RACC Blog

RACC celebrates National Arts in Education Week

Posted on September 12, 2016 at 12:33 pm.

Written by RACC IT

PORTLAND, ORE —The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) joins colleagues across the country to celebrate National Arts in Education Week, September 11-17, 2016. Throughout the week, RACC and The Right Brain Initiative will share stories on social media about how arts education has impacted our community, including perspectives from staff, as well as the students and educators we serve. To read these stories, follow: RACC Facebook, RACC Twitter, Right Brain Facebook, Right Brain Twitter, Right Brain Instagram.

As part of the celebration, The Right Brain Initiative has released its 2016 Progress Report detailing its unique arts education program and services in the 2015-16 school year.

In its seventh year, Right Brain served 25,641 K-8 students in the tri-county area, 51% of whom qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. Through hands-on workshops and coaching, Right Brain helped over 1,932 educators weave the arts into their daily teaching practice. Right Brain provided over 1,485 classroom teacher and artist collaborations, providing students with the opportunity to learn the arts as well as learn through the arts.

Right Brain also continues to receive local and national attention. In October of 2015, Right Brain was awarded the Game-Changing Project award at Portland Monthly’s prestigious Light a Fire Awards, recognizing some of the most dynamic nonprofits in the city. In January of 2016, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts Jane Chu and Oregon Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici visited Right Brain programming in action in the Hillsboro School District. Read more by downloading the full report: 2016 Progress Report.

Now in its eighth year, Right Brain is growing to serve 27,500 K-8 students in 67 schools in seven school districts: Corbett, Gresham-Barlow, Hillsboro, North Clackamas, Oregon Trail, Portland Public, and the newest addition, Reynolds. This fall, Right Brain is adding six partner schools between Hillsboro and Boring, including Alder Elementary, Corbett Grade, Kelso Elementary, King K-8, Poynter Middle, and Troutdale Elementary.

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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.

Benz and Chang highlight the Hawthorne Bridge with an installation at the Portland Building, September 19 – October 14

Posted on September 9, 2016 at 10:56 am.

Written by RACC IT

PORTLAND, ORE – Beginning September 19^th the artists known as Benz and Chang will present a site-specific art installation in the Portland Building lobby. The project, titled The Bridge, 1910, is a visual homage to the work crews that built the Hawthorne Bridge, Portland’s oldest existing river crossing.

PDX_BldgBenz-image-2_Sept-Octcropped

Inspired by a historical photo (above) Benz discovered in the City of Portland Archives, the installation recreates a bridge work crew scene through a series of four large paper screens hung in the exhibition space. Each individual screen has been crafted into a hand-cut silhouette which offers a different layer of visual information. When viewed together—looking through all four at once—the silhouettes complete the scene and mythologize our idea of building of a bridge. By adjusting position in front of or alongside the silhouettes, viewers can alter their angle of view and manipulate the degree of abstraction or representation they take in.

“To dream of a bridge may signify making a connection, crossing a transition, or overcoming an obstacle. When we were contemplating the project, I came across this photo from the City of Portland Archives and was struck by the poses and faces. I wanted to bring these figures and bridge building into a more dream-like, archetypal representation. Here are the agents of change and here is their means of transport over this obstacle.” — Benz

Benz and Chang’s “The Bridge” installation at the Portland Building.

About the Artists: Benz and Chang live and work in Portland and have shown in both Oregon and Colorado. Benz has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Benz and Chang use popular subject matter from early 20^th Century photography to explore the topics of spirituality, shifting identity, and transformative experiences. Chang is a fictional creative partner to Benz. You can visit their website at http://www.benzandchang.com

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5^th Avenue in down-town Portland and is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday. The Bridge, 1910 opens September 19 and runs through October 14, 2016.

Meet the Artists: Join us for a chance to meet the artists and discuss the installation in person on Thursday, September 22 at 4 p.m..

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) manages the 13’ x 8’ installation space in the lobby of the Portland Building and presents installation based art there year round. For more information, including images, proposals, and statements for projects dating back to 1994, go to www.racc.org/installationspace.

