RACC Blog

Rebecca Burrell elected to Americans for the Arts’ Emerging Leaders Council

The Regional Arts & Culture Council today announced that Rebecca Burrell, outreach specialist for The Right Brain Initiative, has been elected to the Emerging Leaders Council of Americans for the Arts. AFTA is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education.

In addition to developing communications and coordinating community engagement programs for RACC’s arts education Initiative, Rebecca co-founded the Portland Emerging Arts Leaders group, and she is a member of the steering committee for Rebooting Democracy, a Gen Y-focused summit of ideas and innovation in democracy. Prior to RACC, Rebecca worked as the External Relations Specialist for the Museum of Contemporary Craft and Pacific Northwest College of Art. She has also spent six years living in New York, New Mexico, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio working for an installation art museum, a design firm, a public radio station, a dance company and a rural middle school. She earned a BA in Communications/Print Media from Antioch College.

“I am really proud to provide Pacific Northwest representation to the Council, tying the incredible work of the Portland Emerging Arts Leaders to our peers around the nation,” she said. “I’m excited to connect with others who are ready to advance the arts through broad thinking and relevant risk taking. Thank you to AFTA for providing a platform for this.”

AFTA’s Emerging Leaders program works to identify and cultivate the next generation of arts leaders in America. It provides an ideal way for new leaders to share their interests with others as they continue to develop their skills and their commitment to the arts. New professionals are valuable to the arts community, and the 15 members of the Emerging Leaders Council are dedicated to ensuring that a bright and democratic future for the arts in America continues for generations to come.

“The Emerging Leader Council serves an important role in helping Americans for the Arts carry out one of its primary goals of strengthening an informed leadership,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “Rebecca has been an exceptional leader within her community, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the national council.”

Other RACC staff serving on AFTA’s national councils include public art manager Peggy Kendellen, who serves on the Public Art Network Council; director of community affairs Jeff Hawthorne, who serves on AFTA’s Private Sector Council; and Eloise Damrosch, who represents Portland at AFTA’s United States Urban Arts Federation.


RACC awards $732,440 in project grants to schools, arts organizations and individual artists

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) announced today that $732,440 will be awarded for artistic projects scheduled to take place in 2013 – including 66 grants to organizations and schools, and 94 individual artists in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. This is the largest sum that RACC has ever awarded for project grants.

RACC’s funding of project grants is up 5% over last year, thanks to solid public investments from the City of Portland, Clackamas County, Multnomah County, Washington County, and Metro; and continued growth of Work for Art, RACC’s workplace giving program. Demand is up even more: RACC received 352 eligible applications this cycle – up 12% over last year.

Seventy volunteers serving on 18 different panels evaluated the proposals based on artistic merit, audience development and financial accountability. In the end, 160 (45%) of the proposals were recommended for funding and ultimately approved by the RACC Board on December 19th.

A complete list of grants awarded can be found at www.racc.org/2013projectgrants. They include:

  • The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Clackamas County received a first-time RACC grant for Stand Up for Mental Health and will present comedy classes to individuals living with chronic mental health issues.
  • The Hillsboro Farmers’ Market in Washington County will present a series of summer cultural festivals in celebration of the diversity of the Hillsboro community featuring performances and crafts highlighting the Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and Indian communities.
     
  • Other culturally-specific artistic projects include performances of Lyndee Mah’s memoir piece E-B’an,Damaris Webb’s solo show The Box Marked Black, and Boom Arts’ puppet musical Tunde’s Trumpet. RACC also continues to fund diverse organizations like India Cultural Association, RASIKA, The Obo Addy Legacy Project, Painted Sky, and Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival.
     
