RACC Blog

Arts champions to be honored on February 24

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PORTLAND, ORE — The 2016 Arts Breakfast of Champions is coming up fast! More than 400 community leaders will celebrate some of the region’s most powerful partnerships between arts and business on Wednesday, February 24 from 7:30-9:00 a.m. at the Portland Art Museum. Tickets are on sale now at http://bit.ly/1RUiQUV.

The Arts Breakfast of Champions was established in 1995 by Northwest Business for Culture and the Arts (NWBCA) as an annual celebration of corporate philanthropy. RACC has established a new Business Committee for the Arts (BCA) that is continuing the breakfast event to recognize top corporate donors to the arts, and to provide motivating examples of how businesses are using the arts to inspire employees, stimulate innovation and foster creative collaboration.

This year’s honorees include:

  • Top corporate donors to the arts, including Portland General Electric, US Bank, Umpqua Bank, Wells Fargo, Vulcan Inc., The Standard, The Boeing Company and KeyBank.
     
  • The John C. Hampton Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts: Greg Ness, CEO, The Standard
     
  • Inspirational creative partnership: Umpqua Bank and Portland Center Stage
     
  • Small business champion: Bill Dickey, Owner, Morel Ink
     
  • Work for Art champions: Portland General Electric, Burgerville and the Oregon Cultural Trust

In addition, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici from Oregon’s 1st Congressional District will receive special recognition for her work on arts education. As part of congressional committee to reform public education in late 2015, Representative Bonamici won unanimous approval for her amendment to integrate the arts into science, technology, engineering and math education. Her “STEM to STEAM” provision was included in the Every Student Succeeds Act, which President Obama signed into law on December 10, effectively restoring arts education for millions of students and our nation’s future workforce.

The 2016 Arts Breakfast of Champions is presented by The Regional Arts & Culture Council and sponsored byPortland General Electric. Supporting sponsors include Columbia Bank, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, The Standard, US Bank and Vibrant Table.

Tickets for the Arts Breakfast of Champions are $125 each, or $75 for employees of local nonprofit arts organizations. Tables and sponsorships are available at http://bit.ly/1RUiQUV.

LINK: REGISTER
 
Issued by RACC on 2/1/16 
 

RACC celebrates Portland Winter Light Festival on First Thursday with Night Lights: Bodies in Motion, Bodies at Rest

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WHO: Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), Hollywood Theatre, Portland Winter Light Festival

WHAT: Bodies in Motion, Bodies at Rest, part of the Night Lights video projection series

WHEN: Thursday February 4 from 5:00 to 9:00 pm

WHERE: RACC, 411 NW Park Avenue, Portland, OR 97209. Video projected on the North wall, facing NW Glisan Street

Since September of 2015 RACC and Hollywood Theatre have been collaborating on a First Thursday projection series in the Pearl District called Night Lights. February’s projection is a special collaboration with the Portland Winter Light Festival. Portland artist Fernanda D’Agostino has curated seven Oregon video artists to explore “bodies in motion and bodies at rest” from a wide range of sensibilities.

  • Fernanda D’Agostino investigates both the psychology and science of movement.
  • Penda Diakite analyzes the body as a source of cultural identity and expression.
  • Dancer/Artist Kelly Rauer creates a landscape of movement with her own body as the subject.
  • Julie Perini and Stephen Slappe study the strangeness of everyday experience and how the mundane details of life can take on a sense of mystery.
  • Mack McFarland investigates in his videos the visceral aesthetics and engages viewers in an examination of the nature of perception.
  • Ying Tan’s bodies in motion are sometimes bodies of water or the bodies of other creatures and invite reflection and contemplation.

Their large-scale video projections will be displayed on the large outside wall at RACC and can be viewed from the parking lot.

LINK: PORTLAND WINTER LIGHT FESTIVAL
Issued by RACC on 1/26/16

RACC unveils new “Arts Equity” grant opportunity; letters of interest due February 24

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PORTLAND, ORE — With funding from Multnomah County and the City of Portland’s voter-approved Arts Education and Access Fund, the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) will invest a total of $100,000 in nonprofit organizations that are providing arts and culture programs and services for marginalized communities, including geographically underserved neighborhoods; communities of color, immigrants, and refugees; persons with disabilities; LGBTQ  communities; and other under-represented populations.

