RACC Blog

Kaiser Permanente, The Standard and ZGF Architects win top prizes at Work for Art’s Battle of the Bands

Seven employee bands competed in Work for Art’s first annual Battle of the Bands, which drew more than 400 music fans to the Crystal Ballroom on Thursday, May 12. Celebrity judges Christopher Brown, Steve Pringle and Rindy Ross awarded the top prize – best company band – to Pencil Skirt Paula and The Straight Edge Rulers, from ZGF Architects. The Best Showmanship prize went to Kaiser Permanente’s 1980s cover band, Members Only.

The Audience Favorite award, as determined by the band that raised the most money from the audience, went to The Standard’s Smoke Before Fire. In all more than $75,000 was raised through event sponsorships, ticket sales, a silent auction, a raffle and other cash donations.

Kaiser Permanente’s 1980s cover band, Members Only.

Kaiser Permanente’s 1980s cover band, Members Only, photo by Erica Ann Photography.

All event proceeds will help Work for Art draw closer to its fundraising goal of $1 million by June 30. Work for Art is a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council that raises money and awareness for local arts and culture organizations, primarily through workplace giving. RACC distributes all campaign proceeds to more than 100 local nonprofit organizations – including Oregon Children’s Theatre, Ethos Music Center, Portland Opera and the Children’s Healing Art Project.

The Standard’s Smoke Before Fire.

The Standard’s Smoke Before Fire, photo by Erica Ann Photography.

Battle of the Bands was the first-ever public fundraising event for Work for Art, which is now in its tenth year. The event was emceed by Joe Vithayathil of KPTV Fox 12 Oregon, and by singer-songwriter Merideth Kaye Clarke. The Brothers Jam, led by BodyVox artistic director Jamey Hampton, opened the show, and one of the Timbers Army bands, Greenhorn, played the final set.

Other competing bands included The Legal Limit (Tonkon Torp), The Red Keys (KeyBank), Larry and the Lightbulbs (PGE), and Dystopia (Burgerville). Companies that are interested in competing in next year’s Battle should contact Jeff Hawthorne, Director of Community Engagement for the Regional Arts & Culture Council, at jhawthorne@racc.org, 503-823-5258.

To make a donation that will help Work for Art reach its million-dollar goal, visit workforart.org.

Celebrity judges Christopher Brown, Rindy Ross and Steve Pringle. Photo by Erica Ann Photography.

Celebrity judges Christopher Brown, Rindy Ross and Steve Pringle. Photo by Erica Ann Photography.


Your Input Sought for a new Arts Facility in Beaverton

The City of Beaverton needs your help to plan a proposed Arts and Culture Center facility that is currently under consideration.

We need your help to plan the Arts and Culture Center.  Please take the following survey and let us know how often you would use the facility, what type of performances you would like to see, and what you would be willing to pay to attend programs.

The survey is available until Friday, May 6.  Your participation will help shape the future character of the center – so please share your views!

http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/ACC

Below: Early Preliminary Rendering of Proposed Arts and Culture Center by Place Landscape Architects

Beaverton Arts April 2016


State of the Arts

Eloise’s Blog:

Many thanks to all who attended our annual presentation to City Council when we thank Council for their on-going support. While we also talk about how we invested the City’s allocation to RACC over the past year, we focus even more on how powerful the impacts of these dollars are to artists, arts organizations, schools, and arts enthusiasts around our region and beyond.

The Obo Addy Legacy Project opened the event on April 21st with rousing and reverberating Ghanean drumming as people entered Council Chambers. RACC’s Board Chair, Jan Robertson, and I then ran through some highlights of our programs in 2015 and we were all treated to music performed by a quintet from Bravo Youth Orchestra.

These talented Rosa Parks Elementary students are evidence of what magic can happen thanks to their music teacher paid for by the Arts Tax, and an arts organization, Bravo, providing learning experiences inside the school. Jan also described the ever growing Right Brain Initiative and how supportive our City leaders have been since day one.

I ran through images of recent public art projects including a Buster Simpson sculpture in South Waterfront and a wide array of murals funded in part by RACC’s Murals Program and Forest for the Trees, an organization that brings together local artists and others from around the world to create large scale murals around our city. The audience also saw sneak previews of upcoming public art  in the works. To see some of these images for yourselves, click here (slides 27-31).

