The new sculpture River Guardian by Lillian Pitt with Mikkel & Saralyn Hilde will be dedicated on Friday, January 27 at 2:00 p.m.
The sculpture is located on the South Waterfront Greenway adjacent to where SW Penoyer Street meets the Greenway. Additional information will be posted on the RACC Facebook page or call Kristin Calhoun at 503.823.5401.
The RACC Professional Development Grant Program individual artists and arts organizations in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties with activities that improve their business management development skills and/or brings to them to another level artistically. A total of $39,871 was awarded to 29 individuals and 4 organizations. These grants were approved by the RACC Board on December 14, 2016.
* First Time Professional Development Grant Recipient
Except where noted, recipients are from Multnomah County
Individuals
*Alvarado, Amaya – Acrobatic training in Beijing – $1,000
*Bay, Amy – Online mentorship/feedback program – $750
Brock, Charissa – Update artist website – $1,500 (Washington)
*Brown, Ezekiel – Work with fundraising consultant – $1,200
*Bundy, Elizabeth – Update artist website – $1,500
*Burns, Hannah – Present work in Minneapolis – $520
*Cook, Jan – Photo Lucida portfolio review – $750
*Corris, Amy – Tradeshow in Utah – $1,200 (Washington)
*Curington, Susan – Study with master teacher in California – $984 (Washington)
*Fuchs, Jodi – Create marketing plan with consultant – $810
*Green, Cheryl – Audio description training in North Carolina – $1,070
*Gregor, Amarette – Craft jewelry tradeshow in Baltimore – $2,000
*Hanson, Erica – Work with artist coach – $600 (Clackamas)
*Horan, Elisabeth – Residency and exhibition in Maine – $912
*Kemp, Courtney – Residency and exhibition in Denver – $780
*Kilbourne, Kate – Internship in Washington DC – $800
*Lux, Ali – Dance workshops in Jamaica – $1,360
*Mefford, Benjamin – Sculpture exchange program in Japan – $1,500 (Clackamas)
*Pagliarulo, Jane – Etching workshop in San Francisco – $1,800
*Prado, Emilly – Residency in Mexico – $1,430
*Roessler, Sophie – Conference and residency in Toronto – $1,165
*Stewart, Aremy – Residency in Italy – $1,605
*Stull Meyers, Ashley – Residency in Canada – $750
*Tolosa, Consuelo – Work with business consultant – $1,000
*Trail, Jennifer – Photo Lucida portfolio review – $750
*Turley, Austin – Residency in Mexico – $1,595
Walker, Curtis – Study with master artist in London – $2,000
*Wrenn, Rio – Residency in France – $1,000
*Yes, Larry – Create artist website – $1,500
*Oregon Society of Artists – Continue updates to website – $1,540
*Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts – Create new website – $2,000
*The Obo Addy Legacy Project – Study dance & music in Ghana – $1,500
*Westside Cultural Alliance – Attend AFTA Conference – $1,000 (Washington)
PORTLAND, ORE – At its October 26 board meeting, the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) board of directors approved to expand by three the number of organizations that receive General Operating Support annually from RACC, awarding grants to My Voice Music ($9,800), Portland Playhouse ($23,000) and The Circus Project ($12,800).
A total of 51 arts organizations in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties now receive annual unrestricted financial support from RACC to help them provide a wide range of arts programming for the public. Other General Operating Support organizations are listed at http://bit.ly/2e5lp9j. These grants are funded by Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties, the City of Portland general fund, and the city’s Arts Education & Access Fund, or arts tax.
