RACC Blog

October is National Arts & Humanities Month

Issued by Americans for the Arts on October 3, 2016

October is National Arts & Humanities Month (NAHM)—a coast-to-coast collective recognition of the importance of culture in America. NAHM was launched by Americans for the Arts 30 years ago as National Arts Week in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1993, it was reestablished by Americans for the Arts and national arts partners as a month-long celebration, with goals of:

FOCUSING on the arts at local, state, and national levels;

ENCOURAGING individuals and organizations to participate in the arts;

ALLOWING governments and businesses to show their support of the arts; and

RAISING public awareness about the role the arts and humanities play in our communities and lives.

Get Involved!

Hosting an event is an easy way to celebrate NAHM in your community, like a Creative Conversation, an open house or special performance at a local arts venue, or a Community Vision Forum. Check out our resources page for event ideas and tools.

We have tools to help you promote your event! Use our National ArtsMeet Calendar to promote your event and find others happening near you. (Don’t forget, you can use this calendar year round!)

We are excited to host the first ever National Creative Conversation on Facebook Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 9-10 p.m. ET. Creative Conversations have been a mechanism for communities to talk about the arts and culture in their area. This is a chance for everyone to gather together as a national community to share what is happening on the ground! Mark your calendars, invite your friends, grab a snack and beverage, and join the conversation!

President Obama has officially proclaimed October 2016 as National Arts and Humanities Month. In this year’s proclamation, he wrote, “In seeking to break down barriers and challenge our assumptions, we must continue promoting and prioritizing the arts and humanities, especially for our young people. In many ways, the arts and humanities reflect our national soul. They are central to who we are as Americans—as dreamers and storytellers, creators and visionaries. By investing in the arts, we can chart a course for the future in which the threads of our common humanity are bound together with creative empathy and openness.”

You can secure a proclamation from your elected officials to make National Arts & Humanities Month an official annual commemoration of the arts in your city or town. Use our sample proclamation and customize to your community.

Visit AFTA’s NATIONAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES MONTH


Pieces of the Public Art Process: Recent and Upcoming Projects

The public art process is dynamic and often reveals the significance of place and community.

Public art is not only an object or image in public space. It’s ultimately a process that requires coordinating the realities, opportunities, and challenges unique to communities. From a work’s conceptualization, to fabrication, and eventual installation, the process involved in public art often involves harmonizing many factors–from interests and expectations to tastes and policies–in order to produce the object or image seen out in public.  For the Public Art department at the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), the entire process has largely two components amid the broader effort of enriching communities through arts and culture.

The public art process highlights the relevance and context of “place,” be it abstract or concrete. Place can be considered not only an object or physical location, but also a way of seeing. The significance and history of a specific place can also be the inspiration behind a public artwork.

The emphasis on community is present as well. This part of the process is participatory and collaborative, where community members, rooted in place, experience, or common ground, ultimately contribute perspectives, experiences, and knowledge, and share decision-making in the public art design process.

Both “place” and “community” are elements that provide value to the work itself and the overall cultural and physical landscape in which the art is installed. Several recent and upcoming projects demonstrate the various dimensions of public art:

Artist Sabina Zeba Haque’s yearlong residency at the Portland Archives and Records Center (PARC) culminates in work that focuses on the annex and growth of East Portland’s incredibly diverse population. Haque will collaborate with neighborhood residents and PARC to examine the history of place as a marker of exclusion and inclusion over the past thirty-five years. She will weave a portrait of inclusive civic identity through hand-drawn animation, video projections, poster installations, and theater performance. Entitled “Annexation & Assimilation: exploring the archive east of 82 ave”, a one-night exhibition event will take place on October 21, from 6-9pm, at the APANO/JADE Multicultural space at 82nd and Division and include large-scale video projections, poster installations, performance and oral histories. On November 17th, Haque will present an artist talk at 7pm and a second viewing of the projections from 6-8pm at APANO. Both events are free and open to the public.

