RACC Blog

2018-19 RACC Professional Development Grants (Cycle 1)

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The Professional Development Grant program assists artists or arts administrators with opportunities that specifically improve their business management development skills and/or brings the artist or the arts organization to another level artistically. The RACC Board approved these 36 Professional Development Grants totaling $49,190 on May 23, 2018. (*First time grant recipients)

 

2018-19 Professional Development Grant awards (Cycle 1):

*Apricot Irving – Travel, lodging, and transportation for book tour to NYC, Boston, Florida, DC, and CA – $1,501

Aremy Stewart – Travel, childcare, and materials for 2-week residency at Sitka Center in Otis – $900

*Arwen Myers – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend 2-week program at American Bach Soloists Academy in San Francisco, CA – $1,820

*Ayako Kataoka – Travel and lodging to participate in research project in Copenhagen – $1,237

*Barbara Martin – Travel, lodging, and materials to attend 3-week residency at Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts in Saratoga, WY – $766 (Washington County)

*Benjamin Gilbert – Documentation by Aaron Johnson Photography – $600

*Brisa Gonzalez – Travel, lodging, transportation, and registration fees to attend Pocoapoco Residency in Oaxaca – $1,800

*Cambria Matlow – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend Getting Real conference in Los Angeles, CA – $1,227

*Catherine Egan – Website development and design by graphic designer Noelle Stiles – $1,998

*Chliu-Mie Wu – Travel, lodging, and registration fees to attend 5-day program at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA – $1,930

Cora Pearl – Travel, lodging, and registration fees to attend International Calligraphy Conference in Bellingham, WA – $1,530

*Crystal Zingsheim – Website, design, and brand development with Astro and Raffa Rodriguez – $1,500

Damien Gilley – Travel, lodging, transportation, and materials to install exhibition at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO – $545

*Emily Miller – Registration fees for 3-day watercolor workshop at Sequoia Gallery in Hillsboro – $300 (Washington County)

*Eric Buchner – Website development with Myles de Bastion – $1,500

*Erik Emanuelson – Transporation and lodging for 23-date band tour in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland – $1,586

*Jea Alford – Travel, registration fees, and materials to attend 1-month residency at Vermont Studio Center – $1,800

*Jennifer Swanson – Registration fees for 3-day Photoshop workshop at ONLC Training Center in Portland – $995

*Jessica (Tyner) Mehta – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend 1-month residency at Crazy Horse Memorial – $1,750 (Washington County)

*Jo Hamilton – Travel and lodging to install exhibition at Timeless Textiles in Australia – $1,656

*Joshua Flint – Travel, lodging, and registration fees to attend Anderson Ranch Arts Center Advanced Mentored Studies Program – $1,767

*Kate Rafter – Travel expenses to perform in At Your Leisure festival in Scotland – $1,800

*Ken Yoshikawa – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend Asian American Theater Artists Conference in Chicago, IL – $683

*Lisa Brinkman – Website development and documentation – $1,080 (Clackamas County)

*Maura Campbell-Balkits – Travel, lodging, and residency fees to attend 6-week residency at the Burren College of Art in Ireland – $1,219

*Reid Psaltis – Travel, lodging, and shipping costs for installation at the Guild of Natural Science conference in Washington DC – $1,387

*Robin Bacior Emanuelson – Production costs for full-length vinyl record pressing – $1,428

*Roland Dahwen Wu – Travel and lodging to present documentary work at Fluminense Federal University in Brazil – $1,800

*Sundance Bleckinger – Travel, lodging, and festival fees to exhibit radio play at Hear Now Festival in Kansas City, KS – $1,213

*Taryn Tomasello – Travel and transportation for installation of site-specific work at Halka Art Project in Istanbul – $1,500

*Taylor Long – Travel, lodging, and registration fees to attend Darnstadt Festival in Germany – $1,787

Zoe Keller – Travel, lodging, and transportation to attend 1-month residency at Zion National Park – $485

Boom Arts Inc. – Travel and lodging for founder to attend APAP Leadership Fellows Program in Los Angeles, CA – $1,000

Dance Wire – Website development and design by Payne Media – $1,800

*Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble – Consultant fees and staff time to assess database and communications procedures with Jim Fullan – $1,500

*Street Books – Travel, lodging, and printed materials for first Street Books summit in Austin, TX – $1,800

 

88 local artists and arts organizations awarded total of $451,037 by Regional Arts & Culture Council

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Portland, Ore — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $451,037 in project grants to 59 artists and 29 nonprofit organizations in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties. RACC’s project grants provide financial support for individual artists and nonprofit organizations, and align with RACC’s goal of advancing the region’s access to a wide range of arts and culture.