In addition, RACC has distributed proceeds from its 10th annual Work for Art campaign to 49 local arts organizations, including:
Artist Repertory Theatre, $17,018
Bag & Baggage Productions, $ 8,980
Blue Sky Gallery, $5,086
BodyVox, $12,348
Broadway Rose Theatre Company, $21,543
Cappella Romana, Inc., $5,430
Chamber Music Northwest, $13,531
Children’s Healing Art Project, $5,787
Disjecta, $3,600
Echo Theater Company, $11,880
Ethos Music Center, $9,169
Friends of Chamber Music, $10,458
Hand2Mouth, $3,000
Hollywood Theatre, $9,768
Imago Theatre, $9,008
Independent Publishing Resource Center, $5,574
Lakewood Center for the Arts, $21,738
Literary Arts, Inc., $14,827
Live Wire! Radio, $5,653
Metropolitan Youth Symphony, $11,922
Miracle Theatre Group, $13,988
Northwest Children’s Theatre, $13,451
Northwest Dance Project, $10,190
NW Documentary Arts & Media, $3,699
Oregon Ballet Theatre, $19,581
Oregon Children’s Theatre, $22,757
Oregon Symphony Association, $19,388
PDX Jazz, $5,931
Pendulum Aerial Arts, $3,600
PHAME, $6,309
PlayWrite, Inc., $5,857
Portland Art Museum/Northwest Film Center, $24,109
Portland Baroque Orchestra, $12,196
Portland Center Stage, $23,163
Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, $6,690
Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, $9,691
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, $14,564
Portland Opera, $23,956
Portland Piano International, $8,256
Portland Youth Philharmonic, $14,961
Profile Theatre Project, $10,595
The Portland Ballet, $10,325
The Right Brain Initiative, $10,000
Third Angle New Music Ensemble, $4,850
Third Rail Repertory Theatre, $6,939
Triangle Productions, $3,000
White Bird, $14,760
Write Around Portland, $9,161
Young Audiences of Oregon, $17,069
Work for Art is a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council that raises money and awareness for arts and culture organizations, primarily through workplace giving. More than $912,000 was paid or pledged in the Work for Art campaign that ended June 30, 2016. Approximately 20% of all campaign donations are designated for specific arts organizations, but a large portion of the proceeds were unrestricted, and RACC distributes 100% of those to its General Operating Support organizations and through other grant programs throughout the year. A total of $555,358 was distributed to the groups listed above, and additional proceeds will be distributed to other arts organizations during the course of the year.
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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.
By Heather Morrill, The Giving Tree NW
For eight weeks, beginning September 2016, two groups of residents living in affordable housing took part in The Giving Tree’s Art Explorations. These class sessions, brought directly on-site to the community rooms at Alder House Apartments and Station Place Tower, were funded in part by an Arts Equity Grant from the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC).
The Giving Tree NW provides opportunities for residents living in affordable housing to gather together as a community, and improve their quality of life, through art, education and recreation. Participants are seniors, veterans, people with mental illnesses, physical limitations, developmental disabilities and/or recovering from addictions, all united by low or fixed incomes. They are also artists, makers, musicians, writers, dreamers and doers.
Art Explorations breaks isolation and brings diverse individuals together to share a new experience. These classes are a chance for participants to build community, utilize art as a means of communication, and tap wells of strength and creativity that had been previously hidden.
RACC funding helped expand The Giving Tree’s existing 6-session Art Explorations curriculum by two sessions to include self-portrait work, to deepen lessons in self-expression, and see all the unique beauty each one of us offers. Artist and Art Instructor Suki Allen Olson, of Bird’s Eye View Studio, taught the eighth class session of the series, a self-portrait in ink. Taking a class at Suki’s studio captivated participants, expanding their technical skills and knowledge of working artists in the community.
J. King, an artist and affordable housing resident who completed Art Explorations on October 19th, is a shining example of the change engaging undeserved communities in art making can bring about.
“I suffer from a traumatic brain injury,” says King, “and expressing myself through art helps with my memory, thought patterns, ideas, and gives me something positive to do. A year and a half ago I was homeless (for 9 years, on the streets of Portland). I believe that Art Explorations has tapped a vein in me to express myself more through art, to participate in group art shows and try to make a name for myself and my work.”
With co-hosts Innovative Housing, Inc. and Erickson Gallery, The Giving Tree NW will display artwork created in 2016 during Art Explorations at Erickson Gallery, 9 NW 2nd Ave., for the month of November.
The celebratory First Thursday opening on November 3rd, 2016 from 5-7 p.m. will give the greater community of Portland an opportunity to see creative expressions that are usually invisible. It will give a creative voice to an under represented portion of our population, broadening our entire creative community and showing the impact and role of art in the goal of creating diverse, equitable communities.
RACC Arts Equity Grants provide financial support to organizations in Multnomah County and the City of Portland conducting arts and culture projects and programming for communities of color, immigrants, refugees, underserved neighborhoods, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ communities, and other under-represented communities. These grants help further RACC’s commitment to ensuring that everyone in our region has equal access to arts and the fundamental right to express their culture through the arts. A listing of other Arts Equity grantees for 2016-17 is available online. Arts Equity Grant applications will be available again in early 2017, and RACC anticipates the deadline will be in late February. Watch racc.org and Art Notes for further information.
This time of year the sun is setting before 8:00 p.m., a new season of your favorite television series premieres, and wide-ruled notebooks are selling for 70 cents each. It is September and a new school year is officially upon us.