  • The number of applications to RACC’s Media Arts category continues to grow every year, and Grand Detour received its first RACC award to produce the 2nd annual Experimental Film Fest at venues throughout the city. Other projects funded in this category include Sway of the Knife by Vu N. Pham and Cooped, a hand-drawn animated short film by Mike A. Smith.
  • RACC also funded a number of multi-discipline projects that included strong media or technology elements, including Water in the Desert’s interdisciplinary performance AMERICAN ME, and Bill Holznagel’s Daisy Shorts using film and puppetry. Kelly Rauer’s Underbelly and Jacob Pander’s Incident Energy are both multi-channel video installations, and Ben Darwish’s Adobe Globe is a long-form musical composition incorporating multimedia elements.
     
  • For the first time, RACC convened a visual arts panel focused solely on photography projects, which resulted in several first time project grant recipients including Teresa Christiansen, Anna Daedalus, Loren Nelsonand TJ Norris.
     
  • RACC-funded projects will continue to engage youth in many ways, ranging from Staged! Portland’s Musical Theatre Series’ professional premiere of “Ablaze: an a cappella musical thriller” written by local playwright and composer Matthew Zrebski, to the Girls Rock Institute at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, and the Kukatonon Children’s African Dance Troupe program.
  • 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 Orlund Nutt for a short movie based on the James Broughton poem, ‘Bear of Heaven’.

“We were amazed and inspired by the proposals we received this year,” said Eloise Damrosch, executive director of RACC. “It is especially gratifying to see that our outreach to artists and arts organizations is resulting in a significant buyneurontinonlinehere.com increase in new applications. These grant awards will bring exciting variety to the region’s artistic offerings next year.”

A complete listing of grants appears below, and summaries of each grant are available at website below.

Note: (*) denotes Clackamas County applicants, and (**) denotes Washington County based applicants. All other applicants are based in Multnomah County.

 
Organization
Category/Discipline
Amount
Architecture Foundation of Oregon
Arts-in-Schools
 $               6,000
Beaverton Civic Theatre **
Community Participation
 $               3,620
Boom Arts
Theatre
 $               6,000
Bubbaville
Community Participation
 $               5,800
Buckman Arts Focus Elementary
Arts-in-Schools
 $               4,800
Classical Revolution PDX
Music
 $               2,460
Compass Repertory Theatre
Community Participation
 $               5,024
Conduit Dance, Inc.
Dance
 $               6,000
Dill Pickle Club
Community Participation
 $               5,691
Dill Pickle Club
Literature
 $               3,720
Estacada Arts Commission *
Community Participation
 $               5,058
Experimental Half-Hour
Media Arts
 $               4,800
FearNoMusic
Music
 $               5,400
Friends of Marquam Nature Park
Community Participation
 $               4,800
Grand Detour
Media Arts
 $               3,731
Hand2Mouth Theatre
Theatre