RACC Board member and Chair of our Grants Review Committee, Susheela Jayapal, described the various ways we award City funds to artists and organizations and the challenges facing RACC and the organizations who benefit from the Arts Tax, which currently is not bringing in the full amount voted approved by Portland voters in 2012. Susheela also introduced jazz musician and PSU professor, Darrell Grant, who described what he was able to achieve thanks to a RACC Project Grant. Literary Arts Executive Director Andrew Proctor explained the phenomenal success of the inaugural year of its Wordstock Festival, newly adopted by his organization, a longtime member of RACC’s General Operating Support program. And finally Luann Algoso spoke about APANO’s Expanding Cultural Access grant, which supported their well-received Cultural Events Series in the Jade District.

RACC’s Board member Mike Golub introduced RACC’s on-going programs which beneficially connect arts and business. When Business for Culture and the Arts closed last summer, RACC was asked to take on two of the organization’s most successful programs. Art of Leadership under George Thorn’s leadership provides seminars to train business people to be Board members of nonprofit arts organizations. RACC now also hosts The Arts Breakfast of Champions, which recognizes top donors and champions of the arts. We hope to expand the event’s scope going forward to celebrate all the ways arts and business can partner to inspire employees and foster creative collaborations.

Mike Co-Chair’s Work for Art, our workplace giving program, which typically raises about $750k a year for arts organizations. In this 10th anniversary year RACC hopes to raise a $1 million, through workplace campaigns and events such as the upcoming Battle of the Bands, May 12th. Part of ZGF’s competing band, Pencil Skirt Paula and the Straightedge Rulers, treated the audience to a musical tribute to Prince.  Finally Ian Mouser of My Voice Music testified about the amazing work his organization can do for kids with City funding, and the grand finale was a moving duet sung by Matthew Gailey and Lea Mulligan of PHAME (below).

SOTAphame_CommFish1

We so value and appreciate everyone’s time and enthusiasm and the long-standing and heartfelt commitment by our supportive City Council!


Commissioner Steve Novick responds

Commissioner Steve Novick (Candidate for Portland Commissioner, Position 4) responded April 14, 2016:

(1) In what specific ways have you supported arts and culture in Portland?  

Personally, I’ve always been a big music fan (Commissioner Fish likes to point out how often I use musical quotes in Council comments) and an occasional local theatergoer. I really enjoy attending local music events when possible.  My wife Rachel’s family has introduced me to the wider performing arts community (her brother is a professional ballet dancer who got his start here in Portland), and the local theater (her other brother is a nationally recognized playwright whose plays have been performed or workshopped at small local theaters).

I also take advantage of the opportunity to support local artists by buying jewelry for Rachel at the Anne Bocci Boutique and Gallery in Multnomah Village.

(2) Artists and arts organizations add measurable value to our region’s economy, our education system and our quality of life, and yet there are a number of pressing needs in our community that often compete for attention and investment.  What is Portland’s proper role in supporting arts and culture in the region?

Ideally, the city would provide a greater level of financial support to the arts than it does now. But other services – from housing to parks and transportation maintenance – are also underfunded.

It’s become increasingly apparent just how important artists, arts organizations, and the creative community as a whole are to Portland. Beyond the many cultural benefits, the arts industry has become something of a traded sector in our region. Larger productions from Hollywood and beyond have recognized Portland as a great place for productions.  This bodes well for our “arts future”,  but we can’t forget the smaller theaters, artists, and art galleries, and we need to figure out how all we can keep them from being priced out of our city.

The City should be a promoter of our artistic community and a supporter of art programs. But we also should be an advocate for equity issues that help support art and artists, enabling them to stay in our region. We need to create more opportunities for investment in arts organizations that connect with underrepresented areas of our communities, including people experiencing homelessness and at-risk youth. Overall I believe City Council and the arts community must communicate more directly to determine projects that we can support to help increase equity and inclusion. As I have told arts advocates, in the future I want to have a ready list of high priority one-time investments in the arts (since we usually have more “one time” money than ongoing money) so that each year we can weigh them against other proposed one-time investments.

(3) The region’s affordability is a serious concern for all of us, including artists and arts-related businesses. What are your plans for making housing and creative spaces more affordable?

There is little debate that we need to address the problem of housing affordability for middle-income and low-income people, but I would say not enough attention is being paid to how it impacts our creative community and small businesses.  I’m glad the state legislature lifted the ban on inclusionary zoning (although I wish they went a bit further), but I also think we need to deal with the supply and demand aspect of the problem. We need to build more housing, and also build more types of housing.  Portland’s iconic bungalow and Craftsman neighborhoods are the reason why lots of people decide to move to Portland. However, these houses are also very expensive and will become more so as our population grows.