At the Regional Arts & Culture Council, The Right Brain Initiative is back in action at local schools.
Now in its eighth year, Right Brain is proud to serve over 27,500 K-8 students in seven school districts: Corbett, Gresham-Barlow, Hillsboro, North Clackamas, Oregon Trail, Portland Public, and our newest addition, Reynolds. This fall, Right Brain is adding six partner schools located between Hillsboro and Boring, including Alder Elementary, Corbett Grade, Kelso Elementary, King K-8, Poynter Middle, and Troutdale Elementary.
Professional development for school staff continues to be a cornerstone of the program, training teachers and principals on arts integration as an approach to teaching all subjects including language arts, science, social studies and math. As one educator put it, “By integrating the arts into [all] instruction, it becomes a powerful vehicle for making the subject-area content relevant and meaningful.” This year, we are excited to supplement our full-day off-campus training sessions for small teacher teams with in-school mini workshops to reach the entire school staff. Engage all teachers; reach all students.
Teachers also learn to weave the arts into classroom learning by collaborating with Right Brain teaching artists. Over the last year, seven new artists joined Right Brain’s Teaching Artist Roster diversifying artist residency offerings to include recycled art, digital animation, and Peruvian dance, among others.
Last year, teaching artist Lin Lucas joined 3rd grade classrooms at Rieke Elementary where students and teachers explored graphic arts as a vehicle to examining historical and cultural norms in the Portland community. During their social studies unit on the Oregon Trail, students created narratives in the form of comics to express the similarities and differences among people from different cultures. When asked what it takes to make a successful comic, one student explained, “I learned that you have to dig in, get tons of evidence, know the ‘who, what, when, where, and why,’ and you have to ask questions.” At the conclusion of the project she commented, “It just amazes me how far comics can go [to express] what other people’s perspectives are.” This experience most certainly demonstrates that creative expression provides new entry points into learning that can invigorate classrooms, stimulate student dialogue and cultivate reflection.
If you’re wondering how this happens, Right Brain is proud to unveil a brand new video illustrating how all of these program aspects fit together to change the learning experience for students. In the video, 7th and 8th grade teacher Laresa Beck applies what she has learned through Right Brain to make creative sparks fly in her classroom. “I’m a good teacher,” she says, “but Right Brain has kind of made me a great teacher.”
Beginning September 12, The Right Brain Initiative will celebrate National Arts in Education Week (September 11-17) by releasing our 2016 Progress Report. We will also share stories of how arts education has impacted our community, including perspectives from our staff, as well as the students and educators we serve. Help us celebrate arts education by being our friend on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to follow our updates and share your own story about how arts education has made a difference in your life.
Want to learn more about The Right Brain Initiative, meet our staff, and have your questions answered? Join us at our next Right Brain Information Session on Wednesday, October 12, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at RACC, 411 NW Park Avenue, Suite 101. Also check out our new fundraising campaign Invest in Imagination Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund Challenge that matches dollar-for-dollar new individual contributions of $100 or more, all to support The Right Brain Initiative.
Throughout the Portland metro region, businesses are using the arts more than ever before to inspire employees, stimulate innovation and foster creative collaboration. And increasingly, RACC is working to support this powerful intersection between arts and business.
RACC’s workplace giving campaign, Work for Art, engages employees in creative activities while raising contributions on behalf of local nonprofit arts organizations. And through our Business Committee for the Arts (BCA), RACC provides essential services for businesses who support the arts, including Art of Leadership, a board training program, and the Arts Breakfast of Champions, an annual recognition event.
Our 11th annual campaign kicks off this month, chaired by Kregg Arntson, director of corporate social responsibility for Portland General Electric and executive director of the PGE Foundation. Although Work for Art is primarily a workplace giving program, anyone can participate and enjoy the benefits of making a single gift that supports 100 arts and culture organizations in our community. Online at workforart.org.
Registration for the 2016-17 series is now open! The first workshop is slated for October 5, then on future Wednesdays — November 9, December 7, January 4, February 1, and March 1. The $800 tuition fee includes all six workshops, five lunches, and an afternoon graduation reception. For more information visit racc.org/artofleadership. Deadline to apply: 9/26/16.
Coming next spring, RACC will unveil new, advanced-level Art of Leadership workshops specifically designed for current board members to do a deeper dive on board engagement and fundraising issues. Stay tuned!
To help us expand these programs and build more collaborations between arts organizations and businesses, RACC will convene a visioning session with arts and business leaders in the fall – stay tuned for more information, or contact jhawthorne@racc.org to be added to the invitation list. Also, RACC is currently seeking applications for a new, full-time Business Partner Manager position. For more information on this exciting job opportunity, visit http://bit.ly/2aAPtXV.
