RACC Blog

PORTLAND, ORE — Two Portland-based visual artists have received RACC’s 2015 Fellowship Awards. In addition to being recognized for their artistic excellence and achievements in the visual arts, David Eckard and Ellen Lesperance will each receive a cash grant of $20,000.

David Eckard was selected for a RACC Fellowship on the strength of his personal studio work, public performances and his dedication to the arts community both at PNCA and in his activism on behalf of artists. Many of his elegantly and well-crafted sculptures are choreographed into his performances. His work is layered, complex, and simultaneously intriguing and accessible. He will use fellowship funds (and take a sabbatical from PNCA) to research, design and begin implementing plans for a “creative compound” on his property, which will be populated with exhibitions, screenings, conferences, neighborhood events, workshops, residencies and mentoring opportunities.

Ellen Lesperance creates art in various media but often employs the visual language of knitting, having once worked for Vogue Knitting as a pattern knitter. Her work is socially responsible and poignant yet inclusive – for example, she has created memorial paintings (“death shrouds”) for young women activists who have died while fighting for “causes greater than themselves.”  The RACC Fellowship will help Lesperance take a semester off from teaching to commit solely to a full-time studio practice. She will also attend two residency programs: the MacDowell Colony, and the American Academy in Rome’s Visiting Artist Program. She will also use some of the funds for materials for upcoming shows.

“We congratulate David and Ellen on receiving these fellowship awards, which honor two of our community’s most extraordinary visual artists this year,” said Eloise Damrosch, RACC’s executive director.  “RACC is committed to supporting artists at every stage in their careers, and these fellowships are designed to help artists take major steps forward in their artistic development.”

Established in 1999, RACC’s Artists Fellowship Award remains one of the largest and most prestigious grants to individual artists in the Pacific Northwest, supporting exceptional artists who exemplify RACC’s mission of enriching the local community through arts and culture. RACC rotates the disciplines it honors each year—performing arts, visual arts, literature and media arts.

To be eligible for consideration, professional artists must have worked in their field for 10 years and have lived in the Portland tri-county area for five years. Applications, which include three narrative questions, artist resumes, two letters of recommendation, and examples of the artist’s work, are reviewed through a panel process of community representatives from the discipline being honored. This year’s panelists included Yaelle Amir, Ben Buswell, Gabe Flores, Lisa Jarrett, Joanna Priestly, Blake Shell and Eric Stotik.

Eckard and Lesperance join a prestigious group of local artists who have been named RACC Fellows in the past, including Mary Oslund, Obo Addy, Christine Bourdette, Terry Toedtemeier, Jim Blashfield, Michele Glazer, Tomas Svoboda, Keith Scales, Judy Cooke, Michael Brophy, Chel White, Craig Lesley, Thara Memory, Henk Pander, Joanna Priestley, Kim Stafford, Robin Lane, Eric Stotik, Lawrence Johnson, Sallie Tisdale, Linda Austin and Anita Menon. All RACC fellows are listed at  www.racc.org/grants/individual-artist-fellowships.

PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded an additional $215,886 in public funding to sixteen Portland-based arts organizations that qualify for General Operating Support. This is RACC’s third cycle in calendar year 2015 for distributing the City’s “arts tax” proceeds; the first two cycles were in January and May.

General Operating Support grants are awarded after a rigorous review conducted by a panel of community volunteers and RACC board members. Organizations are evaluated on artistic excellence and fiscal responsibility, and must demonstrate broad community support including a stable base of audiences and donors. The review also includes an objective third-party financial analysis from the Nonprofit Finance Fund to help measure operating health.

General Operating Support grants are funded by the City of Portland general fund, Multnomah County, and the arts tax.  These organizations also receive proceeds from RACC’s workplace giving program Work for Art.

Arts organizations in Portland receiving additional General Operating Support/AEAF funds this cycle:

• Artist Repertory Theatre, $44,740
• Chamber Music Northwest, $14,756
• Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, $2,040
• Echo Theater Company, $4,833
• Ethos Music Center, $18,979
• Imago Theatre, $1,000
• Independent Publishing Resource Center, $1,000
• Live Wire! Radio, $2,705
• NW Documentary Arts & Media, $1,000
• Oregon Children’s Theatre, $51,160
• Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, $3,040
• Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, $29,845
• Portland Piano International, $12,064
• Profile Theatre Project, $4,408
• Third Rail Repertory Theatre, $21,953
• Write Around Portland, $2,362

In addition, three organizations outside of Portland received $54,000 in General Operating Support for FY2015-16. These organizations do not benefit from the arts tax; their funding is provided by Clackamas County, Washington County, and other RACC resources. They include:

• Lakewood Center for the Arts (Clackamas), $21,000
• Bag & Baggage Productions (Washington), $10,000
• Broadway Rose Theatre Company (Washington), $23,000

For more information on RACC’s grants program visit www.racc.org/grants. For a list of organizations and other nonprofits that have received arts tax funding, visit www.racc.org/AEAFgrants.