“Arts shape who we are, how we see each other and our community,” said interim executive director Jeff Hawthorne. “These projects are finding creative ways to connect, teach, and inspire us throughout the region. We are pleased to invest in this wide variety of projects, and I am particularly energized by the number of new and emerging artists funded this cycle, with 56% of all project grants going to first-time recipients.”

Thirty-four peer review panelists, consisting of professional artists, community representatives, and arts administrators, reviewed a total of 215 applications through 9 panels. “Utilizing a grants process that allows artists to be reviewed by peers ensures that the discussion begins first and foremost with a common experience of being an artist,” says Director of Grants Helen Daltoso. “That shared understanding helps not only to keep the discussion focused on the concerns most central to artmaking, but also grounds the discussion with a level of solidarity and open-mindedness from practitioners who have faced similar aspirations or obstacles.”

The RACC Board of Directors unanimously approved all panel recommendations on May 23, with awards in three categories: Artistic Focus, Arts Equity & Access, and Arts Services.

Artistic Focus projects help artists realize their vision, and help organizations support their artistic mission. Examples funded in this round include $5,240 for Julia Bray’s Matter is Mother, a one-woman magical comedy written, created, and performed by Bray; $6,650 to Derrais Carter for the project black girls: using archives, poetry, and visual art by black women to challenge historical narratives and ways black girls have been sexually exploited in the name of science and photography; $6,250 for M. Allan Cunningham, who will be publishing his multi-generational mystery novel PERPETUA’S KIN; and $5,120 to World Arts Foundation, Inc. for a historic album release and release party featuring songs from the organization’s archive of historic Albina recordings to bring life to the Albina music culture of the 1960s-80s.

Arts Equity & Access grants support programs and services with a strong community engagement component, including festivals, arts education projects, and programs that expand arts experiences for underserved communities. Albina Jazz Festival will showcase and celebrate the historical jazz scene in the Albina Neighborhood of Portland through a two-day public event with their award of $1,000.

Arts Services grants include projects that provide professional development opportunities for the arts community, including workshops or conferences. In this category, Celeste Noche will elevate the Portland in Color (PIC) blog series further by featuring, promoting, and connecting Portland’s talented pool of diverse professionals often overlooked by creative agencies.Project Grants are funded by a combination of public and private investments, including the City of Portland’s general fund, City of Portland’s Arts Tax, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County and Metro. Additional funding comes from RACC’s workplace giving campaign, Work for Art.

Project grants, which had been offered only once a year, are now available three times per year. The next project grant deadline is June 6. Guidelines and application can be accessed at https://racc.org/apply.

A complete list of project grants appears below, and more detailed summaries of each grant are available here

RACC project grants for individual artists: May 2018 (cycle 2)

