepped up to run, some of whom are arts supporters and/or practitioners, we hope that all will participate in the survey  and that you will follow their responses on RACC’s website. The season appears to be well under way.

-Eloise Damrosch

RACC extends the John C. Hampton Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts to The Standard’s Greg Ness

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PORTLAND, ORE — On February 24th the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) will host the annual Arts Breakfast of Champions where it will award The Standard’s Greg Ness with The John C. Hampton Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts. The award has only been given out three times and will be presented to Ness by Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish.

Ness is the Chairman, President and CEO of The Standard, where he started in 1979. He is a strong advocate for The Standard’s giving in the arts sector. He has personally given 16 years of service to Portland Center Stage, six of which he served as Board Chair. Ness has also chaired the Armory Theater Fund Board and was instrumental in securing funds for the acquisition, development and maintenance of the Bob and Diana Gerding Theatre.

Under Ness’ leadership, The Standard consistently ranks in the top five for arts giving, and each year runs an unsurpassed employee giving campaign during which the company matches employee giving dollar-for-dollar. In 2015 alone, The Standard’s employee campaign raised more than $2.2 million for the arts, schools and other nonprofits. They are leaders in the Work for Art program, and Ness’ personal commitment to supporting art is clearly infused throughout his company.

Ness believes that arts and cultural organizations play a major role in vibrant communities and that they have the potential to change the way we look at things. The Hampton Award honors and celebrates his commitment to supporting the arts in the Portland metropolitan region.

John C. Hampton was head of Oregon’s largest lumber manufacturer, Hampton Affiliates. In the early 1980s he took the idea to provide long-term funding for three of Portland’s major arts institutions—Portland Opera, Portland Art Museum and Oregon Symphony—and helped establish permanent, restricted endowments for each.

Hampton has said to business leaders, “The arts are not a frill. The arts are not a luxury. The arts are vital to our existence. Without art, without literature, without theatre, without music, without culture, we are a barren society that will atrophy and die. The arts are essential components of the fabric of our society. The arts stimulate the part of our being that is central to progress. The arts are not peripheral to our existence. They are fundamental to our core values.”

The award is for a business leader who not only gives, but inspires others to give; shares his passion for the arts; encourages his employees to participate in the arts and has chaired arts boards or major fundraising campaigns.

The Arts Breakfast of Champions was started in 1995 by Northwest Business for Culture and the Arts as an annual celebration of corporate philanthropy. As NWBCA closed its doors in the summer of 2015, RACC adopted this important event and established a new Business Committee for the Arts that is continuing this breakfast.

In addition to the John C. Hampton Award, the event will honor Business Champions for the Arts,  Work for Arts Champions, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, a Small Business Champion and an Inspirational Creative Partnership.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council serves artists, arts organizations, schools and residents throughout Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. RACC values a diversity of artistic and cultural experiences and works to build a community in which everyone can participate in culture, creativity and the arts.

Event details:

Wednesday, February 24, 2016
8AM event, with pre-event coffee and networking starting at 7:30AM

Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave.
Portland, OR 97205

Tickets are $125 at www.regonline.com/2016ABOC.  

Issued by RACC on 2/17/16

Battle of the Bands scheduled for May 12 at the Crystal Ballroom

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PORTLAND, ORE — Tickets are now on sale for Work for Art’s first annual Battle of the Bands competition, a celebration of employee creativity at the Crystal Ballroom on May 12, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. All proceeds benefit Work for Art, a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Eight company bands (employees who play music on the side) will perform in front of friends, family, co-workers and a panel of celebrity judges as they vie for the title of Best Company Band. Several other prizes will be awarded as well, including Audience Favorite.

Each band will have 10 minutes to perform any genre of music they choose, with a five minute break between each band. Six of the eight available spots have been filled; confirmed bands include NW Natural, Portland General Electric, KeyBank, The Standard, Tonkon Torp and ZGF Architects.

Work for Art, celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year, is on a mission to raise $1 Million for local nonprofit arts organizations by June 30th, primarily through workplace giving and other partnerships with local businesses. The 2015-16 campaign co-chairs are Mike Golub, President of Business Operations for the Portland Timbers, and David Lofland, President of KeyBank Oregon and SW Washington. All proceeds from Work for Art and Battle of the Bands will be granted to approximately 100 nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties.

Sponsorship and underwriting support for Battle of the Bands is provided by Alpha Media/KINK 101.9, Burgerville, NW Natural, Portland General Electric, Portland Timbers, KeyBank, Oregon Cultural Trust, The Standard, Willamette Week and ZGF Architects.

Tickets are $10 each, available at The Crystal Ballroom box office at 1332 West Burnside Street in Portland; by phone at 1-855-CAS-TIXX; or online at http://bit.ly/WFABattleOfTheBands. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $100 each, including complimentary food and beverage plus reserved seating. For sponsorship opportunities and other information, contact Jeff Hawthorne at 503-823-5258 or visit http://workforart.org/bob.

LINK: VISIT WEBSITE
Issued by RACC on 2/17/16

“FMRL,” an installation by Tyler Corbett & Erinn Kathryn at the Portland Building, 2/16—3/11

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PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is pleased to present FMRL, a new installation by Tyler Corbett and Erinn Kathryn on exhibit February 16 through March 11, 2016 at the Installation Space in the Portland Building. Viewing hours are Monday – Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, or by special appointment.

FMRL is constructed from thousands of ephemeral bits of refuse collected from the streets of Portland’s inner city. Throughout 2015 the artists systematically scoured the sidewalks, bridges and gutters of the downtown and eastside industrial neighborhoods gathering tiny pieces of plastic, paper and metal. The amorphous, fractured fragments are arranged across the walls, floor and ceiling of the Installation Space to form a radiating network of colorful pathways and meandering trails. With careful study individual objects emerge from the sea of trash. The once unrecognizable forms become familiar, yielding an intimate examination of the ubiquitous products and materials that are consumed and discarded in our town.

About the Artists: Interdisciplinary artists Tyler Corbett and Erinn Kathryn are a collaborative team working in Portland, Oregon. Through painting, sculpture, installation, photography and video, they address geography, space and scale. They spend extensive time studying topographical maps, aerial photography and satellite data, and traversing landscapes that are eventually interpreted in their work. Corbett and Kathryn were 2014 RACC Project Grant recipients and as collaborators have had featured exhibitions at the Multnomah Arts Center and Lightbox Kulturhaus in Portland, Lovell Showroom in Astoria, Oregon, and at the Alaska House Gallery in Fairbanks, Alaska. They have participated in group exhibitions at the Peoples Art of Portland Gallery and at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Their work based on Denali National Park has become part of the permanent collection of the Museum of the North in Fairbanks. For more information please visit http://tylercorbett.com and  http://www.erinnkathryn.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. FMRL runs from February 16 through March 11, 2016.

For more information on the Portland Building Installation Space, including images, proposals, and statements for all projects dating back to 1994, go to  http://racc.org/installationspace.

Issued by RACC on 2/2/16