 $               5,700
Hillsboro Farmers’ Markets, INC. **
Community Participation
 $               4,800
Impact NW
Arts-in-Schools
 $               5,998
India Cultural Association **
Community Participation
 $               3,655
Irvington School PTA
Arts-in-Schools
 $               3,542
Kukatonon
Arts-in-Schools
 $               5,700
Lewis & Clark College Hoffman Gallery
Visual Arts
 $               5,100
Living Stages
Community Participation
 $               4,720
Media, Arts & Technology Institute
Arts-in-Schools
 $               4,304
MetroArts Inc
Music
 $               4,316
Museum of Contemporary Craft
Folk Arts
 $               6,000
Music Access Project of Portland
Arts-in-Schools
 $               4,800
My Voice Music
Community Participation
 $               5,307
National Alliance on Mental Illness of Clackamas County *
Community Participation
 $               4,433
NAYA Family Center
Arts-in-Schools
 $               4,800
NAYA Family Center
Community Participation
 $               4,500
North Clackamas School District *
Arts-in-Schools
 $               4,500
Opera Theater Oregon
Theatre
 $               4,999
Oregon Cultural Access
Community Participation
 $               3,521
Orlo
Literature
 $               5,950
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Visual Arts
 $               6,000
Painted Sky Inc. **
Folk Arts
 $               4,520
Polaris Dance Theatre
Dance
 $               4,800
Polish Library Association
Presenting
 $               5,700
Portland Actors Conservatory
Theatre
 $               3,685
Portland Children’s Museum
Community Participation
 $               6,000
Portland Jazz Festival
Music
 $               4,800
Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival
Media Arts
 $               4,800
Portland Playhouse
Theatre
 $               4,800
QDoc
Media Arts
 $               5,950
Portland Revels
Community Participation
 $               3,560
Portland Story Theater
Theatre
 $               4,380
Portland-Suzhou Sister City Association **
Multi-Discipline
 $               3,200
Portland State University Department of Art
Visual Arts
 $               4,000
RASIKA – India Arts and Culture Council
Music
 $               4,608
RECESS LLC
Social Practice
 $               3,563
Resonance Ensemble
Music
 $               6,000
Rex Putnam High School Theatre Department *
Arts-in-Schools
 $               5,220
Jerry Tischleder
Presenting
 $               5,985
Rock and Roll Camp for Girls
Community Participation
 $               4,800
Signal Fire
Multi-Discipline
 $               3,000
Sowelu Theater
Theatre
 $               4,425
Staged! Portland’s Musical Theatre Series *
Theatre
 $               5,044
The Art Gym, Marylhurst University *
Visual Arts
 $               4,500
The Library Foundation
Community Participation
 $               4,800
The Obo Addy Legacy Project
Multi-Discipline
 $               5,850
Theatre In The Grove **
Community Participation
 $               4,800
Theatre Vertigo
Theatre
 $               3,222
Water in the Desert | Mizu Desierto
Multi-Discipline
 $               4,800
Willamette Partnership **
Arts-in-Schools
 $               2,280
World Forestry Center
Visual Arts
 $               2,687
 
