RACC Blog

Joshua Pew and Molly Eno present “Bored with Power” at the Portland Building, July 20 – August 14

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PORTLAND, ORE – Joshua Pew and Molly Eno believe that the construct of human organization is structured around a rather over-evolved sense of importance and power. As a wry comment on such, they will create a single large sculpture for the exhibition space in the Portland Building lobby—a handmade, life sized, stuffed gorilla-esque figure on an ersatz, but deftly crafted, plywood throne. Bored with Power sums up the feeling the pair have towards governments, corporations, and the general state of the Western world.

“As a team, Molly and I are playing to our strengths—much of her work involves using fiber and making animal forms, while mine is in wood construction. The use of fiber and plywood are intentional as symbols as well, both of which are considered more for utilitarian purposes than aesthetic. We hope that this elevates the feeling of approachability in the piece as well as curiosity and a sense of amusement.” –Joshua Pew

About the Artists:  Molly Eno currently lives and works as a fiber artist in Portland. Her work deals with the psychological through animal totems using soft sculpture. While at Oregon College of Art and Craft (OCAC) Molly provided technical support for both the Fiber Studio and the Ceramics Studio and was awarded the President’s Scholarship and the Jean Vollum Scholarship.

Inspired by the philosophies of William Morris and the work of Joseph Albers, Portland artist/designer Joshua Pew’s work ranges from woodworking to weaving and 2-D design. His process focuses on simplifying forms found in nature to function as analogies for people. In addition to projects like Bored with Power, he has completed multiple commercial furniture commissions as well. Both Joshua and Molly received their BFAs from OCAC this year.

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 5th Avenue in downtown Portland and is open 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Friday.  Bored with Power opens July 20th and runs through August 14th, 2015.

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.
 

Regional Arts & Culture Council elects new board members and officers

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PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) board of directors has re-elected Jan Robertson as the chair of the board for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016. Robertson is the CEO and a partner of Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies, a full-service commercial real estate company, and an advocate for the arts locally and nationally. She has held leadership roles in Young Audiences nationally for more than a decade. She received the Daily Journal of Commerce Newsmaker of the Year Award in 2012, and the Portland Business Journal’s Orchid Award in 2008 for her business and civic contributions.

Phillip T. Hillaire has been 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 elected treasurer. She became a CPA in 1997. 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. Eric R. Hormel has been re-elected secretary. He works in Perkins’ Legacy Planning group, specializing in working with high net worth individuals and their families.

Verlea G. Briggs, Mike Golub and Susheela Jayapal round out the Executive Committee. Other continuing RACC Board members include Nik Blosser, Robert Bucker, Daryl Dixon, Representative Lew Frederick,Debbie Glaze, Angela Hult, Dana Ingram, Joe Krumm, David R. Lofland Jr., Linda McGeady, and Joanna Priestley.

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

  • Katy A. Brooks is the Economic Development Director for the Port of Vancouver USA where she is developing an urban mixed use waterfront directly west of the I-5 Bridge, complete with public and commercial spaces. Katy also co-owns EcoTech LLC, a Portland environmental contracting company.
  • Raymond C. Cheung, CPA is a shareholder with Geffen Mesher, a Portland-based certified public accounting firm.  Raymond serves on the board of a number of organizations, including Sustainable Northwest, Northwest China Council, and the Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association.  In addition, he is a mentor at PSU’s School of Business Administration.
  • Osvaldo ‘ozzie’ Gonzalez works at CH2M Hill, where he is the Global Sustainability Director of for Advanced Facilities, a member of the Sustainability Leadership Board, and the NW regional liaison for the small business partnership program. Ozzie is an advocate for sustainable design and is dedicated to implementing project delivery strategies designed that facilitate the adoption of sustainable design principles. 
  • Brenda L. Meltebeke is a Partner and the Firm Chair of Ater Wynne LLP, a Pacific Northwest law firm that has a history of supporting the arts. Ater Wynne’s art collection, with more than 125 pieces, has been assembled over the past 30 years and reflects the firm’s commitment to the arts community. Ms. Meltebeke has been named an Oregon Super Lawyer and recognized in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in her field in Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Steve Rosenbaum is founder and CEO of Pop Art, a digital marketing agency that believes that better interaction is the key to human progress. He believes that arts education is critical to the innovation economy.  Pop Art has participated in the Work for Art program for 7 years. Steve and his company have donated significant resources to PICA, the Oregon Symphony and numerous Portland cultural organizations.
  • Shyla M. Spicer is the Strategic Planning & Operations Manager for Sustainable Business & Innovation at Nike where she builds organizational structures to take innovations to scale.  She has been at Nike for 11 years and has implemented programs and tools for end user optimization and efficiency within the supply chain. She has a business degree from Portland State University in Supply Chain and Logistics Management and is PMBOK certified in Project Management.