By Sara Farrokhzadian
Summer time is project grant season at RACC and staff is spreading the word about the upcoming “Intent to Apply” deadline on August 3, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. This year $650,000 in funding is available for artistic projects and events that are scheduled to take place in calendar year 2017. Project grant awards range from $1,000 to $7,000 each.
RACC encourages individual artists and nonprofit organizations in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties to apply. Successful proposals will involve the creation or presentation of a performance, exhibit, or other work of art that is available to the general public sometime in 2017. There are two categories of project grants: Artistic Focus and Community Participation & Access. For more information on project grant guidelines, please visit racc.culturegrants.org.
RACC project grants support artistic projects in our community
RACC funded 131 project grants for 2016, , supporting a wide range of projects in a variety of disciplines including literature, media arts, dance, multi-discipline and social practice. This funding has provided important opportunities for artists and our community.
Fumi’s Floral Shoppe
Chris Parkhurst, a Portland media artist, received a RACC project grant to film a short documentary about 93 year old Fumi Itatmi and the flower shop she and her family have operated in Portland for the last 70 years. Fumi’s Floral Shoppe depicts Portland’s history and transformation through the challenges and change Fumi and her flower shop experienced, including Fumi’s forced placement in an internment camp during World War II. For Parkhurst, the film tells a powerful story of five generations of Japanese women keeping their family and community connected through their flower shop. The film presents the audience with real and tangible experiences from our collective history in Portland.
For Parkhurst, the RACC project grant award has had a huge impact on his art making. “RACC project grant funding allows me to practice my passion of documentary films,” Parkhurst said. Parkhurst has been making documentary film since 2004 and, like many other artists he knows, does not make his living through documentary film making. “I encourage every artist I know who has a project they feel strongly about to apply for the RACC grant,” Parkhurst explained. “Even more than that, if they don’t receive a grant the first time out to make sure to apply again during the next cycle and not to give up.”
Fumi’s Flora Shoppe will premiere in fall 2016.
Artosaur
Christine Martell, a visual artist based in Hillsboro, received a Community Participation & Access project grant for her Artosaur Project in 2016. The Artosaur, a robotic dinosaur sculpture, is an arts advocate and educator with a mission to show us that art is everywhere. The project took the Artosaur out into the community to hold art making experiences for the public at library events. These art making experiences incorporated a technology component ranging in complexity from simple folding to create book marks with small children to building LED lit vibrating bugs with older children. Martell held all six of her events in Washington County and reached more than 1,800 participants. Martell also incorporated youth volunteers from the Youth Advisory Council to assist with facilitating the events increasing the community reach of her project.
The RACC project grant was instrumental for Martell and her work. “Through the project grant I am reaching very, very different communities than I have in the past.” Martell said. “I used to hold shows in galleries, but through Artosaur, I embed myself where the population is.”
Through the project grant, Martell feels supported as a community based artist. “RACC not only understands community based art, but RACC funds it as well,” she says. Although Martell has completed her RACC-funded project, she has already begun building on her project grant work. Martell and the Artosaur will hold a weekly pop up makerspace at the Tuesday Night Market in Hillsboro this summer.
How to apply
A great first step in the application process is reading the eligibility guidelines available online at racc.culturegrants.org. This will give applicants an opportunity to determine whether they are eligible for a project grant.
Applicants will submit an “Intent to Apply” form online by Wednesday, August 3, 2016 by 5:00 p.m. through racc.culturegrants.org. First time applicants will need to create a new account through the sign up feature and will be able to access the project grant guidelines and forms. The “Intent to Apply” is a simple form that helps to determine basic eligibility before applicants are invited to submit a full proposal.
All applicants will be notified by email within a few days whether they are invited to submit a full proposal, due August 17, 2016 by 5:00 p.m.
Eligible proposals will be grouped by discipline and adjudicated by a panel of community volunteers who have interest and experience in arts and culture programming. For a listing of project grant awards in 2016, visit racc.org/grants.
Awards will be announced in late December.
RACC staff is there to help
RACC staff are committed to making the grants program accessible to all applicants and to support candidates through the application process. Grants staff Helen Daltoso, Ingrid Carlson and Quinn MacNichol are available to assist applicants in a variety of ways.
RACC will host free orientation sessions in July, walking applicants through the guidelines and the process of submitting a competitive application. Applicants can meet grant staff and will have the opportunity to ask questions.
Free Grant Orientations:
Thurs, July 7| 9:00-11:00am
RACC Office (411 NW Park Ave #101 in Portland)
for Nonprofit Organizations
Tues, July 12 | 5:30-7:00pm
North Portland Library (512 N Killingsworth St in Portland)
for All Applicants
Tues, July 19 | 5:30-7:00pm
RACC Office (411 NW Park Ave #101 in Portland)
for Individual Artists
Wed, July 20 | 3:00-5:00pm
RACC Office (411 NW Park Ave #101 in Portland)
for Nonprofit Organizations
Thurs July 21 | 5:30-7:00pm
East Portland Neighborhood Office (1017 NE 117th Ave in Portland)
for All Applicants
Tues, July 26 | 9:00-11:00am
RACC Office (411 NW Park Ave #101 in Portland)
for Individual Artists
If you plan to attend you can register at
https://regionalarts.wufoo.com/forms/2017-project-grant-orientation-registration/
RACC also has a series of online video tutorials that can help guide applicants through the application process—available at http://bit.ly/1l6zBfd.
Parkhurst has noticed RACC’s focus on accessibility. “There are increased resources that are readily available,” said Parkhurst. During his application process, Parkhurst found it helpful to ask questions. “Part of what is instrumental is to ask questions,” he said. “It encourages dialogue between the applicant and the program.”
Martell, a first time project grant recipient, found the orientation sessions provided practical information on how to approach the application. She also submitted her grant application early enough to arrange for staff feedback on her proposal. Her advice to applicants is: “Do everything – attend the orientations, ask questions, and submit your proposal early and get feedback.” Martell feels that the project grant application process she has given her a better understanding of how to obtain funding that will help her as she moves forward.
RACC staff emphasizes that they want to make themselves available to support applicants. If applicants cannot attend the information sessions, have questions, or would like one-on-one support, they can call or email grant staff for assistance. First time applicants should contact Ingrid Carlson at 503-823-5417 or icarlson@racc.org, and returning applicants should contact Helen Daltoso at 503-823-5402 or hdaltoso@racc.org.
RACC also provides technical and translation assistance for applicants who require it. RACC can help with computer access issues and will translate application materials and provide over-the-phone interpretation services when needed. Applicants can contact Quinn MacNichol at 503-823-2928 or qmacnichol@racc.org for technical assistance.
Guidelines and “Intent to Apply” forms are now available at racc.culturegrants.org.
PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) board of directors has elected Mike Golub board chair for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016. Mike is the President of Business for the Portland Timbers and has more than 25 years of experience in professional sports marketing and management, including leadership positions with Nike, the Portland Trail Blazers, New York Rangers and the National Basketball Association. For the past two years Mike has co-chaired RACC’s annual Work for Art campaign. He also serves on the board of the Portland Business Alliance, Children’s Cancer Association, Oregon Sports Authority and the Oregon Cultural Trust.
Phillip T. Hillaire has been re-elected vice chair. Hillaire is a member of the Lummi Tribe. He is involved in protecting tribal sovereignty, cultures, arts and traditions. He has coordinated fundraising events for Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, and planned conferences and handled communications for the Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest Indians.
Eileen L. Day has been re-elected treasurer. She became a CPA in 1997, and has experience in financial reporting, development and analyses of key performance indicators for finance and operations, budgeting and forecasting. In 2003 she joined Portland Center Stage as the Finance Director. In 2005, she joined Holmes & Company and has been the audit partner since 2007.
Steve Rosenbaum has been elected secretary. Steve is an independent marketing consultant and the founder of Pop Art, a digital marketing agency. He believes that arts education is critical to the innovation economy, and has served on the boards of City Club of Portland, the Software Association of Oregon, Tech America Oregon, Chess for Success and the Oregon Bus Project.
Other continuing RACC Board members include Nik Blosser, Verlea G. Briggs, Katy A. Brooks, Robert Bucker, Raymond C. Cheung, CPA, Representative Lew Frederick, Debbie Glaze, Osvaldo ‘Ozzie’ Gonzalez, Angela Hult, Dana Ingram, Susheela Jayapal, David R. Lofland, Jr., Linda McGeady, Brenda L. Meltebeke, Joanna Priestley and Shyla M. Spicer.
In addition, four new members have been elected to the RACC board:
Board and staff profiles are available online at http://www.racc.org/about/staff-board.
Eric Hormel and Joe Krumm rotate off the RACC Board on June 30, 2016. RACC greatly appreciates their long and committed service to the organization and the local arts community.
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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.