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Bukola Koiki presents “JJC (Journey Just Come)” in the Portland Building Installation Space, August 15 – September 9

Posted on August 9, 2016 at 1:18 pm.

Written by RACC IT

PORTLAND, ORE – Beginning August 15^th artist Bukola Koiki will present JJC (Journey Just Come) in the Portland Building Installation Space located at 1120 SW 5^th Avenue in downtown Portland. This four week long exhibition, held in lobby of the Portland Building, is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.

JJC (Journey Just Come) was conceived by Koiki to explore the immigrant experience through pidgin—the simplified form of communication that develops between groups of people that do not have a language in common. As a Nigerian-American immigrant, she is particularly interested in using Pidgin English to explore how this shorthand form of communication affects the experience of immigrants living between cultures.

In Nigeria, a country of over 500 languages, basic communication can be truly daunting at times and pidgin is used to navigate everything from markets to parking lots. To help illustrate how pidgin communication functions Koiki has created a set of brightly colored flags with printed Pidgin English sayings (extracted from the local language in Lagos, Nigeria) that will cover the walls of the Installation Space. The title of the work, JJC (Journey Just Come), is slang that refers to naive newcomers or recent arrivals. The artist’s intent is to inspire conversations about what it means to experience a new culture through an unfamiliar language and to illustrate how the process of making linguistic transitions can both build, and block, mutual understanding.

“The overall effect of this installation will be a kind of magnetic disorientation as one might feel with the visual stimulation of a new city, something that immigrants like myself can definitely understand. As a way of engaging the audience I will be creating a game card that will list translations of the unfamiliar phrases and invite the viewer to match them to the right flag. Visitors can also leave me pidgin phrases and translations of their own.”

—Bukola Koiki

About the Artist: Bukola Koiki was born in Lagos, Nigeria and now lives and works in Portland. She came to study art in the United States as a teen through a series of events involving a secondary school classmate and the American Visa Lottery Program. Koiki received her MFA in Applied Craft + Design from Oregon College of Art and Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art in May of 2015. Her multimedia work explores cultural hybridity and dislocation through the lens of memory, language, and ritual. She has exhibited her work in Oregon, New Jersey, and Tennessee and recently completed artist residencies at c3:initaive + Pulp & Deckle and Rainmaker Artist Residency in Portland.

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5^th Avenue in down-town Portland and is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Friday. JJC (Journey Just Come) opens August 15 and runs through September 9, 2016. www.bukolakoiki.com

Meet the Artist: Join us for a chance to meet the artist and discuss her installation on Thursday, August 25^th at 4 p.m. in the Portland Building.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) manages a 13’ x 8’ installation space in the lobby of the Portland Building. For more information, including images, proposals, and statements for all projects dating back to 1994, go to www.racc.org/installationspace.

Oregon Public Broadcast Think Outloud podcast (8/24/16)

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RACC announces final round of General Operating Support grants

Posted on June 28, 2016 at 9:23 am.

Written by RACC IT

PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council has awarded its final round of General Operating Support grants for the fiscal year ending June 30. RACC distributes these funds three times per year, after organizations submit comprehensive annual reports to RACC.

To qualify for General Operating Support, nonprofit arts organizations must demonstrate artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility, have an annual budget of at least $75,000, and be based in Clackamas, Multnomah or Washington Counties. Additional eligibility criteria are described at https://racc.org/grants/general-operating-support-grants.