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

Applicant Project Type Discipline Award
Kamee Abrahamian Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,950
Oluyinka Akinjiola Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $7,000
Nii Ardey Allotey Arts Equity & Access Folk Arts $6,800
Rory Banyard Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,950
Avantika Bawa Artistic Focus Visual Arts $6,320
Virginia Belt Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $3,600
Irena Boboia ** Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,160
Ron Bourke Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Julia Bray Artistic Focus Theatre $5,240
Derrais Carter Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,650
Tomas Cotik Artistic Focus Music $5,250
M. Allen Cunningham Artistic Focus Literature $6,250
Martha Daghlian Arts Services Multi-Discipline $2,290
Roland Dahwen Wu Artistic Focus Media Arts $4,860
Eileen Finn Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $3,880
Lara Gallagher Artistic Focus Media Arts $6,300
Darrell Grant Artistic Focus Music $6,300
Cheryl Green Artistic Focus Media Arts $4,800
Chisao Hata Artistic Focus Theatre $4,880
Jessica Hightower Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $3,250
Anthony Hudson Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,527
Garrick Imatani Artistic Focus Visual Arts $6,650
Simeon Jacob Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $3,370
Zoe Keller Artistic Focus Visual Arts $1,950
Andrea Leoncavallo Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,140
Emily Lewis Arts Equity & Access Visual Arts $5,140
Béalleka Makau Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $7,000
Margaret Malone Artistic Focus Literature $4,650
Tina McDermott Arts Equity & Access Visual Arts $4,540
Megan McGeorge Artistic Focus Music $4,460
Pam Minty Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,190
Elise Morris ** Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $5,230
Jose Moscoso Artistic Focus Visual Arts $6,300
Emily Nachison Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,950
Tylor Neist ** Artistic Focus Music $5,600
Tabitha Nikolai Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,310
Anders Nilsen Artistic Focus Literature $5,520
Hunter Noack Artistic Focus Music $7,000
Celeste Noche Arts Services Multi-Discipline $5,770
Eleanor O’Brien Artistic Focus Theatre $5,890
Brian Padian Artistic Focus Media Arts $3,960
Hajara Quinn Artistic Focus Literature $3,820
Rángel  Rosas Reséndiz Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,690
Alicia Rose Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Paul Rutz Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,160
Ivan Salcido Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,650
Heidi Schwegler Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,000
Matthew Sheehy Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,650
Mike A Smith Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Todd Strickland Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,200
Cornelius Swart Arts Equity & Access Media Arts $4,690
Devin Tau Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Roshani Thakore Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $5,600
Lindsay Trapnell Artistic Focus Media Arts $7,000
Freddy Trujillo Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Grace Weston Artistic Focus Visual Arts $1,710
John Whitten Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,250
Dan Wilson Artistic Focus Music $5,000
Renee Zangara Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,840

 

RACC project grants for organizations: May 2018 (cycle 2)

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

Applicant Project Type Discipline Award
Albina Jazz Festival Arts Equity & Access Music $1,000
Andisheh Center Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $4,080
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $5,250
Blackfish Gallery Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,510
Design Museum Portland Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,000
Enso Theatre Ensemble Artistic Focus Theatre $3,750
Estacada Area Arts Commission * Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $5,520
Hacienda CDC Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $7,000
Jim Pepper Native Arts Council Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $6,270
Ko-Falen Cultural Center Arts Equity & Access Folk Arts $5,950
Many Hats Collaboration Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,240
Media Institute for Social Change Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,250
MediaRites Artistic Focus Theatre $5,950
Mittleman Jewish Community Center Artistic Focus Music $4,800
Northwest Art Song Artistic Focus Music $4,470
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,600
Portland Japanese Garden Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,650
Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble Artistic Focus Music $3,310
Portland Meet Portland Arts Equity & Access Music $5,250
Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival Arts Equity & Access Media Arts $5,600
Rogue Pack Young Portland Speaks! Arts Equity & Access Theatre $6,210
SoulPatch Music Productions * Artistic Focus Music $5,600
Staged! Musical Theatre Artistic Focus Theatre $7,000
Street Books Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $4,860
Tavern Books Artistic Focus Literature $5,000
Verde Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $5,250
Vibe of Portland Arts Equity & Access Dance/Movement $1,160
Village Coalition Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $7,000
World Arts Foundation, Inc. Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,120

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The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) provides grants for artists, arts organizations, and artistic projects 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.

FY2017-18 General Operating Support Equity Investments

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The Equity Investments program provides additional funding for General Operating Support member organizations to support initiatives which advance their commitment to equity in the arts, with a priority placed on racial equity A total of $149,664 was awarded to nine organizations in FY17-18. The RACC Board of Directors approved these awards on March 21, 2018.

Disjecta Contemporary Art Center – $10,000 – Support for equity-related components of the 2019 Portland Biennial.

Literary Arts – $35,000* – Expansion of Verselandia! Youth poetry slam program to East County high schools.

My Voice Music – $5,990 – Racial equity training for staff with Resolutions NW and Center for Equity & Inclusion.

Oregon Children’s Theatre – $7,500 – Funding for internal equity work including training for staff & board, consulting with leadership, and the translation of materials.

Profile Theatre – $18,750 – Support for In Dialogue and Community Profile programming during the 18 month 2018-19 season.

The Circus Project – $10,508 – Funding for internal equity work including the completion of a Racial Equity self assessment and training for staff.

The Portland Ballet – $20,000 – Collaboration with Kukatonon to create a unified performance piece with dancers from both organizations.

Third Rail Repertory Theatre – $6,920 – Training for staff and leadership with August Wilson Red Door Project and others.

Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington – $35,000* – Recruitment of artists of color for teaching artist roster, convene and provide training for artists of color interested in teaching.

* Two or three year grant.

GOS Survey Results

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In January, RACC conducted a stakeholder survey to collect feedback on RACC’s General Operating Support (GOS) grant program. The anonymous survey was distributed to all current GOS program member organizations, more than 150 arts organizations that do not currently receiving GOS support, and to community members.

Here is the Executive Summary.

GOS is the single largest funding program at RACC, funding 55 arts organizations across the community spectrum and supporting a wide range of arts programming throughout the Portland tri-county area. We are grateful to all who provided input! If you have additional feedback, please do not hesitate to contact the RACC grants team at grants@racc.org.

 

2017-18 RACC Professional Development Grants (Cycle 2)

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2017-18 RACC Professional Development Grants (Cycle 2)

The Professional Development Grant Program assists artists or arts administrators with opportunities that specifically improve their business management development skills and/or brings the artist or the arts organization to another level artistically. The RACC Board of Directors approved these Professional Development Grants on December 13, 2017.

Individual recipients:

Avantika Bawa – Development, research and experimentation at NES Artists Residency in Iceland. – $1,750

* Brittany Brock – Penlen School of Craft in North Carolina to study shoe and boot making with Amara Hark-Weber. – $1,000

* Kelly Campbell – Workshops at the Eugene O’Neill Puppetry Conference in Waterford, CT. – $1,700

* Shawn Demarest – Mojave National Preserve artist residency, exploring, photographing, sketching and painting. – $1,600

* Emmeline Eao – Research Khmer history and culture through archival studies with the Documentation Center of Cambodia. – $2,000

* Derek Ecklund – Environmental Sound Recording a residential art center by Fuse Art Space in the French Pyrenees. – $1,875

* Sita Fidler  – Continuing Ed. Typography course at PNCA. – $495

* Aran Graham – 3D drafting software training from a sketch-up tutor to refine and  produce better skills in scenic design.  – $1,000

Midori Hirose – Solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara – $1,600

Tahni Holt – Travel expenses for SPOTLIGHT: USA, a platform of American Dance in Bulgaria.  – $1,980

* Meg Hunt – Evolve portfolio by attending School of Visual Arts Summer Residency Program focusing on Illustration and Visual Storytelling.  – $1,600

* Tiffany Kirkpatrick – Working with weavers and designing textiles in Guatemala. – $1,800

* Carly Knowles – Website, branding and logo design for metal fabrication and casting workspace, Studio Flux. – $1,700

* Béalleka Makau – Research Octavia E. Butler at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA.  – $1,200

* Sarah Marguier – Carrer Coaching for Artists from Creative Capital. – $550

* Robbie McClaran – Portfolio reviews at the Houston FotoFest International 2018 – $1,700

* Jamie Minkus – Dance intensive hosted by Danza Contemporanea de Cuba in Havanna, Cuba and studying Afro-Mexican dance in Vera Cruz, Mexico. – $1,500

* Julz Nally – Business coaching w/ Betsy Cordes – $1,500

* Nikole Potulsky – Travel expenses to Nashville for music apprenticeship with Chevy Nash.   – $1,600

* Mary Rose – Action Theatre Improvisation with Ruth Zaporah and teachers from around the world.   – $1,600

* Paul Rutz – Intaglio Etching with European Master in Rome, IT. – $1,500

Willa Schneberg – Poetry Forum of Kathmandu residency in Nepal.  – $2,000

* Sora Shodo – Creating an online presence for Japanese Calligraphic Arts.  – $1,800

* Jennifer Springsteen – Literary conference, Muse & The Marketplace conference in Boston, MA to network, learn, grow and pitch manuscript.  – $1,400

* Eric Stachon – Producing Documentaries for Broadcast, the Web and Businesses is a one week workshop for independent filmmakers in Maine. – $1,750

* Kirista Trask – A professional branding package from Portland based graphic designer Hattie Macleod. – $1,000

* Timothy Van Cleave – Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, MO.  – $1,200

* Daniel Wenger – Digital tools for exploring curated libraries/making tools available to the public by training with two local artists: Hugo Paris and Jessie Mejia – $1,500

Leni Zumas – Travel to NY, Philly, Minneapolis, and DC to give readings and talks on novel Red Clocks. – $1,000