I think the concept of affordability should also include zoning changes so we can build diverse kinds of housing within neighborhoods. Townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and live-work spaces could offer great homes for people who can’t afford a single family house in Portland but aren’t interested in living in an apartment. Lots of close-in Portland neighborhoods already have lots of this “middle housing,” but much of it was built decades ago before the current zoning code was adopted.  Allowing more mixed use buildings could both address the need for housing, while providing opportunities for creative space and small businesses, which we know help build and define a community. I’m looking at ways to allow more of these kinds of projects, which will help keep our neighborhood housing diverse and affordable. As our city grows, it does so thoughtfully and equitably.

City Council needs to make sure we are staying in contact with arts organizations and businesses to better understand the issues they face, and work together to develop real, workable solutions.

(4) Are there other unmet needs when it comes to shaping Portland’s arts and culture policy for the future? If so, what steps would you take to help ensure those needs are met, and how should they be funded?

There are many unmet needs, from housing and commercial real estate affordability to working out a better collection mechanism for the arts tax, and also working to find more support for arts and culture through regional partners and federal programs. There’s a lot to do.

We must ensure that as the price of real estate throughout Portland increases, artists that haven’t made lots of money are still able to live here, and we also need to help smaller venues that house lots of arts to continue operating even if they aren’t owned by people with lots of money to keep them going. We alleviate some of the pressure through zoning changes, connecting arts organizations with available regional grants or low interest loans, and other ways to help support this community and enable it to thrive in our city.

The City has an opportunity to connect arts organizations and small arts businesses with resources they may not realize are available. One example is the Oregon Facilities Authority, who helps charities of all sizes secure low-cost financing to remodel, expand, construct, or purchase new facilities, through the use of tax-exempt conduit revenue bonds. This could be used to help nonprofit arts organizations purchase their properties, giving them security and helping them remain even as commercial real estate prices continue to rise.

(5) The Arts Education & Access Fund, or arts tax, has delivered on its promise of providing arts specialists for all K-5 schools in Portland, but the fund hasn’t generated enough revenue to support as many grants for arts and culture organizations as envisioned. If elected, would you take any steps to modify the arts tax, improve administration of it, and/or fulfill the voters’ vision of supporting arts education and access through other means?

First and foremost we must recognize the great benefit the Arts Tax has given to our schools, helping to fund important programs that are all too often first on the chopping block.

We also must acknowledge, as you have, that unfortunately the Arts Tax has not done as much for the creative community overall as we had expected. To some extent that is based on factors the city should have been aware of – such as state law requiring that PERS and Social Security be exempt. Some of it has to do with the number of people who just aren’t paying; compliance has improved as we go along, and as we move into territory where the threshold for sending multi-year tax avoiders’ bills to collections goes from $35 to over $100, collection action will make more sense.

Any brand-new taxing mechanism is likely to have high administrative costs. Ultimately, despite the complexities of our property tax system, I think it would have made more sense to have a small property tax. I would be open to considering a switch to that, which would – albeit to a limited degree – also make the tax less regressive.

Back to Candidates’ page.


Work for Art announces line-up for Battle of the Bands competition on May 12

Bankers, lawyers, surgeons and engineers will be among the unlikely musicians competing in Work for Art’s first annual Battle of the Bands on Thursday, May 12 at the Crystal Ballroom. Tickets are only $10, on sale now at the Crystal Ballroom box office and online. A limited number of VIP tickets are available for $100 each, including reserved seating, hosted food and beverage, and validated parking. All proceeds benefit Work for Art and its tenth anniversary campaign to raise $1 million for local arts and culture organizations.

Seven bands, made up of employees who play music on the side, will compete in front of family, friends, coworkers and a panel of celebrity judges. Several prizes will be awarded including the title of Best Company Band. Audiences will select an “Audience Favorite” as determined by the band that receives the most donations the night of the event.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Food and beverages are available for purchase, and guests will have an opportunity to bid on 10 exciting silent auction packages to help raise money for the cause. As a warm-up act, The Brothers Jam will perform at 6:45 p.m., featuring BodyVox artistic director Jamey Hampton and his brother David, both of whom work at Hampton Lumber.