Nonprofit organizations that are based in Portland and/or Multnomah County are encouraged to submit proposals for artistic programs and projects occurring between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017. To begin the application process, organizations should submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) online at racc.culturegrants.org by February 24 at 5:00 p.m. Applicants whose LOIs best meet the objectives of this grant program will be invited to submit a full application in March.

Grant awards will be announced in May, and will range from $1,000 to $7,000 each. The types of activities that RACC intends to fund include, but are not limited to:

  • Community events that highlight and promote the art and culture of a particular community
  • Events or programs that give underserved artists increased outlets to promote and market their work
  • Programs that provide technical assistance and other learning opportunities for artists in culturally specific communities
  • Arts programming within underrepresented communities

“In terms of audience and impact, these new Arts Equity Grants are similar to the Expanding Cultural Access grants that RACC has funded for the last three years,” said RACC grants officer Helen Daltoso. “After piloting these grants for the last three years, we’ve formalized the program, doubled the budget and improved the online application process,” Daltoso explained. All guidelines and application materials are available online atracc.culturegrants.org.

RACC provides one-on-one assistance to applicants as needed, including feedback on draft applications and letters of interest; contact Quinn MacNichol at 503- 823-2928 or qmacnichol@racc.org for more information.

RACC will also host three free information sessions to help community members learn more about the Arts Equity Grant and how to apply:

  • Thursday, January 28, 3-5pm at RACC’s offices, 411 NW Park Ave, Suite 101, Portland
  • Thursday, February 4, 3-5pm at Gresham City Hall Council Chambers, 1333 Eastman Parkway, Gresham
  • An additional information session in East Portland is being scheduled and information will be posted atracc.culturegrants.org as soon as it is available.

To RSVP for an information session, contact Quinn MacNichol at qmacnichol@racc.org. For more information about the Arts Equity Grant, and a summary of other grant programs and deadlines, visit racc.culturegrants.org.

Key deadline: February 24, 2016 at 5:00 pm – LOI due online at racc.culturegrants.org.

How Arts Equity Grants are funded:

  • $50,000 is funded by Multnomah County, which increased its general fund investment to RACC in FY16 for the purpose of expanding arts access and support for East County and other underserved populations.
  • $50,000 is funded by The Arts Education and Access Fund (AEAF), approved by Portland voters in November, 2012. The AEAF funds at least one art or music teacher in every public elementary school in Portland, and funds RACC to bring arts, culture and creativity to life for every Portland resident. For more information, visit www.racc.org/aeaf.

About RACC: The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) was established in 1995 and is funded by public and private partners to serve artists, arts organizations, schools and residents throughout Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties. RACC provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through workplace giving and other programs; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and integrates the arts into K-8 curriculum through The Right Brain Initiative. Online at www.racc.org.

Guestwork’s “Accounting for Public Interest” unfolds at the Portland Building January 11th – February 6th

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PORTLAND, ORE – Accounting for Public Interest, a playful interactive poll by artists Travis Neel and Erin Charpentier (a.k.a. Guestwork), opens at the Portland Building January 11th. The project examines the relationship between Portland residents and their ideal city and engages visitors in a game of critical thinking that guides participants through a series of exercises that compare and contrast a Portland of the past, present, and future. At designated hours throughout the duration of the exhibition Guestwork will perform as pollsters and conduct their survey in person, but the installation will also include voting booths, ballots, questionnaires and signage to be interacted with when the artists are not present. In the final week of the exhibition, a series of graphics with the results of the survey will be installed.

“The questionnaire will contain a series of predetermined binary questions such as ‘Would you rather have a city of private property or a city of commonwealth?’ and ‘Would you rather have a revolutionary city or a city of consistency?’ After voting, participants will cast their questionnaire into a ballot box. The votes will be counted, compiled and displayed as infographics.” — Guestwork

Using the familiar mechanism of voting Accounting for Public Interest works to thoughtfully and whimsically examine the way Portland functions as a civic body; through the exploration of civic language, affects, and gestures, the game facilitates a critical examination of the relationship of the citizen to private ownership, public authority, and the commons.

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in down-town Portland and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. Accounting for Public Interest runs from January 11th through February 5th, 2016.

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

Tickets on sale now for the 2016 Arts Breakfast of Champions

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ArtsBreakfast_ChorzNoDancer265

PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) will announce and recognize the top corporate donors to the arts in 2015 at the Arts Breakfast of Champions on Wednesday, February 24, 7:30-9:00 a.m. at the Portland Art Museum. Tickets are on sale now.