Organization recipients:

Oregon Repertory Singers – Registration and per deim costs for Northwest Regional American Choral Directors Association Conference.  – $450

*Rock Dojo – Travel expenses for the National Association of Music Merchants. – $1,750

 

*First time Project Grant recipients

RACC supports 88 upcoming artistic projects with $444,861 in funding

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $444,861 in project grants to 43 artists and 45 nonprofit organizations. These grants are funded by a combination of public and private investments, including the City of Portland’s general fund, the city’s Arts Tax, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County and Metro. Additional funding comes from RACC’s workplace giving campaign, Work for Art, and proceeds from RACC’s summer fundraising event, “In the Garden of Artistic Delights.”

“There are so many creative ways that local artists and nonprofit organizations are building connections between cultures, entertaining and inspiring us, and addressing important civic issues,” said interim executive director Jeff Hawthorne. “We are thrilled to invest in such a wide variety of projects, and I am especially delighted to see that 65% of the individuals receiving awards this year, and 27% of the organizations, are first-time Project Grant recipients. That’s a great reflection of our ever-evolving community.”

As part of its ongoing focus on equity and inclusion, RACC has established a goal of directing at least 30% of its programs and resources to culturally specific communities and people of color. In this round of project grant awards, 29% of the funded individual artists identify as people of color—the largest percentage since RACC began tracking this data in 2010. RACC is still working to quantify the cultural identity of organizations and to measure the demographics of their audiences.

“We are excited to be making progress,” Hawthorne said, “but there is still much work to do.”

A total of 197 grant requests were evaluated by peer review panelists who were organized by discipline and tasked to assess the artistic merit, public access, community impact and financial viability of each proposal. “We continue to engage new community members in our grant review process,” said Helen Daltoso, RACC’s grants director. “This year 32 artists, arts administrators and creatives participated in nine panels, and the vast majority of them were new to this role. We couldn’t do this work without them.”

The RACC Board of Directors unanimously approved all panel recommendations on December 13, with awards in three categories: Artistic Focus, Arts Equity & Access, and Arts Services.

Artistic Focus projects help artists realize their vision, and help organizations support their artistic mission. Examples funded in this round include $6,150 for Ropa Vieja, a fashion show and book launch presented by the multicultural collaboration “cvllejerx,” Angelica Milan and Maximiliano Martinez; $1,315 for Stacey Tran’s ongoing storytelling series Tender Table about food, family, and identity featuring women and gender non-conforming people of color; and $4,815 to Corrib Theatre for their production of Quietly, a play presenting a powerful scenario of truth and resolution in present day Northern Ireland.

Arts Equity & Access grants support programs and services with a strong community engagement component, including festivals, arts education projects, and programs that expand arts experiences for underserved communities. World Stage Theatre is receiving $6,500 to lead a city-wide Black History Festival in February in locations spanning as far east as Troutdale and west to Beaverton. Jeffrey Thompson will be leading his “Stay Sharp” drawing for life workshops at an assisted living facility in North Portland for seniors with his award of $5,596. Pacific Youth Choir will continue their outreach choir classes at two neighborhood elementary schools with their $6,500 award, with high school age student mentors, field trips, and a series of concerts.

Arts Services grants include projects that provide professional development opportunities for the arts community, including workshops or conferences. In this category, PDX Puppet Collective and the Secret Knowledge conference will be receiving funding to provide training programs that provide artistic growth for participants.

Project grants, which had been offered only once a year, are now available three times per year. The next project grant deadline is February 7. Guidelines and application can be accessed at https://racc.org/apply.

A complete list of project grants appears below, and more detailed summaries of each grant are available at http://bit.ly/2CBoGra (PDF).