The main event begins at 7:00 p.m., emceed by KPTV Fox 12 Oregon feature reporter Joe Vithayathil and local musical theater star Merideth Kaye Clark. The competing bands include:

  • Burgerville, Dystopia
  • Kaiser Permanente Northwest Medical Group, Members Only
  • KeyBank, The Red Keys
  • Portland General Electric, Larry and the Lightbulbs
  • The Standard, Smoke Before Fire
  • Tonkon Torp, The Legal Limit
  • ZGF Architects, Pencil Skirt Paula and The Straight Edge Rulers

The judging panel includes three local music industry celebrities:

Dave Allen is founding member and bass player for Gang of Four and Shriekback, owner of the World Domination record label, and current Director of Artist Advocacy for Beats Music.

Christopher Brown is the drummer and bandleader for the Christopher Brown Jazz Quartet.  He has performed and/or recorded with Beyoncé, Esperanza Spalding, the Marsalis brothers and many others.

Rindy Ross is the lead singer and saxophonist of Quarterflash and The Trail Band. She was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2007 and serves as a mentor of young artists.

At approximately 9:00 p.m., while the judges deliberate and the cash is counted, the Portland Timbers Army band Greenhorn will perform. Timber Joey and Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish will be on hand to help announce the winners at the end of the evening.

This is the first event of its kind for Work for Art, which is an annual campaign to raise money and awareness for local arts and culture organizations. Last year, the campaign raised $750,396, primarily through workplace giving. This year, in celebration of Work for Art’s tenth anniversary, organizers aspire to raise $1 million by June 30.

“This new event will help us take Work for Art to the next level,” said Mike Golub, president of business for the Portland Timbers and co-chair of this year’s Work for Art campaign. “Through our workplace giving campaigns over the last nine and a half years, we have raised more than $7 million and built Work for Art into a strong mechanism for employees to support arts and culture in our region. Now we get to put some of those same employees in the spotlight and we invite the community to come cheer them on.”

Battle of the Bands is sponsored by headliners Burgerville, KeyBank, Portland General Electric, The Portland Timbers and The Standard. Co-sponsors include Alpha Media/KINK 101.9 FM, NW Natural, The Oregon Cultural Trust, Portland Business Journal and Willamette Week.

“We are excited to sponsor this event because we know how important it is to support arts organizations and arts education in our community,” said David R. Lofland, president of KeyBank Oregon and SW Washington and co-chair of this year’s Work for Art campaign. “This is also proving to be a fun way to celebrate the creativity of our employees – even bankers have some amazing hidden artistic talents!”

In a related fundraiser, event goers and the public at large can purchase tickets to be entered into a raffle to win a handcrafted electric guitar, built by Burgerville president Jeff Harvey. The guitar is valued at $3,000 and the winning ticket will be drawn at approximately 9:00 p.m. on May 12. The winner need not be present to win. Raffle tickets are $20 each and are available at workforart.org/raffle.

Work for Art is a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), which distributes a full 100% of all Work for Art donations, including Battle of the Bands proceeds, to arts organizations in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties. For more information visit workforart.org.

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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.


Sarah Iannarone responds

Sarah Iannarone (Candidate for Mayor) responded on April 7, 2016:

(1) In what specific ways have you supported arts and culture in Portland?   

Personally, I attend arts and culture functions throughout Portland almost weekly, from performances at the Schnitzer and Gerding theaters to independent theater, gallery shows, and live music performances throughout the city. Artists, makers, and creatives are my colleagues, friends, and community.

At my small business, the Arleta Library Café, we have an in-house curator, muralist Chris Haberman, who ensures a rotating array of local artists have a free venue from which to display and sell their art.

At the community level, I worked with my neighbors on the Arleta Triangle Project to secure a RACC grant to build an artistic public plaza as a traffic calming and community beautification asset. I also serve on the board of the Halprin Landscape Conservancy, raising funds through an innovative public-private partnership to protect and promote the world-renown fountains in downtown Portland designed by Lawrence Halprin.

Globally, I share Portland’s arts & culture policies and best practices with visitors from around the world, including TriMet’s innovative 1.5% set aside in capital budgets for public arts and community initiatives such as the Falcon Arts Community and the City Repair Project.

(2) Artists and arts organizations add measurable value to our region’s economy, our education system and our quality of life, and yet there are a number of pressing needs in our community that often compete for attention and investment.  What is the Mayor’s proper role in supporting arts and culture in the region?

Foremost, the mayor of Portland must truly value the role of Portland’s thriving arts scene–economically and culturally, both locally and abroad. What does it mean to be a “creative city”? The arts are not a discrete entity separate from our local culture and economy; they are central to it. Our artists and creatives are the face of our city to the world. Many artists are self-employed business owners. Artists are contribute to businesses small and large, comprise non-profit organizations, and contribute to the livability and vitality of our place. As mayor, I will ensure that we support the initiatives to augment artists’ security and prosperity, through investments in entrepreneurship, network building, and connections for paid work in the private sector. I will also promote affordable housing and workspace for independent artists, makers, and creatives.

(3) The region’s affordability is a serious concern for all of us, including artists and arts-related businesses. What are your plans for making housing and creative spaces more affordable?

Foremost, we need to evaluate how much supply of housing we need at every level of the income spectrum in coming years and develop a plan for funding an adequate supply at each level of the spectrum—public housing (0-30MFI), subsidized “affordable housing” (30-80MFI), and the “missing middle” (80-120MFI). Above that, we should be looking at projected development of luxury housing (120+MFI) and establishing mechanisms for capturing value from these to pay for investments at the lower end of the spectrum. Additionally, we need mechanisms for mitigating the rampant speculation and unhealthy demolition that is destroying valuable housing supply and driving up costs, such as loosening zoning restrictions and assessing carbon impact fees, scaled impact fees, demolition fees, and transfer taxes. Finally, many artists rent both housing and commercial space, so we need to instate aggressive tenant protections ASAP.

(4) Are there other unmet needs when it comes to shaping Portland’s arts and culture policy for the future? If so, what steps would you take to help ensure those needs are met, and how should they be funded?

First, we must move away from strictly “bricks and mortar” subsidies in arts facilities if we want to nurture artistic occupations. This means helping secure financing for collaborative maker spaces and live-work spaces. It also means investing in the profitability of artists through entrepreneurship and financial training. Second, we need to actively build bridges between traditional private sector enterprises and artists, creating channels for artists to gain meaningful employment based on or in support of their art. Finally, I would shift our funding priorities away from larger performing arts facilities and organizations (encouraging them to seek philanthropic dollars) toward smaller, more diverse cultural organizations that have a harder time competing for limited grant money. I also think a dedicated revenue stream generated from tourism could be directed to support arts and culture.

 (5) The Arts Education & Access Fund, or arts tax, has delivered on its promise of providing arts specialists for all K-5 schools in Portland, but the fund hasn’t generated enough revenue to support as many grants for arts and culture organizations as envisioned. If elected, would you take any steps to modify the arts tax, improve administration of it, and/or fulfill the voters’ vision of supporting arts education and access through other means?

I think we are on target with regard to priorities—education was what voters expressed favor in supporting with their “Yes” vote. That said, we have created a self-reporting mechanism that can be, like TriMet light rail fares and other “honor systems,” more costly to enforce than not. Surely, there must be a way for us to collect the tax more efficiently and effectively? Please note, while I support the Arts tax, I am NOT a fan of its HIGHLY REGRESSIVE nature. It appalls me that someone making several hundred thousand dollars in income annually pays the same as someone making $1000 per year. It’s unjust and, for people on a fixed income, slightly traumatic. I will advocate that we seek ways to make the tax more progressive, not simply less regressive and certainly easier to collect.

Back to Candidates’ page.


Chloe Eudaly responds

Chloe Eudaly (Candidate for Portland Commissioner, Position 4) responded April 7, 2016:

(1) In what specific ways have you supported arts and culture in Portland?  

For the past 21 years I’ve owned and operated Reading Frenzy, a mission-driven bookshop devoted to independent media with a special focus on self-published work including zines, comics, and artists’ books and offering an open door policy for local publishers. We’ve hosted around 500 free literary and art events, including monthly art shows for most of the past two decades. In our new location we have a small, dedicated exhibit space — Minikin Gallery — where the majority of our shows are by women and minority artists. I’m a co-founder, former board member, and current advisory board member of the Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC). I’ve also given numerous talks and workshops around Portland, including several Portland Public Schools, the Portland Zine Symposium, and the Multnomah County Library.

My past volunteer experience in Portland’s arts and culture community includes curating unrepresented artists for the Cascade Aids Project annual art auction, serving as marketing chair for the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition, reviewing performances for PICA’s TBA press corps, and writing for a variety of local publications.

More recently I served as the Vice President of the Historic Mississippi Business Association and on the Mississippi Street Fair Committee, where I proposed and oversaw vetting vendors with a majority focus on diverse local businesses, artists, and makers in order to better reflect our business district, neighborhood, and city.

I’ve also had the chance to work with some of Portland’s major arts institutions such as the Portland Art Museum, where I conducted a live interview with comic artist Joe Sacco in conjuction with the Robert Crumb exhibit, and MOCC/PNCA where I recently curated a contemporary zine collection for the Alien She exhibit.

Portland’s arts and culture is also a vital part of my personal life. I strive to support local creative businesses, arts organizations, and artists. I can frequently be found out and about enjoying Portland’s cultural offerings whether it’s music, film, theater, visual art, readings, or lectures.

(2) Artists and arts organizations add measurable value to our region’s economy, our education system and our quality of life, and yet there are a number of pressing needs in our community that often compete for attention and investment.  What is Portland’s proper role in supporting arts and culture in the region?

Arts and culture is essential to our city. I support arts education and arts funding, but I think the more important question is why when Oregon’s economy is thriving do we still have so many pressing and competing needs? The short answer is that we are not requiring big business and top income earners to pay their fair share in taxes, we have stagnant wages, and at least a quarter of our residents have become cost-burdened and impoverished by unchecked rent increases. If we deal with some of these fundamental issues — increasing tax revenues, raising wages, and providing affordable housing — we will not only free up public dollars for funding the arts, but we will have healthier and more stable communities who can develop their own cultural plans, and residents will have discretionary income to spend on enjoying and supporting our arts community.

As a city we have a responsibility to provide arts access and opportunity to our whole community, to consider and include arts and culture needs in our longterm planning, to strive to increase public funding when it’s available, encourage private sector giving, support existing creative spaces and organizations, and of course, artists.

(3) The region’s affordability is a serious concern for all of us, including artists and arts-related businesses. What are your plans for making housing and creative spaces more affordable?

Nearly ten years ago when the initial conversations about the Arts Tax began, I publicly expressed my concerns with various people involved in the effort about rising rents for artists’ studios and commercial spaces. I suggested the city consider creating commercial land trusts in order to preserve affordable spaces. As we know, the city has largely failed to create long term affordable space for artists to work and live, let alone mitigate their displacement. This continues to be the case in the Inner SE Industrial Sanctuary, where upcoming zoning changes are going to bring huge rent increases and massive displacement to existing artists, organizations, and businesses. The IPRC (currently located at SE 10th & Division) is actively looking for a new space due to a 300% rent increase when their lease expires early next year.

We are in the midst of a housing crisis that is impacting at least a quarter of our residents. We need rent control to stem the tide of displacement, impoverishment, and homelessness being caused by unchecked rent increases. We need to end no cause evictions. And we need significant and sustained investment in affordable housing for our extremely low income residents. By addressing our 24,000 affordable unit shortfall we can move people out of their currently unaffordable housing and open up space for moderate earners. I’d also like the city to lift zoning restrictions that prevent property owners from turning single family residences into multi-family units, and allow tiny houses on wheels (currently illegal). These are small but meaningful measures that would increase density and could create more affordable dwellings, while helping to preserve some of our old homes and neighborhood character.

As far as commercial spaces, we have a few options — commercial land trusts could create permanent affordable studio/exhibit/performance spaces. There’s a development on SE Belmont called Zoomtopia which clusters office, studios, and light industrial spaces in one building with shared common areas and provided a buy in option for artists and nonprofits for long term stability (it has sold recently and the buy-in option may have been eliminated). I would like to see a complete inventory of buildings and lots owned by the city and county, consider the needs of the neighborhoods they’re in, and devote some of them to developing affordable work/live/creative commercial spaces.

(4) Are there other unmet needs when it comes to shaping Portland’s arts and culture policy for the future? If so, what steps would you take to help ensure those needs are met, and how should they be funded?

The most pivotal cultural experiences I had in my youth did not take place in or thanks to major arts institutions, they happened in Portland’s record shops, bookstores, galleries, cafes, and performance venues, often in improvised spaces, where free speech, creative expression, and community came before profit. The frequently unsung heroes behind these spaces are creative and visionary small business owners who have hugely contributed to our cultural landscape. These “third places” have been heavily impacted by the march of gentrification and displacement, and deserve our support, whether that’s through offering technical assistance, professional development, and project grants, taking steps to mitigate displacement and devastating rent increases, or providing long term affordable commercial space.