The Awareness & Prevention Through Art (aptArt) Paint Outside the Lines campaign, is a multi-wall mural project, partially funded through the Public Art Murals Program, where transglobal artists are engaging with marginalized groups in the Portland community through P:ear and IRCO’s RISE program (Refugee & Immigrant Student Empowerment) at David Douglas High School. Since its founding six years ago, AptArt has facilitated workshops and collaborative murals with communities living in conflict-affected areas, including Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria and Jordan.  Portland is the first U.S. city to be a part of this effort. Artists Kevin Ledo, Ernesto Maranje, and Ruben Sanchez are painting murals at four sites in Downtown Portland and the Central Eastside Industrial District. The project will extend into spring 2017, but two murals will be completed in October 2016. (Read Portland Tribune article, Eastside Mural Aims to Claw Out Conflict, 10/11/16)

Kevin Ledo's mural in progress as part of

Kevin Ledo’s mural in progress as part of “Paint Outside the Lines Portland” project on SW 2nd and Stark.

Artist Nick Goettling was selected to create two related murals on retaining walls in Portland’s Powellhurst Neighborhood, on both sides of the street between SE 136th and Mitchell. The mural design was inspired by the research and input of various neighborhood and community groups. Using a simple palette of blue, red, gray and white, the east wall depicts a montage of various images of local or historical significance strategically placed within an aerial map of the neighborhood. The west wall features the name of the neighborhood – Powellhurst Gilbert. In both murals, small pink hearts will be included to honor the life of a five-year-old girl who was struck and killed near the site several years ago. Nearly twenty neighborhood volunteers worked with the artist to complete the project by the end of September 2016 and a community celebration is in the works.

The Black Williams Project, led by artists Cleo Davis and Kayin Talton Davis, acknowledges the complex and changing history of Williams Avenue and its impact on Portland’s African American community. Contrary to recent times, North Williams/Albina was home to the City’s largest African American community for most of the 20th century. The artists have gathered stories and perspectives from the existing African American community in connection to North Williams that will be depicted on 12” x 18” panels at approximately 30 locations along Williams, between NE Broadway and NE Killingsworth. The project is funded by the Portland Bureau of Transportation and administered by RACC.

Installation of public art for the recently reconstructed Sellwood Bridge has begun, and is projected to be completed by January 2017. Boston-based artist Mikyoung Kim’s installation, Stratum Project, consists of a series of 23 fourteen-foot-high sculptures, the design inspired by the power and beauty of the geological phenomena of the Willamette River Valley. The sculpture’s richly patinaed surfaces refer to the geological processes of this region. Upon completion, the artworks will line both sides of the street east of the bridge, ending at S.E. 6th Avenue and Tacoma Street. The project is funded by the Portland Bureau of Transportation Percent for Art and will be maintained by RACC.

A public art sculpture, titled River Guardian, will be installed on the South Waterfront Greenway near SW Curry Street. Pacific NW Native American artist Lillian Pitt, along with artist Mikkel Hilde have developed the concept to stand as tribute to the resilience and endurance of native peoples. The sculptural form draws inspiration from mythical images of shadow spirits found in petroglyphs and pictographs along the rock walls of the Columbia River. Made from recycled materials, the sculpture’s represents several themes, including: honoring native ancestors, respecting nature, healing, and sustainability. The sculpture is expected to be completed by late October 2016

Following the construction of an expanded wastewater station for the City at the intersection of Fanno Creek Trail and SW 86th, artists David Boekelheide and Christina Conant were selected to design and fabricate an outdoor sculpture. They have proposed an installation consisting of a series of curved weathered steel ribbons that weave along the east side of the Bureau of Environmental Services Pump Station property. Overlapping sections of the sculpture reference the topographical elevation lines of the Fanno Creek area. In collaboration with Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation, native edible species will be planted near the installation in reference to the native people of the Tualatin tribes and first agricultural settlers in the area.

Night Lights, a monthly public art event, begins its second year of urban intervention on Thursday, October 6. Every First Thursday through April 2017, local artists and art students will claim public space at NW Park Avenue at Glisan Street, broadcasting their digital media work on the north wall of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) offices after dark.  This fall, works by Renee Sills (October), Arlanna Gazca (November), and Portland Community College (December) will be on showcased.


Welcome new staff

Eloise Blog:

After losing three staff members recently we are pleased to welcome their successors.

SarahDeal-RBIHeadshot
Sarah Deal, 
The Right Brain Initiative Administrative Assistant, 503.825.5136, sdeal@racc.org 

Sarah is The Right Brain Initiative Administrative Assistant. She provides general daily administrative support; in addition to working closely with Right Brain committees, professional development workshops, and volunteers to optimize logistics and communication.

She is thrilled to return to RACC three years after her time as an Outreach Apprentice. In the interim, she graduated from Portland State University, coached rowing in New Zealand, and guided trail rides in Argentina. When not in the office she serves as the Head Coach for PSU Crew and can usually be found navigating the Willamette.