 
Individual Artists
Category/Discipline
Amount
Devon Allen
Theatre
 $               4,620
Corey Averill *
Music
 $               4,463
Hayley Barker
Visual Arts
 $               3,513
Amy Bernstein
Multi-Discipline
 $               4,260
Barbara Bernstein
Media Arts
 $               6,000
Jesse Blanchard
Multi-Discipline
 $               5,486
Andy Blubaugh
Media Arts
 $               5,624
Beth Madsen Bradford
Music
 $               1,654
Gary Brickner-Schulz
Theatre
 $               4,603
Tracy Broyles
Dance
 $               4,370
Jessica Burton
Dance
 $               3,727
Teresa Christiansen
Visual Arts
 $               4,119
Anna Crandall
Community Participation
 $               4,569
CarlosAlexis Cruz
Theatre
 $               4,800
Philip Cuomo
Theatre
 $               4,926
Anna Daedalus
Visual Arts
 $               5,700
Berl Dana’y
Arts-in-Schools
 $               2,640
Ben Darwish
Music
 $               5,700
Shelby Davis
Visual Arts
 $               4,800
Daniel Duford
Visual Arts
 $               4,560
Dan Duval
Music
 $               5,830
Wynde Dyer
Visual Arts
 $               5,696
Lisa Fink
Community Participation
 $               1,984
Subashini Ganesan
Dance
 $               4,616
Keyon Gaskin
Multi-Discipline
 $               5,382
Nicole J. Georges
Community Participation
 $               5,400
Leanne Grabel
Literature
 $               4,450
Anna Gray
Visual Arts
 $               4,380
Cheryl Green
Community Participation
 $               4,198
Jenni GreenMiller
Theatre
 $               3,218
Ashia Joanna Grzesik
Music
 $               1,625
Courtenay Hameister
Multi-Discipline
 $               4,300
Joel Harmon
Theatre
 $               2,888
Jen Harrison
Music
 $               5,033
Chisao Hata
Dance
 $               5,100
Matthew Henderson
Multi-Discipline
 $               2,924
Ashley Hollingshead
Theatre
 $               5,034
Bill Holznagel *
Multi-Discipline
 $               4,425
CJ Hurley
Visual Arts
 $               4,500
Kazuyo Ito
Arts-in-Schools
 $               4,489
Sara Jaffe
Literature
 $               4,182
Julie Keefe
Community Participation
 $               5,475
Eva Kokopeli
Community Participation
 $               3,808
Joanne Kollman
Visual Arts
 $               5,092
Lee Krist
Visual Arts
 $               4,774
Andrea Leoncavallo
Visual Arts
 $               4,800
Alain LeTourneau
Visual Arts
 $               4,624
Lyndee Mah
Multi-Discipline
 $               4,500
Margaret Malone
Literature
 $               1,640
Carla Mann
Dance
 $               5,963
Paul Martone
Literature
 $               5,387
Jim McGinn
Dance
 $               4,800
Max McGrath-Riecke
Theatre
 $               5,631
Janet McIntyre
Multi-Discipline
 $               4,794
Chaz Mortimer
Arts-in-Schools
 $               5,700
Emily Nachison
Visual Arts
 $               5,100
Loren Nelson **
Visual Arts
 $               3,298
Eric Nordin **
Theatre
 $               4,774
TJ Norris
Visual Arts
 $               1,688
Orland Nutt
Media Arts
 $               4,566
Orland Nutt
Innovation Prize
$               2,500
Caroline Oakley
Arts-in-Schools
 $               4,680
Kristin Olson-Huddle
Theatre
 $               3,500
Brian Padian
Media Arts
 $               5,079
Jacob Pander
Media Arts
 $               5,307
Casey Parks
Media Arts
 $               5,100
Leif Peterson
Media Arts
 $               4,500
Nick Peterson
Media Arts
 $               5,695
Vu N. Pham
Media Arts
 $               5,026
Lisa Radon
Multi-Discipline
 $               4,900
Jayanthi Raman **
Dance
 $               5,355
Kelly Rauer
Media Arts
 $               5,596
Michael Reinsch
Multi-Discipline
 $               3,463
Michelle Ross
Visual Arts
 $               1,200
John C. Savage
Music
 $               3,376
Crystal Schenk
Visual Arts
 $               4,800
Lisa Ann Schonberg
Multi-Discipline
 $               5,100
Heidi Schwegler
Multi-Discipline
 $               5,144
Rebecca L. Shapiro
Visual Arts
 $               5,229
Larry Sherman
Multi-Discipline
 $               4,800
Carter Sickels
Literature
 $               3,420
Shalanda R. Sims
Arts-in-Schools
 $               5,100
Stephen Slappe
Media Arts
 $               5,946
Mike A. Smith
Media Arts
 $               3,360
Julia Stoops
Visual Arts
 $               5,686
Paul Susi
Theatre
 $               4,063
Minh Tran
Dance
 $               4,500
Curtis Walker
Community Participation
 $               5,558
Samantha Wall
Visual Arts
 $               1,368
Holcombe Waller
Multi-Discipline
 $               5,700
Archie Washington
Community Participation
 $               4,069
Damaris Webb
Theatre
 $               2,970
Jackie Weissman
Media Arts
 $               4,800
Emmett Wheatfall
Multi-Discipline
 $               3,260
Alan Wone
Media Arts
 $               4,760
 