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

Jesse Beason, Jennifer C. Cies, Jay Clemens, Kira Higgs, Max M. Miller, Jr., and Lina Garcia Seaboldrotate off the RACC Board on June 30, 2015. RACC greatly appreciates their long and committed service to the organization and the arts community.

Art Spark networking event scheduled for July 16

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) invites the public to attend its next quarterly Art Spark event on Thursday, July 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Stormbreaker Brewing, 832 North Beech Street in Portland.  Now in its 8th year, Art Spark is a quarterly networking event for artists and arts lovers of all backgrounds.

Each Art Spark is held at a different venue in Portland with affordable, no-host food and beverages available. People come to Art Spark to make important professional connections and to discover what is happening in Portland’s creative community. It’s an opportunity to meet, discuss, blather, applaud and plot the growth of the arts in Portland.  

Each Art Spark is also an opportunity to meet RACC staff and board members, and to learn about opportunities and resources available to local artists and arts organizations. The July Art Spark will focus on RACC’s Public Art Program, which was recently recognized for managing three of the top 31 public art projects in the country last year. Guests will have an opportunity to learn how the region’s public art enlivens urban and rural landscapes and promotes dialogue among people of all ages and backgrounds through murals, sculptures and other public art installations.

Our community partner for the July Art Spark is Know Your City, an organization that connects people through creative placemaking, guided walking tours, community lectures and youth programs.

Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend Art Spark and learn more about the Portland metropolitan region’s arts community. For more information please contact Andre Middleton at amiddleton@racc.org.

Three local public art projects receive national awards

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PORTLAND, ORE — Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education, recently honored 31 of the most outstanding public art projects in the country last year, including three projects from Portland administered by the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC).  The awards were announced in Chicago, Illinois on June 11 and were chosen from more than 300 works completed in 2014.

The honored projects include:

  • This All Happened More or Less by Crystal Schenk and Shelby Davison SE Division Street
  • Westmoreland Nature Play, in which artist  Adam Kuby worked with Greenworks Landscape Architects
  • The Rippling Wall by artist David Franklin at Portland Fire Station 21
    The Rippling Wall

    The Rippling Wall

All 31 public art works that received honors can be seen here. The awards were selected by AFTA’s Public Art Network (PAN) Year in Review program, the only national program that recognizes the nation’s most compelling public art.

Westmoreland Nature Play

Westmoreland Nature Play

“The best of public art can challenge, delight, educate and illuminate. Most of all, public art creates a sense of civic vitality in the cities, towns, and communities we inhabit and visit,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “As these selections illustrate, public art has the power to enhance our lives on a scale that little else can. I congratulate the artists and commissioning groups for these community treasures, and I look forward to honoring more great works in the years to come.”

The Public Art Network (PAN), a program of Americans for the Arts, is designed to provide services to the diverse field of public art and to develop strategies and tools to improve communities through public art. The network’s constituents are public art professionals, visual artists, design professionals, and communities and organizations planning public art projects and programs.

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.