RACC project grants for individuals, December 2017

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

Submission Title Project Type Discipline Award
Ezekiel Brown Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,600
Tamara Carroll Artistic Focus Theatre $5,120
Srijon Chowdhury Artistic Focus Visual Arts $6,300
Kindra Crick Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,569
Lori Damiano Artistic Focus Literature $3,750
Marico Fayre Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,285
Josh Feinberg ** Artistic Focus Music $5,600
Jon Garcia Artistic Focus Media Arts $7,000
Jared Goodman Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $1,715
Allie Hankins Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $3,943
Megan Hanley Artistic Focus Visual Arts $3,222
Wayne Harrel Artistic Focus Theatre $4,474
John Akira Harrold Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,216
Megan Haupt Artistic Focus Music $6,300
Jennifer Kim Arts Equity & Access Literature $5,250
kathleen Lane Arts Equity & Access Literature $5,292
Shayla Lawson Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,165
Tonya Macalino ** Artistic Focus Literature $3,642
Elizabeth Malaska Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,250
Christine Martell ** Arts Equity & Access Visual Arts $5,560
maximiliano martinez Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,900
Angelica Millan Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,150
Matthew Minicucci Artistic Focus Literature $5,929
Stephen O’Donnell Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $5,250
Gabe Ostley ** Artistic Focus Literature $4,725
Jayanthi Raman ** Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $5,440
Kaia Sand Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,300
Bryan Smith Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $4,200
Jennifer Springsteen Artistic Focus Literature $3,096
Melanie Stevens Artistic Focus Visual Arts $3,825
Jack StockLynn Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,339
Shilpa Sunthankar ** Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,600
Norman Sylvester Arts Equity & Access Music $6,300
Ariella Tai Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Kim Taylor Blakemore Artistic Focus Literature $3,123
Barbara Tetenbaum Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $7,000
Jeffery Thompson Arts Equity & Access Visual Arts $5,596
Stacey Tran Artistic Focus Social Practice $1,315
Danielle Weathers ** Artistic Focus Theatre $5,600
Damaris Webb Artistic Focus Theatre $6,006
Ezra Weiss ** Artistic Focus Music $4,360
Ryan Woodring Artistic Focus Media Arts $3,908
Jennifer Wright Artistic Focus Music $4,500

 

RACC project grants for organizations, December 2017

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

Submission Title Project Type Discipline Award
Architecture Foundation of Oregon Arts Equity & Access Visual Arts $6,282
Art Gym at Marylhurst University * Artistic Focus Visual Arts $5,600
Artback * Artistic Focus Visual Arts $4,500
A-WOL Dance Collective Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $5,600
Beaverton Civic Theatre ** Arts Equity & Access Theatre $5,448
Big Horn Brass * Artistic Focus Music $2,828
Boom Arts Inc. Artistic Focus Theatre $7,000
Caldera Arts Equity & Access Visual Arts $5,120
Choral Arts Ensemble Artistic Focus Music $3,000
Circus Cascadia Arts Equity & Access Folk Arts $5,250
Classical Up Close ** Arts Equity & Access Music $5,600
Corrib Theatre Artistic Focus Theatre $4,815
Creative Music Guild Artistic Focus Music $2,700
defunkt theatre Artistic Focus Theatre $6,039
Disability Art and Culture Project Arts Equity & Access Media Arts $5,100
en Taiko Arts Equity & Access Music $6,300
Fear No Music Artistic Focus Music $6,300
India Cultural Association ** Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $3,600
Live On Stage Artistic Focus Theatre $5,159
Mask and Mirror Community Theatre ** Arts Equity & Access Theatre $4,128
Media Project Artistic Focus Media Arts $5,250
Northwest Animation Festival Artistic Focus Media Arts $6,300
Pacific Northwest College of Art Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $7,000
Pacific Youth Choir Arts Equity & Access Music $6,500
People-Places-Things  LLC Arts Equity & Access Literature $2,160
Portland Chamber Music Artistic Focus Music $2,300
Portland Community College Artistic Focus Literature $1,675
PETE (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble) Artistic Focus Theatre $7,000
Portland Puppet Lab/PDX Puppet Collective * Arts Services Theatre $4,170
Prequel Artist Program Artistic Focus Visual Arts $3,488
push/FOLD Artistic Focus Dance/Movement $5,250
QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival Artistic Focus Media Arts $7,000
Risk/Reward Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $7,000
Rock Dojo Arts Equity & Access Music $5,108
Secret Knowledge Arts Services Multi-Discipline $5,250
Signal Fire Artistic Focus Literature $5,250
The Library Foundation Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $6,300
The Old Church Society  Inc. Arts Equity & Access Social Practice $5,250
The Vanport Mosaic Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $5,600
Viva La Free Arts Equity & Access Theatre $5,536
Washington County Cooperative Library Services ** Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $5,600
Water in the Desert Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $6,300
Willamette Light Brigade Artistic Focus Multi-Discipline $4,580
World Stage Theatre Arts Equity & Access Multi-Discipline $6,500
Zoulful Muzic Artistic Focus Theatre $4,160

 

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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.