Regional Arts & Culture Council elects Eileen Day as new board member

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) board of directors has elected Eileen L. Day as a new board member.

Eileen received degrees from Portland State University in Finance and Accounting. After graduating from Portland State, Eileen worked in the finance and accounting industry. She became a CPA in 1997. In 2005, she joined Holmes & Company, LLP and has been the audit partner since 2007.

Eileen is currently on the Board of Portland Center Stage and heads the audit committee. Prior to heading the audit committee, she was the Treasurer and a member of the Executive Committee. She has served as the chair and public member of the audit committee for the Beaverton School District and Treasurer for the Mount Hood Ski Patrol.

Lina Garcia Seabold is Board Chair of RACC with Peg Malloy Vice Chair, Jennifer C. Cies Treasurer, Alan Alexander III Secretary, and Carol R. Smith, Ed.D. Chair Emeritus.

Continuing RACC Board members for FY13 include: Jesse Beason, Nik Blosser, Verlea G. Briggs, Jessica Clark, Jay Clemens, Daryl Dixon, Mike Golub, Stacey A. Graham, Kira Higgs, Phillip Hillaire, Eric R. Hormel, Jerry E. Hudson, Karen Karbo, Joe Krumm, Max M. Miller, Jr., Bonita Oswald, Joanna Priestley, Brian Rice and Jan Robertson.

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


RACC will present 11 workshops for artists in 2013

Artists who are trying to make a living with their craft will benefit from a series of professional development workshops being presented by the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) from January through June of 2013. Each workshop is led by experts in his or her field; they focus on grant writing, marketing, legal issues, and building audiences to enhance and advance an artist’s career. RACC is committed to providing affordable learning opportunities that help artists succeed in the region; each workshop costs only $20-$30.

The 2013 workshop schedule includes:
• January 26: Fundamentals of Grant Writing for Individual Artists
• February 9: Marketing, the Same but Different
• February 20: To be or not to be a 501(c)3 and how (A panel discussion)
• March 2: Copyrights and Contracts 101: For Artists and Creative Professionals
• April 6: Putting the Pieces Together: How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Art or Event
• April 17: For Organizations: Building Audiences in a Complex and Competitive Environment
• May 4: The Artist Talk: How to Talk to Anyone Anywhere about Your Art
• May 21: Your Career in Music—options and next steps (A panel discussion)
• June 2: Music Business 101: Copyrights and Contracts for Musicians
• June 8: Grant Writing for Individual Artists: Making Your Story Work for You
• June 15: Writing for Artists: Engaging your audience

To register or learn more details about each workshop, including the presenter(s), the time and the location, visit website below. For more information, accessibility and translation needs please contact: 503-823-5111 or email info@racc.org.
 
 


Unveiling and Dedication of “Noble Architect” on NE Alberta Street

WHO: Noble Architect by artists Ruth Frances Greenberg and David Laubenthal

WHAT: Sculpture Unveiling

WHEN: Friday, December 14, 2012 at 3:30pm

WHERE: Corner of NE Alberta Street at 18th

NOTES: Artists Ruth Frances Greenberg and David Laubenthal conceived of the sculpture to “mirror the ebullient, raw and wonderful vigor of nature as well as our relationship to it.” Many different species of animals inhabited and thrived in this area before it was settled as the Portland we know. One of the abundant animals was the beaver. Its pose is dignified and vaguely humanized, standing on its stump, at just over six feet tall. This artwork was selected by a local panel of artists and citizens, and will become part of the City of Portland’s Public Art Collection, administered by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Refreshments to follow at Alberta Main Street, just next door.

LINKS: The Unveiling

www.facebook.com/events/398392830240242
 
 


“all the art that fits” returns to the Portland Building Installation Space

It is that time of year again; the annual City and County employee exhibition in the lobby of the Portland Building opens on Tuesday, December 4th and runs through the holiday season. This “salon style” exhibition, open to all current City or County employees, is a yearly favorite and is anxiously awaited by regular visitors to the Portland Building. All types of creative work are represented in the unique show, from quirky to thoughtful, from elegant and beautiful to amusingly odd. The exhibition will run through January 8, 2013. 

Only original artwork created by current employees of the City or County is eligible. The exhibition is non-juried—all the artwork submitted will be installed, hung wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. For those eligible and interested in participating, submissions must be dropped off Tuesday, December 4th, between 8:00 and 10:00 am, to the Portland Building lobby located at 1120 SW 5th Ave. 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 7 am to 6 pm, Monday – Friday. The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland.
 