The Arts Breakfast of Champions was established in 1995 by Northwest Business for Culture and the Arts (NWBCA) as an annual celebration of corporate philanthropy, recognizing more than $100 million in business giving to the arts over the last 20 years. Business for Culture & the Arts ceased operations in the summer of 2015 but RACC is reviving the event in 2016 with help from a new Business Committee for the Arts under the auspices of RACC.

This year’s breakfast will shine a spotlight on powerful partnerships between arts and business in our community, including recognition of the top corporate donors and top Work for Art employee giving campaigns of 2015. RACC will also share stories about how businesses are using the arts to inspire employees, stimulate innovation and foster creative collaboration.

In addition, this year’s event will recognize the work of Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici from Oregon’s 1st Congressional District. Last month, Representative Bonamici’s provision to integrate the arts into STEM education was unanimously approved by a congressional committee to reform education, and signed into law by President Obama on December 10 as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act.  

Tickets for the Arts Breakfast of Champions are $125 each, or $75 for employees of local nonprofit arts organizations. Tables and sponsorships are also available at the registration link below.

Register online.

 
 
 

RACC awards $665,595 for artistic projects in 2016

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $665,595 in project grants for calendar year 2016, including 54 grants to nonprofit organizations and 77 grants to individual artists in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties.

“Once again, the region’s artists and nonprofit organizations have brought a tremendous variety of interesting projects to our attention,” said executive director Eloise Damrosch. “We received a record number of applications, 359 total, and although we couldn’t invest in them all I am truly excited about the 131 projects that we were able to fund.”

A summary of every funded project can be found at www.racc.org/2016projectgrants. Some examples of projects supported within each discipline include:

  • Dance projects included new solo works and ensemble pieces, performance festivals, and a competitive residency program at New Expressive Works, which will support eight diverse choreographers with space, professional feedback, and a showcase performance.
     
  • Literature projects ranged from the sixth annual arts journal “Leaf Litter” produced by Signal Fire to memoirs, humorous essays, chap books and short fiction. Examples including a new book by Laura Moulton with her collaborator Ben Hodgson about the evolution of a bicycle-powered street library, its patrons who live outside, and the way literature can form a bridge between people from many walks of life, as well as a long-form nonfiction essay by Paul Martone entitled “Denny’s 1996” examining racial discrimination in the 1990s.
     
  • Media Arts covers audio, film and video works, from the avant-garde to documentaries to film festivals. This year, supported projects include a documentary by Lenore Eklund called “Food As Medicine,” a web series by Pamela Chipman looking to engage the person on the street with conversations about art, and Jennifer Lamastra’s stop motion animated short of a sad paper girl who encounters 1000 swirling origami paper cranes.
     
  • Multi-Discipline projects support a wide range of performances and presentations that combine and transcend specific categories. Liminal will present a “film-play hybrid” in real time; Luciana Proaño will produce a dance, poetry, music performance inspired by Peruvian folklore and photography; CymaSpace is producing six artistic showcases that facilitate accessible performing arts for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community; Douglas Detrick is leading creation of a collection of musical-storytelling episodes for his chamber-jazz quintet inspired by Melville’s Moby Dick.
     
  • Music includes a variety of genres from ukulele and tango music to ragas and opera. Okaidja Afroso will work on and release a new album in collaboration with innovative musicians from his native Ghana, and Maria Garcia and her partner Momoko Muramatsu will record and release a new CD as XX Digitus Duo at a two piano/four hand event.
     
  • Theatre projects can be published scripts like “Heathers: the Musical” (Staged! Musical Theatre) or works-in-progress like Dmae Roberts’ new play “The Courtesan.” They reflect local issues such as the city of Vanport (Damaris Webb to produce and direct “Cottonwood in the Flood” by local playwright Rich Rubin) and classic inspirations (Cerimon House to support a re-imagined Shakespeare story in a playwright residency project with Jennifer Le Blanc).
     
  • Visual Arts projects will include documentation of the endangered oral history of Palestinian folk, fabric and fiber arts by Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim, black and white paintings by Ty Ennis that explore the day-to-day life of an artist and father, and an in-depth photography project by Geoffrey Hiller documenting the TriMet #75 bus route from St. Johns to Milwaukie. Japanese Garden Society of Oregon will present an exhibit about Japan’s most influential contemporary architect, Kengo Kuma, and Blackfish Gallery has a month-long exhibit and lecture by Native American artist James Luna coming in 2016.
     