A total of $2,933,855 has been distributed this fiscal year as unrestricted support to 48 different arts organizations, including 22 organizations receiving $546,046 this cycle. The arts organizations receiving general operating support in 2015-16 are:

Artist Repertory Theatre, $81,785

Bag & Baggage Productions, $10,000

Blue Sky Gallery, $12,367

*Bodyvox, $33,247

Broadway Rose Theatre Company, $23,000

Cappella Romana, Inc., $14,558

*Chamber Music Northwest, $46,619

*Children’s Healing Art Project, $14,135

*Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, $14,615

*Echo Theater Company, $16,148

*Ethos Music Center, $31,101

Friends of Chamber Music, $19,996

*Hand2Mouth, $8,000

Hollywood Theatre, $45,056

*Imago Theatre, $16,305

*Independent Publishing Resource Center, $11,118

Lakewood Center for the Arts, $21,000

Literary Arts, Inc., $52,929

*Live Wire! Radio, $16,033

Metropolitan Youth Symphony, $20,762

Miracle Theatre Group, $22,125

Northwest Children’s Theatre, $61,495

Northwest Dance Project, $40,216

*NW Documentary Arts & Media, $8,000

Oregon Ballet Theatre, $163,663

*Oregon Children’s Theatre, $83,292

Oregon Symphony Association, $502,394

*PDX Jazz, $18,093

Pendulum Aerial Arts, $8,256

PHAME, $14,383

Playwrite, Inc., $10,581

Portland Art Museum/Northwest Film Center, $608,805

Portland Baroque Orchestra, $30,237

Portland Center Stage, $281,149

*Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, $13,857

*Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, $15,460

*Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, $49,320

Portland Opera, $267,092

*Portland Piano International, $20,065

Portland Youth Philharmonic, $25,030

*Profile Theatre Project, $18,041

The Portland Ballet, $25,376

The Third Angle New Music, $8,000

*Third Rail Repertory Theatre, $30,684

*triangle productions, $13,654

White Bird, $49,585

*Write Around Portland, $14,074

*Young Audiences of Oregon, $54,185

(*) denotes organizations awarded RACC support on June 22. All other organizations received their grant awards earlier this year.

RACC General Operating Support Grants are funded by the City of Portland general fund ($1,054,869) and Arts Education & Access Fund (or “arts tax”) ($1,828,686), plus Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties ($104,300 combined). In addition, RACC will allocate proceeds from its 2015-16 Work for Art campaign to these General Operating Support organizations in the fall.

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Yelena Roslaya brings “Visual Sound” to the Portland Building, July 5 – August 5

Posted on June 27, 2016 at 9:09 am.

Written by RACC IT

PORTLAND, ORE – Multimedia artist Yelena Roslaya works to represent sound visually. “The idea of visually displaying sound is inspired by my experience with hearing-motion synesthesia, which occurs when one sense triggers another…personally it happens whenever I see implied motion or energy. I want to share this experience with viewers through my installation at the Portland Building and hear their response.”

Roslaya’s first step in this process was the recording of everyday sounds that occur in the Portland Building—people opening doors, conversing with each other, or simply walking down a hallway. Using FL Studio software, those recordings were then translated into graphic wave images which will be displayed in front of a set of three-dimensional forms, or “sound wave sculptures,” inspired by the wave shapes. These large scale ceramic sculptures draw on the Udu drum forms Roslaya has explored in previous work. Even the colors of the glazes on the sculptures will be determined by the corresponding sound’s “color noise” spectrum—violet noise, white noise, red noise, etc. To complete the full experience for the visitor, each of the sculptures will also include a mp3 device that will playback its original source material.

About the artist: Yelena Roslaya is a graduate student at Oregon College of Arts Craft in Portland where she is the Studio Assistant for both the Ceramics and Drawing/Painting Departments. Her work is inspired by the way humans perceive and process sound. Roslaya lives in Battle Ground, Washington, and has shown at multiple venues in both Oregon and Washington.

About the Installation Space: Each year the Portland Building Installation Space series reserves several exhibition opportunities for students engaged in creative study at the university level. The format and presentation requirements for the “student” installations are identical to those for established professional artists. The Regional Arts & Culture Council created this separate eligibility category to help introduce emerging talents to the world of public art.

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5^th Avenue in downtown Portland and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. Visual Sound opens July 5 and runs through August 5, 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.

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Regional Arts & Culture Council elects new board members and officers

Posted on June 23, 2016 at 9:42 am.