 


Tickets now on sale for “pARTy in the name of Art” on December 7th

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) announced today that tickets for “pARTy in the name of Art” can be purchased online at boxofficetickets.com and strangertickets.com. The event on December 7th is a benefit for arts organizations and arts education programs in the Portland metropolitan area. The arts community will also use the event to pay tribute to Portland Mayor Sam Adams for his passion and commitment to arts, education, equity and sustainability in the region.

WHO: The Regional Arts & Culture Council and the local arts and culture community

WHAT: A celebration of the arts in Portland, and a tribute to Mayor Sam Adams for his vision and leadership in promoting culture, creativity, innovation, education and equity in our city

WHEN: Friday, December 7, 2012

WHERE: YU Contemporary, 800 SE 10th Avenue in Portland

WHY: To raise money for two RACC programs that Mayor Adams has championed during his time in office – The Right Brain Initiative, an arts integration program in public schools, and Work for Art, a workplace giving program for the arts.

Patron tickets are $175. They include a patron reception with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30 pm, followed by special tribute performances at 8pm. Confirmed entertainers include Storm Large, Bodyvox, The Circus Project, Scott Poole, Julianne Johnson and PHAME Academy. Only 400 tickets will be sold at this price.

Dance party tickets are $25. At 9pm both floors of the YU building will be open for dancing, featuring eclectic DJs, multicultural interactive arts activities, and pop-up performances throughout the night. At midnight, breakfast will be served. Approximately 500 tickets are available at this price.

Sponsorship packages begin at $2,500. Event sponsors to date include Apex Pharmacy, Arlene Schntizer, Boeing, Burgerville, Bull Run Distillery, Cupcake Jones, Hopworks Urban Brewery, KeyBank, Morel Ink, Norris Beggs & Simpson, Portland General Electric, Portland Mercury, Portland Timbers, Seabold Construction, Standard Insurance, Tonkon Torp and US Bank.

For tickets and information visit www.racc.org/party.
 


Linda Hutchins presents “Apart, Along, Together” at the Portland Building Installation Space, 10/22-11/16

Project Background: Using silverpoint to document gesture and movement, artist Linda Hutchins will bring a performance created specifically for the Installation Space to the Portland Building the week of October 22nd. Silverpoint is an old master drawing technique in which actual silver is drawn on a prepared surface much as we apply graphite to paper today. Linda Hutchins uses silver to create wall drawings that echo and record her drawing gestures. For this performance she will wear silver thimbles on all her fingers, and will strike and stroke the walls with both hands at once. In repeated short bursts, her hands will draw apart, along and together, gestures she likens to three choices about how to act in the world. Each gesture can be read by the mark it leaves behind and the completed wall drawings will remain on view after the performance. This unique performance/ installation has been created with the lobby of the Portland Building in mind, a place where people of all ages and backgrounds go about their daily lives apart, along, and together with each other.

Drawing performances will occur between noon and 1:00 pm Monday, October 22nd through Wednesday, October 24th. The completed set of drawings will be on view through November 16th.

About the Artist: Linda Hutchins lives and works in Portland, Oregon, where she earned her BFA in Drawing from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Before attending art school, she received a BSE in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan and wrote operating system software for Intel Corporation. Hutchins was recently awarded Career Opportunity Grants from both the Oregon Arts Commission and The Ford Family Foundation, and has received two fellowships from the Oregon Arts Commission and grants from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. She was awarded the Jurors’ Prize for her wall drawing in the Tacoma Art Museum’s 2009 Northwest Biennial, and her work has been exhibited internationally.

Viewing Hours & Location: 7 am to 6 pm, Monday – Friday. The Portland Building is located at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland.  For more information on the Portland Building Installation Space series including images, proposals and statements for all the installations since 1994, go to www.racc.org/installationspace.