  • Community Participation & Access projects support arts programs and services that involve community participants directly. Sisters of the Road will facilitate a short 10 minute film on homelessness in Portland, Hollywood Senior Center with host a writing and photography project between seniors and youth from Beaumont Middle School, and Congregation Beth Israel is receiving their first RACC grant to support their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day evening Shabbat event. Other examples of community based projects will bring the Artosaur out into the community (Christine Martell), engage youth in the written, spoken and sung word to address social justice and personal transformation (Renee Mitchell), and connect artists and day laborers (Patricia Vazquez Gomez).

This year’s project grants are made possible by both public and private funding sources, including the City of Portland, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County, Metro and the Oregon Arts Commission. RACC’s first annual summer fundraising gala, In the Garden of Artistic Delights, brought in nearly $35,000 to fund some of the project grants for individuals, and RACC’s workplace giving program, Work for Art, contributed $27,000 to fund some of the project grants for organizations.

In addition, an anonymous donor continues to provide special funding for an annual “Innovation Prize” of $2,500. This year’s award for outstanding, innovative, media-oriented project goes to Brenna Murphy for experimenting with virtual reality as an artistic medium and building a series of virtual spaces with digital sculpture installations titled “Realms.”

RACC’s peer review process involved 43 volunteers who served on 12 different panels organized by discipline. They were guided by staff during the months of October, November and December, evaluating proposals based on artistic merit, audience development and financial accountability. Most volunteer panelists (91%) served on a RACC grants panel for the first time. The RACC Board of Directors approved all panel recommendations on December 16.

More detailed summaries of each grant are available atwww.racc.org/2016projectgrants.

RACC project grants for individuals, calendar year 2016

Note: (*) denotes Clackamas County applicants, and (**) denotes Washington County based applicants.  All other applicants are based in Multnomah County. AF = Artistic Focus and CPA = Community Participation & Access.

Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim *

AF

Folk Arts

$2,633

Chata Addy

CPA

Music

$6,188

Frances Payne Adler

AF

Multi-Discipline

$6,071

Okaidja Afroso

AF

Music

$5,250

Devon Allen

AF

Theatre

$4,538

Karl Anderson

AF

Social Practice

$6,318

Scott Ballard

AF

Media Arts

$5,313

Barbara Bernstein

AF

Media Arts

$6,300

Sascha Blocker

AF

Theatre

$3,162

Grace Carter

AF

Theatre

$6,224

Jamuna Chiarini

AF

Dance/Movement

$2,837

Pamela Chipman

AF

Media Arts

$5,209

Scott Conary

AF

Visual Arts

$5,065

Bruce Conkle

AF

Visual Arts

$5,226

Emily Counts

AF

Visual Arts

$3,609

Kerry Davis

AF

Visual Arts

$5,801

Douglas Detrick

AF

Multi-Discipline

$5,211

Catherine Duffly

CPA

Social Practice

$4,384

Lenore Eklund

AF

Media Arts

$5,496

Ty Ennis

AF

Visual Arts

$3,855

Adrienne Flagg

AF

Theatre

$4,845

Adam Friedman

AF

Visual Arts

$5,527

Hilary Galian

CPA

Visual Arts

$4,100

Maria Garcia

AF

Music

$4,672

Damien Gilley

AF

Visual Arts

$5,235

Gia Goodrich

AF

Visual Arts

$5,925

Laura Hadden

CPA

Media Arts

$5,201

Courtenay Hameister

AF

Literature

$5,900

Allie Hankins

AF

Dance/Movement

$5,760

Jen Harrison

AF

Music

$6,636

Megan Haupt

AF

Music

$5,235

Faith Helma

AF

Multi-Discipline

$4,816

Matthew Henderson

AF

Visual Arts

$3,524

William Raul Hernandez Molina

CPA

Visual Arts

$4,917

Geoffrey Hiller

AF

Visual Arts

$5,198

Justin Hocking

AF

Literature

$6,255

Tahni Holt

AF

Dance/Movement

$3,296

Anthony Hudson

AF

Multi-Discipline

$3,341

Chuck Israels

AF

Music

$6,300

Sara Jaffe

AF

Literature

$4,789

Avalon Kalin

AF

Multi-Discipline

$1,525

Jennifer LaMastra

AF

Media Arts

$4,477

Alain LeTourneau

AF

Media Arts

$4,924

Wisteria Fleming Loeffler

CPA

Theatre

$6,300

Elizabeth Malaska

AF

Visual Arts

$4,612

Brenda Mallory

AF

Visual Arts

$6,522

Christine Martell **

CPA

Visual Arts

$6,453

Paul Martone

AF

Literature

$4,763

Kayla Mattes

AF

Visual Arts

$4,763

Renee Mitchell

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$5,214

Ben Moorad

AF

Literature

$5,250

Laura Moulton

AF

Literature

$6,120

Brenna Murphy

AF

Multi-Discipline

$4,875

Brenna Murphy
  •  

Innovation Prize

$2,500

Hunter Noack

AF

Music

$6,605

Chris Parkhurst

AF

Media Arts

$4,500

Jess Perlitz

AF

Multi-Discipline

$2,363

Vu Pham

AF

Media Arts

$5,054

Mo Phillips

AF

Music

$5,734

Ryan Pierce

AF

Visual Arts

$6,837

Luciana Proaño

AF

Multi-Discipline

$5,306

Jennifer Rabin

AF

Literature

$2,348

Sabine Rear

AF

Visual Arts

$1,982

Vanessa Renwick

AF

Media Arts

$5,806

Anne Rioseco Greenwood

AF

Visual Arts

$5,405

Morgan Ritter

AF

Visual Arts

$2,257

Dmae Roberts

AF

Theatre

$5,250

Ken Selden

AF

Music

$4,181

Norman Sylvester

CPA

Music

$4,104

Sharita Towne

AF

Multi-Discipline

$6,120

Philip Van Scotter

AF

Media Arts

$5,600

Sivagami Vanka **

AF

Dance/Movement

$5,239

Patricia Vazquez Gomez

CPA

Social Practice

$5,250

Matthew Vuksinich

AF

Music

$5,250

Samantha Wall

AF

Visual Arts

$6,749

Damaris Webb

AF

Theatre

$6,015

Ryan Woodring

AF

Visual Arts

$5,600

Jingzi Zhao

AF

Visual Arts

$4,418

 

RACC project grants for organizations, calendar year 2016

Note: (*) denotes Clackamas County applicants, and (**) denotes Washington County based applicants.  All other applicants are based in Multnomah County. AF = Artistic Focus and CPA = Community Participation & Access.

Architecture Foundation of Oregon

CPA

Visual Arts

$6,000

Blackfish Gallery

AF

Visual Arts

$6,297

Boom Arts Inc.

AF

Theatre

$5,250

Caldera

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$6,650

Cerimon House

AF

Theatre

$4,015

Cinema Project

AF

Media Arts

$4,608

Conduit Dance Inc.

AF

Dance/Movement

$6,300

Congregation Beth Israel

CPA

Presenting

$3,173

Creative Music Guild

AF

Multi-Discipline

$5,950

CymaSpace

AF

Social Practice

$3,649

Design Week Portland

AF

Presenting

$5,250

Disability Art and Culture Project

CPA

Media Arts

$5,916

en Taiko

CPA

Music

$3,600

Estacada Area Arts Commission *

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$5,055

Estacada Together *

CPA

Music

$4,200

Friends of the Children – Portland

CPA

Visual Arts

$4,492

Hoffman Gallery

AF

Visual Arts

$5,250

Hollywood Senior Center

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$6,108

In Mulieribus

AF

Music

$3,673

India Cultural Association **

CPA

Presenting

$4,131

Japanese Garden Society of Oregon

AF

Visual Arts

$7,000

Kukatonon Children’s African Dance Troupe

CPA

Dance/Movement

$7,000

Latino Network

AF

Multi-Discipline

$6,565

Liminal

AF

Multi-Discipline

$3,040

MediaRites

AF

Media Arts

$7,000

MetroArts Inc

AF

Music

$4,365

Museum of Contemporary Craft

AF

Visual Arts

$5,950

New Expressive Works

AF

Dance/Movement

$7,000

Newspace Center for Photography

AF

Visual Arts

$5,084

Northwest Animation Festival

AF

Presenting

$6,973

Opera Theater Oregon

AF

Multi-Discipline

$5,036

p:ear

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$3,926

Pacific Northwest College of Art

AF

Visual Arts

$5,600

PassinArt: A Theatre Company

AF

Theatre

$5,186

Performance Works NorthWest

AF

Dance/Movement

$5,250

Playwrights West

CPA

Theatre

$5,063

Portland Children’s Museum

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$5,250

Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble

AF

Theatre

$6,289

Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble

AF

Multi-Discipline

$5,894

Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (POWFest)

CPA

Media Arts

$6,300

Portland State University Foundation

CPA

Visual Arts

$4,250

Portland Story Theater, Inc.