RACC grants $54,118 to 20 nonprofit organizations working with underserved communities

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PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded grants to 20 Portland-based nonprofit organizations with $54,118 in funds from the city’s voter-approved Arts Education and Access Fund (AEAF), or arts tax. These “Expanding Cultural Access” grants are designed to provide arts and culture programs and services for communities of color, immigrants, refugees, underserved neighborhoods such as East Portland, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ communities, and other under-represented populations.

Funded organizations include:

  • Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), $3,750 to cultivate a creative and artistic space for Asian and Pacific Island communities. This Cultural Event series will incorporate a poetry night/performance, an International Night Market, a comedy showcase and a Hip Hop show. (July – October 2015)
  • BCC BrownHall, $5,000 to fund art programming as part of a cross-disciplinary strategic vision for the recovery of Black, African and African American community from the impacts of marginalization, displacement and /or gentrification. The grant will provide materials, resources and support for using art and culture to engage, educate and reflect on issues of equity and sustainability. (Summer, fall and winter 2015)
  • Black United Fund – Vox Siren, $3,000 for a unique storytelling program focused on women of color in Portland’s North/Northeast community: 8-10 young women of color will explore local history and culture of the Alberta District, produce a documentary and organize a historic bike ride. (August 2015)
  • Cascade AIDS Project, $1,000 to present Concientízate, a day long festival to raise awareness of HIV prevention while celebrating Latino art, music and culture. (October 2015)
  • Colored Pencils, $2,750 to host Friday night Art and Culture family and community events on a monthly basis, using a variety of art forms to create peace and understanding among diverse communities. (July 2015 – April 2016)
  • Dance for Parkinson’s Oregon, $2,000 for dance classes for people with Parkinson Disease and their families living in Northeast, East, and Southeast Portland. (July 2015 – June 2016)
  • Folktime Inc, $2,500 to increase art programming that supports individuals in mental health recovery. The grant will help expand the types of art forms offered, including an annual exhibition. (July 2015 – June 2016)
  • Hacienda CDC, $1,518 to present a series of traditional Mexican music workshops and to celebrate two fandangos (traditional community parties). This project is a collaboration between Son Clandestino, a group of Mexican musicians, and Hacienda CDC, a community development corporation. (July – October 2015)
  • Live On Stage, $1,500 to present the musical Falsettos, a story about a man who leaves his wife and child for a male lover. Additionally, the grant will help Live On Stage host a panel from the AIDS Memorial Quilt in the theatre lobby. (September – October, 2015)
  • Living Stages, $4,350 to initiate a four-day festival of interactive forum theatre, and to host workshops during the day and performances in the evening. (December 2015)
  • Mochitsuki, $2,500 for a celebration of the Japanese New Year, drawing the Portland community together to understand and appreciate the rich traditions within Japanese American culture. (January 2016.)
  • Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), $2,100 to present the Neerchokikoo Powwow, a community event that highlights and promotes the arts and culture of Native American people. The event will include Native food, art, dance and music; regalia, beadwork, dancing, drumming and singing. (September 2015)
  • Oregon Historical Society, $2,500 to create a multimedia/multisensory interactive exhibition that will immerse visitors in Portland’s Old and New Chinatown, utilizing Chinese elders’ stories, art, three dimensional objects and theatrical sets. (February 2016 – June 2016)
  • Oregon Nikkei, $1,750 to bring the Japanese American play Nihonmachi: The Place to Be to Portland for two performances. This story focuses on a family and their Japantown mocha (Japanese sweet cake) shop through three generations, and highlights the Japanese American experience during World War II. (November, 2015)
  • Parkrose Heights Associations of Neighbors, $2,000 to offer a series of free outdoor cultural performances, including Native American Storytelling, a Lao Dance presentation and a Slavic Cultural presentation. (July 2015)
  • Rogue Pack_Young Portland Speaks, $5,000 for a five-month theatre workshop in the Jason Lee SUN School program in East Portland. Participating youth will create original plays through writing development and theatrical training, focusing on their personal stories, culture and self-expression. The workshop culminates with performances open to the public. (September 2015 – May 2016)
  • Spect-Actors Collective, $2,100 for an African Latino Arts and Cultural Summer camp with public performances. This programming will engage youth ages 10 and older in Latino and Black/African communities to exchange artistic and cultural knowledge and self-expression. (Summer 2015)
  • The Portland Commission on Disability, $2,500 to empower people with disabilities to share the real stories they want people to know. The project will record personal stories of local residents with lived experience of disability; create accessible recordings of interviews; and provide archived transcriptions online. (July 2015 – June 2016)
  • The Skanner Foundation, $3,000 for the continuation of the Vanport Film project started in 2011, providing workshops and trainings to individuals to record the oral histories of Vanport survivors, and produce video to present to the public at two public venues. (Summer 2015 – Winter 2015)
  • Wisdom of the Elders, $3,300 to continue raising awareness of Native American cultural heritage and traditional tribal storytelling at the 10th Annual Northwest Indian Storytelling Festival. Additionally, 20 emerging storytellers will complete a nine-month apprenticeship program. (September 2015 – May 2016)