Sarah jumped right in during the busy season of a new school year and is holding together the Right Brain team and all the various parts of this complex tri-county program. Welcome Sarah.
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Amanda Kronlage, Public Art Conservation Technician, 503.823.5046, akronlage@racc.org

Amanda is a blacksmith and sculptor from Iowa who now assists in the installation and care of public works belonging to the City of Portland and Multnomah County. After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa with a BFA in Sculpture and an Art History minor she apprenticed with a blacksmith and learned to make beautiful furniture using fire and metal.

In 2014 she rejoined most of her millennial peers and caravanned with her partner to Portland where she enjoys sitting near the ocean, looking at strange critters and growths, admiring public art, eating, and forcing herself to drink IPAs. You may view her sculptural work at www.amandakronlage.com

Amanda also joined RACC at a busy time of year. Nice weather is our prime time for taking care of the public art collections. She and the team had a recent challenge when vandals spray painted the statue of Mayor Vera Katz on the Eastbank Esplanade. Thanks to their speedy response the offensive paint was removed in a matter of hours.
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AllisonBailey
Alison Bailey, Business Partnership Manager, 503.823.5424, abailey@racc.org

A long-time friend to the nonprofit, business and arts communities, Alison brings a decade of experience as a corporate funder to the new Business Partnership Manger role. She leads the Work for Art team and is responsible for building meaningful connections between business and the arts in the region. In addition to Work for Art, Alison will help inspire funding support and awareness for the Arts Breakfast of Champions, Battle of the Bands, Art of Leadership, and RACC’s arts integration program, The Right Brain Initiative.

Before joining RACC, Alison managed The Standard’s corporate giving program and charitable foundation. Prior to that she produced national tradeshows and spent nearly ten years at Nordstrom as a department manager and sales associate. Alison is thrilled to call RACC her work home and can’t wait to make supporting art and culture a fun and easy choice for everyone. A native Portlander, Alison is happiest in the woods, at a concert or drinking beer in the neighborhood with her guy Chris.

Please say hello to these talented people when you have a chance!


Night Lights to appear over NW Glisan Street on First Thursdays

Local artists will project large-scale media works outdoors each month through April

PORTLAND, ORE – Night Lights, a monthly public art event, begins its second year of urban intervention on Thursday, October 6. Every First Thursday through April 2017, local artists and art students will claim public space at NW Park Avenue at Glisan Street, broadcasting their digital media work on the north wall of the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) offices after dark.

Night Lights is a unique collaboration between RACC’s public art program and Portland Community Media (PCM). Now in its second season, participating artists were selected through an open call and a community panel process, and will receive a stipend for their participation. Presentations will include large-format projections, and, in some cases, live performance.

The full Night Lights schedule appears below, showcasing a different artist or university each month. The first installment, on October 6, features artist Renee Sills who will orchestrate a video dance party, in which attendees will learn dance moves from instructional YouTube videos. In January, members of the public are invited to BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer), that is, to bring their own projector and media project to share.

As part of this year’s series, Kalimah Abioto was selected as an artist-in-residence. Abioto will work on-site at Portland Community Media for three months, using PCM’s state-of-the-art media equipment and production studios to develop a new work to premier at Night Lights on March 2, 2017.

Night Lights schedule

 

Regional Arts & Culture Council, exterior north wall
411 NW Park Avenue @ Glisan Street, Portland
First Thursdays, October 2016 – April 2017
Dusk – 9:00pm

Thursday, October 6, 2106
Renee Sills

Thursday, November 3, 2016
Arianna Gazca

Thursday, December 1, 2016
Portland Community College

Thursday, January 5, 2017
BYOB (Bring Your Own Beamer)

Thursday, February 2, 2017
Laura Heit

Thursday, March 2, 2017
Kalimah Abioto (Artist in residence)

Thursday, April 6, 2017
Portland State University

Learn more about Night Lights at nightlightspdx.tumblr.com

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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.

For over 35 years, Portland Community Media (PCM) has empowered our community to make effective use of media for civic participation, creative expression and cultural exchange. Through media production resources, education programs, community development initiatives and a robust distribution platform, PCM helps artists, nonprofits, community groups and government agencies explore the frontier where story and technology meet. Learn more about pcmtv.org.