CPA

Theatre

$1,959

Portland SummerFest

AF

Music

$5,240

Portland Symphonic Choir

AF

Music

$5,600

QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival

AF

Media Arts

$6,251

RASIKA – India Arts and Culture Council **

AF

Presenting

$6,700

Resonate Choral Arts *

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$3,056

Risk-Reward

AF

Presenting

$5,243

Signal Fire

AF

Literature

$3,131

Sisters Of The Road

CPA

Media Arts

$6,650

Staged! Musical Theatre *

AF

Theatre

$7,000

The Old Church Society Inc.

AF

Presenting

$2,887

The Rosewood Initiative

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$3,857

Washington County Cooperative Library Services **

CPA

Multi-Discipline

$4,000

 

 
 
 

19th annual City of Portland and Multnomah County employee art exhibit, “all the art that fits”

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council will be hosting the 19th annual City of Portland and Multnomah County employee art exhibit, all the art that fits, opening on Thursday, December 3rd. The exhibit takes place in the Portland Building lobby Installation Space and is a yearly favorite for both the artists and regular visitors. All types of 2-dimensional artworks are displayed “salon style” in the show, which is a delightful mix of beauty, whimsy, thoughtfulness, and charm.

RACC invites visitors to vote for their favorite artwork as part of the People’s Choice Award. This year’s winner will receive a gift from the Northwest Film Center for the Portland International Film Festival, generously donated for this event. The exhibition will run through Monday, January 4th, and the People’s Choice Award winner will be announced on January 5th, 2016.

Only original artwork created by current employees of the City or County is eligible to be included. All the artwork submitted will be installed wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. For those eligible and interested in participating, submissions must be dropped off Wednesday, December 2, between 8:00 and 10:00 am, to the Portland Building lobby located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue between SW Main and SW Madison. For further information please see the exhibition guidelines on the RACC website below.

Viewing Hours & Location: The exhibition is free and open to the public 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland. The exhibition will run from December 3, 2015 to January 4, 2016.

The Right Brain Initiative and Work for Art release reports

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PORTLAND, ORE — Two programs of the Regional Arts & Culture Council – The Right Brain Initiative and Work for Art – have published summaries of their accomplishments and finances for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015. 

The Right Brain Initiative’s 2015 Progress Report illustrates RACC’s unique approach to supporting K-8 educators in the Portland tri-county region. Through workshops, coaching, and collaboration with artists, Right Brain helped 1,220 Portland area educators integrate the arts into their teaching during the 2014-15 school year. The report features profiles of teachers who are served by the program, all of whom describe how Right Brain has helped them and their colleagues learn to teach differently.

“Supporting and training teachers helps us catalyze a new relationship between public schools and the arts, making creative thinking a fundamental part of the learning process for all kids,” said Marna Stalcup, director of arts education at RACC. “We haven’t always talked a lot about this aspect of our work, but it’s part of our DNA.”

The Right Brain Initiative benefited 19,324 students last school year, 55% of whom qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. This school year, Right Brain is growing to serve 63 schools in seven Portland area school districts. Read more by downloading the full report.  

The Annual Report for Work for Art provides a summary of RACC’s 9th workplace giving campaign for the arts. A total of $750,350 was raised between July, 2014 and June, 2015, and the report includes the names of all campaign donors – including nearly 2,000 employees at 75 companies in the region. Work for Art donations are matched dollar-for-dollar by a public-private matching challenge fund, and proceeds are distributed to approximately 100 arts organizations every year.

“Over the past nine years, Work for Art has distributed more than $6.2 million in grants and direct gifts to arts and culture organizations based in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties,” said program manager Kathryn Jackson. “Their work plays out every day in theaters, concert halls, galleries, hospitals, libraries, classrooms and community centers throughout the region.”

Earlier this year, Work for Art announced that it has set an ambitious goal to raise $1 million in celebration of its 10th Anniversary Campaign that began in July, 2015 and runs through June 30, 2016. Mike Golub, President of Business Operations at the Portland Timbers, and Dave Lofland, President of KeyBank Oregon and SW Washington, are co-chairing the campaign. To learn more and contribute, visit workforart.org.

In late December, RACC will publish its “Year in Review” for all programs along with audited financial statements for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015.