Written by RACC IT

PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) board of directors has elected Mike Golub board chair for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016. Mike is the President of Business for the Portland Timbers and has more than 25 years of experience in professional sports marketing and management, including leadership positions with Nike, the Portland Trail Blazers, New York Rangers and the National Basketball Association. For the past two years Mike has co-chaired RACC’s annual Work for Art campaign. He also serves on the board of the Portland Business Alliance, Children’s Cancer Association, Oregon Sports Authority and the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Phillip T. Hillaire has been re-elected vice chair. Hillaire is a member of the Lummi Tribe. He is involved in protecting tribal sovereignty, cultures, arts and traditions. He has coordinated fundraising events for Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, and planned conferences and handled communications for the Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians.

Eileen L. Day has been re-elected treasurer. She became a CPA in 1997, and has experience in financial reporting, development and analyses of key performance indicators for finance and operations, budgeting and forecasting. In 2003 she joined Portland Center Stage as the Finance Director. In 2005, she joined Holmes & Company and has been the audit partner since 2007.

Steve Rosenbaum has been elected secretary. Steve is an independent marketing consultant and the founder of Pop Art, a digital marketing agency. He believes that arts education is critical to the innovation economy, and has served on the boards of City Club of Portland, the Software Association of Oregon, Tech America Oregon, Chess for Success and the Oregon Bus Project.

Other continuing RACC Board members include Nik Blosser, Verlea G. Briggs, Katy A. Brooks, Robert Bucker, Raymond C. Cheung, CPA, Representative Lew Frederick, Debbie Glaze, Osvaldo ‘Ozzie’ Gonzalez, Angela Hult, Dana Ingram, Susheela Jayapal, David R. Lofland, Jr., Linda McGeady, Brenda L. Meltebeke, Joanna Priestley and Shyla M. Spicer.

In addition, four new members have been elected to the RACC board:

Parker Lee is president of the design consultancy Compass52, and co-author of The Art of Opportunity. He is a veteran of the technology, entertainment and sports marketing industries. Most recently, Lee was president and executive vice president of business development at XPLANE. He also co-chairs RACC’s Business Committee for the Arts.
Anita Menon is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Anjali School of Dance. She is recognized as one of the leading exponents of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form originating in Southern India. Anita has directed theatrical productions here in Oregon that are Indian adaptations of Classical Western plays by Shakespeare and Agatha Christie.
Mitchell Nieman is the Assistant to the City Manager in Milwaukie, Oregon. He liaises the city’s arts committee and manages public affairs, communications, and neighborhood services departments. He has experience managing public and private capital and redevelopment projects and bringing together diverse groups of stakeholders and underrepresented community members.
Anita Yap is the founding partner of the MultiCultural Collaborative, a partnership of professionals of color providing consulting services for equity, inclusion and diversity services for non-profits and governments. Her team focuses on authentic community engagement with culturally specific communities, urban design, equity policy, facilitation, strategic planning and organizational development.

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

Eric Hormel and Joe Krumm rotate off the RACC Board on June 30, 2016. RACC greatly appreciates their long and committed service to the organization and the local arts community.

New RACC board members (from left) Parker Lee, Anita Menon, and Anita Yap.

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RACC seeks submissions for the “Visual Chronicle of Portland”

Posted on June 15, 2016 at 9:23 am.

Written by RACC IT

PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is seeking works on paper—prints, drawings, paintings on paper and photographs—to purchase for the Visual Chronicle of Portland collection. Deadline for submissions is Monday, July 25, 2016.

The Visual Chronicle of Portland is a city-owned collection of original works on paper that portray artists’ perceptions of what makes Portland, Oregon, unique. Since its inception in 1985, the Chronicle has grown to 330 works by nearly 200 different artists. Works are displayed in publicly accessible spaces in City of Portland and Multnomah County buildings.

The Chronicle reflects a diversity of populations, artistic disciplines and points of view. The collection can be viewed as a timepiece that provides a visual narrative of greater Portland, and is meant to reveal our city’s distinctive and diverse personality as seen and interpreted by artists who are intimately familiar with the region. The Visual Chronicle represents a living archive, and RACC is committed to engaging and expanding the communities of artists and the range of artistic and cultural expression that it represents.