Four additional arts organizations to receive General Operating Support from RACC

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has approved the addition of four nonprofit organizations to its roster of “General Operating Support” organizations that receive annual unrestricted funding from RACC in support of their mission. The four new “GOS” organizations are:

  • August Wilson Red Door Project, $12,000
  • CoHo Productions, $12,800
  • Oregon BRAVO Youth Orchestras, $14,600
  • Polaris Dance Theater, $12,300

These organizations bring to 55 the number of arts organizations in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties that receive annual, unrestricted operating support from RACC. GOS grants range in size from $8,000 to $427,000 per year depending on the size of the organization. A list of other GOS organizations and their historical funding amounts is available online at http://bit.ly/2y79puH.

“Last year we indicated our intention to distribute RACC resources more equitably, and to provide more groups with general operating support regardless of public and private funding increases,” said Jeff Hawthorne, RACC’s interim executive director. “Thanks to modest improvements in arts tax collections last year, and several internal budgeting adjustments, we are able to add these groups without reducing grants to other GOS organizations. We are also investing in a new capacity-building initiative for culturally specific arts organizations, and providing additional funds to groups that are doing deep equity and inclusion work within their organizations.”

Eleven organizations applied to be included in GOS this year. A panel of RACC board members, Angela Hult, Anita Menon, James Smith and Katherine Durham, ranked all organizations on established criteria that include financial health, artistic innovation and audience engagement. Among the four organizations recommended for funding, the panel noted a strong commitment to engaging with underserved communities, and plans to strengthen their ongoing equity work. The panel’s recommendations were approved by the RACC board on October 25.

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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.

RACC awards Literature Fellowships to Samiya Bashir and Rene Denfeld

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PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is pleased to announce its 2017 Fellows in Literature – Portland writers Samiya Bashir and Rene Denfeld. RACC’s fellowship program honors local artists of high merit. Recipients receive a cash award of $20,000 to sustain or enhance their creative process.

Samiya Bashir is a collaborative artist who brings her poetry off the written page in multi-disciplinary projects that involve video art, sculpture, installation, and performance. She has presented her work nationally and internationally and has received many awards including the 2011 Aquarius Press Legacy Award recognizing women writers of color who actively provide creative opportunities for other writers. The RACC Fellowship panel recognized the generosity in her work; both in how her writing speaks to her specific experience as a queer, first-generation Somali-American poet/maker, yet is accessible to wide audiences, and in how her readings and performances open the space to welcome others artists. Her book Field Theories was published this year by Nightboat Books. Samiya has two projects she is currently working on, a multi-media poetry field guide on the creation of the East African diaspora and an unconventional memoir that will lace episodes of her own history with historical moments from 19th century New York City Draft Riots and the 21st century run up to the Gulf War. Find out more at www.samiyabashir.com.

Rene Denfeld is a novelist whose social justice work is at the heart of all her writing. She has written nonfiction books, essays, and her second novel The Child Finder was released this September by Harper. She grew up in North Portland, where she makes her home today with her three children. Her work tells the stories of the marginalized and dispossessed, examining issues critical to our times, including poverty and child abuse, while bringing hope to the most challenging situations. The Fellowship panel recognized that Rene is a phenomenal writer that produces visceral, gorgeous work with a flow and fluency which easily takes you to the worlds she is describing. Rene would use the Fellowship funds to support more time writing and finishing her third novel, which will go deeper into the criminal justice system and how our society fails to protect children. Find out more at www.renedenfeld.com.

Established in 1999, RACC’s Artists Fellowship Award remains one of the largest and most prestigious awards 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, media arts, and literature.

To be eligible for consideration, professional artists must have worked in their field for at least 10 years and have lived in the Portland tri-county area for five years. Applications, which include three
narrative questions, artist resume, 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 in the literature category included Mo Daviau, Merridawn Duckler, Christopher Luna, Orit Ofri, and Olivia Olivia.

Bashir and Denfeld 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, Anita Menon, David Eckard, Ellen Lesperance, Vanessa Renwick, and Brian Lindstrom. A gallery of past RACC fellows are listed at www.racc.org/grants/individual-artist-fellowships.


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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.