RACC celebrates National Arts in Education Week

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

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

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

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

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

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The Right Brain Initiative is a sustainable partnership of public schools, local government, foundations, businesses and the cultural community working to transform learning through the arts for all K-8 students in the Portland metro area. Now in its eighth year, Right Brain serves 63 schools and approximately 25,000 students from urban, suburban and rural communities in the Portland area. In fall of 2014, Right Brain released data connecting the program to an above-average increase in student test scores, with greatest results for English Language Learners. Right Brain is an initiative of the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington serves as Implementation Partner. Read more online at TheRightBrainInitiative.org.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) provides grants for artists, nonprofit organizations and schools in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties; manages an internationally acclaimed public art program; raises money and awareness for the arts through Work for Art; convenes forums, networking events and other community gatherings; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance for artists; and oversees a program to integrate arts and culture into the standard curriculum in public schools through The Right Brain Initiative. RACC values a diversity of artistic and cultural experiences and is working to build a community in which everyone can participate in culture, creativity and the arts. For more information visit racc.org.


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

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

PDX_BldgBenz-image-2_Sept-Octcropped

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

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

Benz and Chang's

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

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

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

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

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

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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.


National Arts In Education Week is September 11-17

Issued by Americans for the Arts on September 6, 2016.

As a reminder, please join us in celebrating National Arts In Education Week from September 11-17, 2016. Take two minutes to issue a Letter to the Editor to your local papers and tell them why the arts matter in education!

Designated by Congress in 2010, House Resolution 275 names the week beginning with the second Sunday in September as National Arts in Education Week. During this week, the field of arts education and its supporters join together in communities across the country to tell the story of the transformative power of the arts in education.

In 2016, it is a particularly important time to celebrate arts education, as we usher in a new chapter of American educational policy with the new Every Student Succeeds Act and its many arts-friendly provisions. In the new law, the arts remain a “well-rounded” subject and are empowered to be central to a child’s education in our public schools.

Our municipal, education, and state leaders need to know about the impact the arts have on young peoples’ lives and that they must support the arts in every district and every school in America. Write a letter to the editor now to tell them how and why the arts matter in education!

After sending in your letter, you can join the movement of thousands of arts education advocates celebrating National Arts in Education Week. Contribute to the visibility campaign on social media during the week of September 11-17, 2016 by using the hashtag, #BecauseOfArtsEd. People from all walks of life can share their story of the transformative power of the arts in their own education and the impact the arts have had on their work and life.

  • Post on Facebook. Tell the world your #BecauseOfArtsEd story on Facebook. Describe what you are doing now in work and life and how arts education has a positive impact with a photo! Be sure to use #ArtsEdWeek, too.
  • Send a tweet.  Share your quick #BecauseOfArtsEd story on Twitter. Be sure to include an image or video along with #ArtsEdWeek.
  • Share a photo. Post your favorite arts education photo on Instagram along with your #BecauseOfArtsEd story about the impact of arts education on your life. Be sure to use #ArtsEdWeek.

Be sure to do your part to advocate to our decision makers and bring attention to the cause of arts education!


BLUR PORTLAND: A visioning event on September 29

How has art and culture made a difference in your business and your life?

Do you see the lines of our world of work/life/art blurring?

What should Portland look like when arts and business thrive?

What steps can we take to accelerate that?

BLUR graphic

RACC’s new Business Committee for the Arts (BCA) is planning a visioning event for local arts, business, and political leaders interested in better understanding the future role of arts and culture to help our communities thrive. At this event, participants will share their visions for, experiences with, and challenges to making healthy communities through the blurring of business, arts and culture.

This is not a fund-raising event, it is an action-raising event.

GOAL ONE: Help arts and business leaders and the public better understand and celebrate arts and culture as methods for creating healthy communities.

GOAL TWO: Generate a community dialogue around the creation and sustainability of healthy, vibrant, creative communities.

GOAL THREE: Activate a diverse set of programming and partnerships spanning public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

GOAL FOUR: Lay the groundwork for a collective movement forward over the next decade and beyond.


Thursday, September 29 from 4:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Lagunitas Brewing Company, 237 NE Broadway, Portland OR 97232

Food and beverage provided, courtesy of Lagunitas Brewing Company and The Standard.

The event is free, but please RSVP at http://bit.ly/blurpdx

Download a PDF version of this invitation here.

For more information contact: Jeff Hawthorne, Director of Community Engagement, jhawthorne@racc.org.