“We commend these 20 organizations for the many ways they are reaching underrepresented Portlanders and helping make the arts accessible to everyone in our community,” said Eloise Damrosch, executive director of RACC. “By investing taxpayer dollars in programs like these we can help every Portland resident participate in artistic and cultural experiences.”

Approved by Portland voters in 2012, the AEAF tax code states that at least 5% of all arts tax funding that goes to RACC shall be used for “nonprofit organizations that are making arts and culture experiences available to more Portland residents, with particular emphasis on programs directed to communities who are underserved by local arts providers.”

A total of 53 applications requesting $351,182 were received between January 1 and March 3, 2015. A panel of community volunteers reviewed and ranked all proposals – its members were Aja Blair from the Office of Commissioner Nick Fish; Jedidiah Chavez from Ethos Music Center; Jennifer Cies from RACC’s Board of Directors; and Terri Houston from Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare. The panel was facilitated by Tonisha Toler, RACC’s community liaison, and the panel’s recommendations were approved by RACC’s board of directors on May 27, 2015. 

For more information about the Arts Education and Access Fund visit www.racc.org/aeaf. To learn more about RACC’s equity initiatives visit www.racc.org/equity.

Alanna Risse presents her “Lub Dub” installation at the Portland Building Installation Space June 8 – July 10

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PORTLAND, ORE – Inspired by the 1966 sci-fi movie Fantastic Voyage, in which miniaturized scientists enter a living human body on a medical rescue mission, artist Alanna Risse has created an installation that invites viewers to make believe they are inside a whimsical reconstruction of the human heart. While still remaining roughly anatomically correct, the overall form and use of everyday re-purposed materials, such as recycled cardboard, rivets, old curtains and fabric remnants, miscellaneous nuts and bolts, etc., also allows the work will to function like a kid’s fort.  

“As a latch-key kid, growing up in the Silicon Valley in the 1970s and 80s, with no personal sense of cultural identity, my identity was formed from a saturation of imagery from the technology and media that pervaded my life. As my surrogate parent, television, music, and movies shaped aspects of my personality indelibly. My current body of work explores this relationship by drawing inspiration from the electronic sources that inspired me.”

-Alanna Risse

The interior of the heart forms a cave-like refuge bathed in red light and filled with red and white blood platelets—in the form of appropriately shaped red and white floor pillows. Risse also takes advantage of the existing architecture of the Portland Building by incorporating round apertures (or “arterial entry points”) into the roof and side of the heart’s exterior that offer a sneak-peek inside as one ascends the staircase adjacent to the exhibition space. While the installation is playful and invites young and old to enter and investigate, it also offers a deeper level of engagement that asks visitors to examine their perceptions of body, mortality, and fragility.

About the Artist: Alanna Risse is a graduate candidate at Pacific Northwest Collage of Art’s MFA in Visual Studies program.  She completed her BFA in Painting and Drawing at California College of the Arts in San Francisco and has shown at multiple venues in Portland and in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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. Lub Dub opens June 8th and runs through July 10th, 2015.