(5) The Arts Education & Access Fund, or arts tax, has delivered on its promise of providing arts specialists for all K-5 schools in Portland, but the fund hasn’t generated enough revenue to support as many grants for arts and culture organizations as envisioned. If elected, would you take any steps to modify the arts tax, improve administration of it, and/or fulfill the voters’ vision of supporting arts education and access through other means?

If I could wave a magic wand over The Arts Education & Access Fund I would at least double the income exemption, make the tax graduated based on income, and expand the arts education programming to include middle and high school students. However, any major changes to the tax would require that we take it back to the voters, and because arts education is absolutely essential I wouldn’t want to risk losing this funding until or unless we have a backup plan.

The city could do a better job letting residents know when and where to pay the Arts Tax — many people do not realize it’s a separate tax they need to pay — so I’d put some effort into educating the public. I do not support collections action — the city would see very little return on such a small amount due — and frankly the suggestion makes the arts community sound out of touch or indifferent to the very real and widespread housing crisis we’re in the midst of. With a quarter of our residents living in cost-burdened households it’s a wonder that we’ve seen the level of compliance we do have.

But let’s think bigger — the arts tax was a creative stop gap measure to make up for lack of funding due in part to the “tax revolt” of the 90s and the fact that we are not making big business or high income earners pay their fair share of taxes in Oregon. Oregon was declared to have the healthiest economy in the country by a recent Bloomberg Study, yet we are 41st in education and Portland has to pass the hat, so to speak, to fund arts programming in our schools. I support A Better Oregon — an initiative to raise the minimum corporate tax (currently $150) on companies doing 25M+ in sales in Oregon. The money raised will go to early education, K-12 education, healthcare, and senior services.

Back to Candidates’ page.


Fred Stewart responds

Fred Stewart (Candidate for Portland Commissioner, Position 4) responded April 6, 2016:

(1) In what specific ways have you supported arts and culture in Portland?  

I have advocated for a more sustainable and broadly reaching source of funding for the arts in Portland than the current arts tax. I have also proposed the creation of a new city Bureau, the Bureau of Arts and Culture. I believe that a Bureau of Arts and Culture will allow the City of Portland to support the creative community at a level that will live up to the values and expectations of the people of Portland. The City of Portland has to be involved in the forming and achieving goals for public art, art education, and the creative industry. This bureau will work as a partner and an ally to the creative community.

(2) Artists and arts organizations add measurable value to our region’s economy, our education system and our quality of life, and yet there are a number of pressing needs in our community that often compete for attention and investment.  What is Portland’s proper role in supporting arts and culture in the region?

The City has to take an active role in addressing challenges to the creative community in general. It should always be ally, and in some cases, a leader.

(3) The region’s affordability is a serious concern for all of us, including artists and arts-related businesses. What are your plans for making housing and creative spaces more affordable?

City Hall has to start including the working class and lower-income people in all of its future plans for the City of Portland. It has to set clear goals for sustainable affordable housing and low-cost commercial and work space in Portland. I hope to lead the City of Portland in establishing these goals, and in the meantime, in developing the necessary relationships and partnerships that will allow the city to develop transitional housing and low-cost work space in Portland so Portland can continue to be a city that is inclusive of all economic levels.  One of the responsibilities my proposed Portland Arts and Culture Bureau will have will be monitoring the needs of the creative community and ensuring that those needs are considered in all future urban planning.

(4) Are there other unmet needs when it comes to shaping Portland’s arts and culture policy for the future? If so, what steps would you take to help ensure those needs are met, and how should they be funded?

We need to make it easier for both the public and private sector to invest and participate in the arts.   Portland needs to work with the creative community to learn what, if anything the city can do to help financially support a robust creative community.

(5) The Arts Education & Access Fund, or arts tax, has delivered on its promise of providing arts specialists for all K-5 schools in Portland, but the fund hasn’t generated enough revenue to support as many grants for arts and culture organizations as envisioned. If elected, would you take any steps to modify the arts tax, improve administration of it, and/or fulfill the voters’ vision of supporting arts education and access through other means? 

Absolutely. It is my intention to increase the funding for the arts in the City of Portland and to provide a path for sustainability of funding for them.

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