For more information and to view images and details of the entire collection, visit http://bit.ly/visualchronicle

This year’s purchase decisions will be based on how well the work matches the purpose and spirit of the Visual Chronicle—conveying perceptions of what makes Portland unique. We encourage work that documents, describes, or evokes areas, communities, and issues that are under-represented in the Chronicle. The bridges, the Rose Parade, Washington Park and other Portland icons that come immediately to mind are all well represented, but the collection has fewer works that portray people and places that exist beyond the central city areas. While no absolute boundaries or subjects are mandated or excluded, we hope to add range to the Chronicle and better represent vital neighborhoods, communities, and artists that contribute to an equitable view of Portland.

An independent volunteer panel of artists, curators and historians will select artwork for purchase in a two-part process. First, the panel will review digital images that are submitted. Artists whose works are selected for further consideration will be asked to deliver the actual artwork to RACC for a first-hand review and final selection. The panel reserves the right to purchase work from artists who do not submit work, and is not obligated to spend the entire 2016-2017 budget of $20,000.

Works on paper—prints, drawings, paintings on paper and photographs—from professional artists familiar with Portland are eligible. For more information about guidelines, visit the RACC website at https://racc.org/resources/listings/racc-opportunity-call-for-artists-the-visual-chronicle-of-portland/, or contact program manager Kristin Calhoun at kcalhoun@racc.org or 503-823-5401.

For artists who are new to the submission process, unfamiliar with preparing digital images, or would like to get additional background on the Chronicle, RACC is hosting two free information sessions: Tuesday, June 21 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. at RACC (411 NW Park Avenue, Suite 101) and Thursday, June 23 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at East Portland Neighborhood Office (1017 NE 117th Ave, Portland, OR 97220). Contact Salvador Mayoral at smayoral@racc.org to reserve a spot.

RACC is also hosting a free reception following the June 21st info session to highlight purchases made for the Visual Chronicle last year. Work by Avantika Bawa, Calvin Ross Carl, Garrick Imatani and Ralph Pugay will be on display, and Avantika Bawa and Ralph Pugay will be on hand to discuss their work. The event is free and open to the public, Thursday, June 21 at 6:45 p.m. at RACC.

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Ralph Pugay, Lonely Traveler, 2015, acrylic on yupo

Susana Santos, City Dwellers, 1993, watercolor & gouache

“Industry of Aloha,” an art installation by Kanani Miyamoto opens at the Portland Building, June 1 – June 24

Posted on June 3, 2016 at 9:57 am.

Written by RACC IT

PORTLAND, ORE — Employing a unique color palette that ranges from vivid and natural to strange and artiﬁcial, artist Kanani Miyamoto has covered the Portland Building Installation Space with images of tropical Hawaiian flora. (Miyamoto paints and creates block prints on paper and then attaches the paper in sheets to the surface of the wall.) But what appears familiar and known at first glance transitions into something more uncertain upon closer inspection…something compromised. According to the State of Hawai`i 6,414,197 tourists visited the islands this last year. Hawai`i is a valuable commodity. Unfortunately, the tourist industry has altered and negatively impacted traditional Hawaiian culture and the environment. While many generations of Hawaiians have depended on tourism for economic stability, are they working seven days a week, eight hours a day selling a false Hawai`i?

About the artist: Kanani Miyamoto was born and raised in Hawai`i and now lives in Portland, Oregon. She is a recent graduate of Pacific Northwest College of Art’s MFA program in print media and has shown her work in Oregon, Idaho and Hawai`i. “I have lived in Portland for five years and visit Hawai`i as often as I can. Returning to the islands as a visitor has really opened my eyes to the tourist industry.”

Meet the artist and make a lei: Join us for an “Aloha Friday” on June 24^th at 3:30 pm at the Portland Building. Hele Mai, come meet the artist and talk story as you make a lei!

Viewing Hours & Location: The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5^th Avenue in downtown Portland and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday. Industry of Aloha is open now and runs through Friday, June 24^th.

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.