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.
 
 

Americans for the Arts presents national award to Jeff Hawthorne

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PORTLAND, ORE – Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America, announced six recipients of the 2015 Americans for the Arts Annual Leadership Awards. Among this year’s honorees, Jeff Hawthorne, director of community engagement for the Regional Arts & Culture Council, will receive the Michael Newton Award. 

For the past 25 years, the Michael Newton Award has recognized exemplary leadership skills and extraordinary dedication to supporting the arts through a united arts fund, which is a combined effort to raise money on behalf of multiple arts institutions in the community (like Work for Art), and through other unique and powerful partnerships with the private sector.

In his position with RACC, Jeff Hawthorne collaborates with community partners to increase funding and visibility for the local arts community. He is responsible for strategies to secure public and private funds that compose RACC’s annual budget, which has grown from $3.8 million in 2003 to $10.2 million in 2015. Hawthorne designed and implemented Oregon’s first united arts fund, Work for Art, which has raised $6.2 million over the last nine years, mostly through workplace giving campaigns. Hawthorne also oversees RACC’s outreach and communications efforts, and manages research projects that help quantify the value of the local arts community. He graduated cum laude from the University of Portland with a B.A. in theater management, and currently serves on the boards of the Northwest Regional Re-Entry Center and Oregon’s Cultural Advocacy Coalition. 

“All of our Leadership Awards honorees have distinguished themselves as tremendous leaders and passionate advocates for the arts and arts buycialisquality.com education,” said Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “These leaders have implemented innovative and transformative programs to strengthen the communities they serve, and their unwavering commitment to local, state, and national support for the arts is deserving of this recognition.”

Honorees will be presented their awards at the Americans for the Arts 2015 Annual Convention in Chicago during the Opening Plenary session, Friday, June 12, 2015 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

The five other recipients are: 

•           Association for Public Art, Pennsylvania: Public Art Network Award

•           Eric Booth, New York: Arts Education Award

•           Lara Davis, Washington: American Express Emerging Leaders Award

•           Richard E. Huff, Texas: Selina Roberts Ottum Award

•           Ann Marie Miller, New Jersey: Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award

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Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council, a local arts agency, serves Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties. RACC provides grants for artists, schools and nonprofit organizations; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; advocates for public and private investments in the arts; provides technical assistance; produces printed and web-based resources for artists; and helps artists and classroom teachers integrate the arts into other K-8 subjects. Online at www.racc.org.    
 
 

The Right Brain Initiative receives increased funding from the National Endowment for the Arts

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PORTLAND, ORE —The Right Brain Initiative, the arts integration program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, has received its largest-ever grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The NEA will award $30,000 to increase creative capacity for teachers and teaching artists. This is Right Brain’s fourth grant from the NEA.

NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, “The NEA is committed to advancing learning, fueling creativity, and celebrating the arts in cities and towns across the United States. Funding these new projects like the one from The Right Brain Initiative represents an investment in both local communities and our nation’s creative vitality.”

Right Brain’s year-long professional development project will arm over 600 teachers, principals and arts teachers, as well as 80 teaching artists and arts organizations, with high-impact strategies to bring innovative and integrated arts education to all students. By training and empowering classroom teachers and other school staff to elevate the role of creativity in their instruction, Right Brain helps educators create environments where students thrive academically, socially and artistically.

This 23-day training program is designed and facilitated by Right Brain’s professional development partner, Deborah Brzoska, a national arts educational consultant and teaching artist from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Brzoska also carries deep Portland-area roots as a former dance teacher at Portland’s Jefferson High School and founding principal of the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics.

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 seventh year, Right Brain serves approximately 59 schools and 20,000 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 is the local arts agency for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties, providing grants for artists, schools and nonprofit organizations; conducting workplace giving for arts and culture (“Work for Art”) and other advocacy efforts; presenting workshops and other forms of technical assistance; providing  printed and web-based resources for artists; and integrating  art into public spaces. Online at racc.org.