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

Funded organizations include:

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

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

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

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

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 15, 2015

Portland, Ore – The Regional Arts & Culture Council today awarded an additional $200,883 in public funding to 11 Portland-based arts organizations that qualify for General Operating Support. This is RACC’s second cycle in calendar year 2015 for distributing “arts tax” proceeds; the first cycle was in January and the third cycle will be in June.

Arts organizations receiving grant funding this month include:

• BodyVox, $17,569
• Cappella Romana, $4,171
• Hollywood Theatre, $33,844
• Metropolitan Youth Symphony, $5,091
• Northwest Children’s Theatre, $39,192
• Northwest Dance Project, $26,405
• Portland Jazz Festival, $8,322
• Portland Baroque Orchestra, $15,865
• Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, $4,989
• Tears of Joy Theatre, $4,923
• Young Audiences of Oregon, $40,512

These grants are made possible thanks to Portland’s voter-approved Arts Education & Access Fund (AEAF, or arts tax), plus $600,000 in gap funding provided by the City of Portland’s fall 2014 Budget Monitoring Process, or Fall BuMP. This fiscal year (from July 1, 2014 to date) RACC has received a total of $1.9 million from the arts tax via Portland’s Revenue Division, $1,723,000 of which is set aside to provide General Operating Support like the grants listed above. $79,000 will be awarded in “Expanding Cultural Access” grants this May, and $102,000 is being used to coordinate arts education activities in Portland’s five school districts. The bulk of arts tax proceeds, more than $6.7 million this year, is going directly to school districts to hire art and music teachers.

The grants awarded this month come in addition to RACC funding that each organization received last fall. Their combined allocations bring all GOS organizations to at least 3.8% public funding of their eligible annual revenues – many steps closer to the AEAF goal of providing 5% public funding.  For a list of other “General Operating Support” organizations and other nonprofits that have received arts tax funding, visit www.racc.org/AEAFgrants.  
 
 

PORTLAND, ORE – On January 28, the RACC Board of Directors approved $1,471,626 in disbursements to 16 General Operating Support (“GOS”) member organizations that have submitted their FY2014 financial statements and other final reports to RACC. These grants are made possible thanks to $1.28 million in revenues from the city’s voter-approved Arts Education & Access Fund, plus $600,000 in gap funding from the city’s fall 2014 Budget Monitoring Process, or Fall BuMP.

The grants listed below are in addition to RACC funding that each organization received last fall, and their combined allocations bring all GOS organizations to at least 3.8% public funding of their eligible annual revenues – many steps closer to the AEAF goal of providing 5% public funding. RACC directed most of the funding to five “major” arts organizations that have experienced the largest funding discrepancies in the past. Oregon Ballet Theatre, the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Art Museum, Portland Center Stage and the Portland Opera had averaged 1% public funding; now they all stand at 3.8%. Specific allocation amounts include:

Blue Sky Gallery/Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, Inc., $2,030

Friends of Chamber Music, $7,966

Literary Arts, Inc., $23,553

Miracle Theatre Group, $5,127

Oregon Ballet Theatre, $120,089

Oregon Symphony Association, $398,300

Pendulum Aerial Arts, $1,468

PHAME, $3,327

PlayWrite, Inc., $1,000

Portland Art Museum/Northwest Film Center, $468,538

Portland Center Stage, $207,486

Portland Opera Association, Inc., $193,506

Portland Youth Philharmonic, $8,061

The Portland Ballet, $15,994

Third Angle New Music, $1,000

White Bird, $14,181

“It is tremendously gratifying to begin seeing the impact that the Arts Education & Access Fund can have in our community,” said RACC’s executive director, Eloise Damrosch. “We remain grateful to Portland City Council for referring this measure to the ballot in 2012, and to the voters who clearly understand the many ways that strong and vibrant arts organizations enhance our quality of life, generate cultural tourism and other economic benefits, and improve our children’s education.”

RACC is retaining $410,022 to invest in up to 29 more General Operating Support member organizations that will file their FY2014 reports in the months ahead. Because most of the larger organizations have already been funded, fewer resources will be required to fund the smaller remaining groups, which include:

Artist Repertory Theatre

BodyVox

Cappella Romana, Inc.

Chamber Music Northwest

Children’s Healing Art Project

Disjecta Contemporary Art Center

Echo Theatre Company

Ethos Music Center

Hollywood Theatre

Imago Theatre

Independent Publishing Resource Center

Live Wire! Radio

Metropolitan Youth Symphony

Northwest Children’s Theatre

Northwest Dance Project

NW Documentary Arts & Media

Oregon Children’s Theatre

Portland Baroque Orchestra

Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra

Portland Gay Men’s Chorus

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art

Portland Jazz Festival

Portland Piano International

Portland Taiko

Profile Theatre Project

Third Rail Repertory Theatre

Tears of Joy Theatre

Write Around Portland

Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington