RACC Blog

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.

FY2016-17 General Operating Support Awards

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Please note: This post (8/1/17) was updated on October 20, 2017, to correct some award amounts that were originally misreported.

A total of $2,430,900 in general operating support was distributed to 51 organizations in fiscal year 2016-17. Additional information about this program is available on the General Operating Support page. The arts organizations which received general operating support in 2016-17 are:

  • Artists Repertory Theatre – $69,500
  • Bag & Baggage Productions – $10,000
  • Blue Sky – $11,700
  • BodyVox – $31,600
  • Broadway Rose Theatre Company – $23,000
  • Cappella Romana, Inc. – $13,800
  • Chamber Music Northwest – $39,600
  • Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP) – $13,400
  • Disjecta Contemporary Art Center – $13,900
  • Echo Theater Company – $15,300
  • Ethos Music Center – $29,600
  • Friends of Chamber Music – $19,000
  • Hand2Mouth Theatre – $8,000
  • Hollywood Theatre – $38,300
  • Imago Theatre – $15,500
  • Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC) – $10,600
  • Lakewood Center for the Arts – $21,000
  • Literary Arts, Inc. – $45,000
  • Live Wire! Radio – $15,200
  • Metropolitan Youth Symphony – $19,700
  • Miracle Theatre Group – $21,000
  • My Voice Music – $9,800
  • Northwest Children’s Theater and School – $52,300
  • Northwest Dance Project – $34,200
  • NW Documentary Arts & Media – $8,000
  • Oregon Ballet Theatre – $131,000
  • Oregon Children’s Theatre – $72,900
  • Oregon Symphony Association – $352,000
  • PDX Jazz – $17,200
  • Pendulum Aerial Arts – $8,000
  • PHAME – $13,700
  • PlayWrite, Inc. – $10,100
  • Portland Art Museum/Northwest Film Center – $427,000
  • Portland Baroque Orchestra – $28,700
  • Portland Center Stage – $225,000
  • Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra – $13,200
  • Portland Gay Men’s Chorus – $14,700
  • Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) – $41,900
  • Portland Opera Association – $214,000
  • Portland Piano International – $20,000
  • Portland Playhouse – $23,000
  • Portland Youth Philharmonic – $23,800
  • Profile Theatre – $17,100
  • The Circus Project – $12,800
  • The Portland Ballet – $24,100
  • Third Angle New Music – $8,000
  • Third Rail Repertory Theatre – $29,100
  • Triangle Productions! – $13,000
  • White Bird – $42,100
  • Write Around Portland – $13,400
  • Young Audiences of Oregon – $46,100

 

2017-18 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 awards on May 24, 2017. (*First time grant recipients)

Here are the 2017-18 Professional Development grant awards (cycle 1) to both individuals and organizations:

*Bidegain, Ray – Work with master photographer in Raleigh, North Carolina. – $1,500

Chilstrom, Robin – Attend vocal improvisation workshop in Rhinecliff, New York. – $1,700

Chou, Hong – Perform at College Music Society’s International Music Conference in Sydney, Australia. – $1,950 (Washington)

Cohen, Stephen – Travel to attend music residency at Music OMI in Ghent, New York. – $775

*Connelly, Muffie  – Travel to participate in Ponderosa Artist Residency in Stolzenhagen, Germany. – $1,200

*Cosper, Anna – Attend Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference in LA. – $1,500

*Creamer, Alissa Nicole – Create artist website. – $1,500

*Deandrade, Donna – Travel to study with Grupo Afro-Cuba in Matanzas, Cuba. – $1,750

*Doughton, Steven – Digitize work and attend exhibition open at MOMA in New York City. – $1,500

*Hickey, Leslie – Attend Civita Fellowship in Civita di Bahnoregio, Italy. – $1,750

*Hill, Will – Attend California Brazil Camp in Cazadero, California. – $1,500

*Houston, Taino – Create artist website and marketing materials. – $1,500

*Kuhlman, Laura – Attend Viols West workshop in San Luis Obispo, California. – $1,200

*Leavitt, Matt – Research and training on the use of CNC router. – $1,500

*Lewis, Ellen – Present work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. – $1,800 (Clackamas)

*Lewis, Katherine – Attend Dell’Arte Theater Summer Intensive in Blue Lake, California. – $1,000

Martin, Yuki – Create artist website. – $1,000

*Newman, Hannah – Exhibit work at GRIN, a gallery in Providence, Rhode Island. – $925 (Washington)

*Nikolai, Tabitha – Travel to create work with collaborators in Tokyo. – $1,200

Nye, Whitney – Update artist website. – $1,300

*O’Neal, Sidony – Work with consultant Jesse Mejia on sound design and audio synthesis. – $1,150

*Ostapenko, Tatyana – Present work at the Odessa Biennasle in Ukraine. – $1,250

*Oyervides, Alejandra – Attend apparel construction workshops at the Portland Fashion Institute. – $1,500

*Parker, Brian – Attend Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference in LA. – $1,750

*Rose, Alicia J. – Create artist website. – $1,650

Sivley, Paul – Attend Pro Drone Workshop training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. – $1,450 (Clackamas)

Stiles, Noelle – Attend Fundación El Mirador residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina. – $1,500

Tran, Minh – Travel to work with master dance teachers in Bali, Indonesia. – $1,500

*Woodring, Ryan – Attend Signal Fire Residency “Canoe: Big Bend” on the Rio Grande River in Texas. – $850

*Action/Adventure Theatre – Create new organizational website and brand. – $1,350

*Beaverton Symphony Orchestra – Attend League of American Orchestras management training in LA. – $1,500 (Washington)

*Tavern Books – Attend American Literary Translators Association Conference in Minneapolis. – $1,500

For more information on Professional Development grants click here.

2017-18 Arts Equity Grants

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Arts Equity Grants provide financial support to organizations that are conducting arts and culture projects and programming for communities of color, immigrants, refugees, underserved neighborhoods, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ communities, people experiencing homelessness and houselessness, and other communities that have historically been marginalized.

The RACC Board of Directors approved the final 24 grant awards on May 24, 2017. (*First-time RACC Grant recipient)

  • Autism Society of Oregon – Art workshops for adults on the autism spectrum. $1,250
  • Cinema Project – Social justice film screenings at correctional facility in partnership with Liberation Literacy. $1,480
  • Cymaspace – Oregon Arts & Accessibility Festival to showcase the work of deaf and hard of hearing artists. $6,500
  • Fuse Theatre Ensemble – OUTwright Theatre Festival, celebrating the contributions of the LGBTQI+ community to the art of theatre. $5,000
  • Girls Inc of the Pacific Northwest* – Five week summer documentary filmmaking program that inspires girls to share the stories of Portland women. $6,500
  • Hmong American Community of Oregon* – New Year Celebration at Glenhaven Park. $6,000
  • Instituto de Cultura y Arte In Xochitl In Cuicatl – Dia de los Muertos ceremony and accompanying workshops/programming. $5,000
  • Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival* – 5th Annual Festival featuring and supporting Native American/First Nations artists, activists, and vendors. $6,000
  • Kukatonon Children’s African Dance Troupe – After-school African dance and drumming program, including partnership with The Portland Ballet. $6,500
  • Latino Network – Multi-media video art project with Latino youth in East County. $6,500
  • Morpheus Youth Project – Breakdancing workshop in partnership with Department of Community Justice, Juvenile Services.  $6,500
  • NAYA Family Center – Neerchokikoo Honoring Powwow, an annual celebration honoring Native American Cultural Arts. $5,000
  • New Expressive Works – Weekend of workshops and activities highlighting the experiences of urban South Asians. $6,500
  • Outside the Frame* – Intensive filmmaking workshop and subsequent weekly programming for youth experiencing homelessness. $6,000
  • Portland Art & Cultural Center* – Annual Chinese New Year Cultural Fair. $6,000
  • Portland Interfaith Gospel Choir* – Free community concert at St. Andre Bessette Catholic Church. $4,500
  • PreSERVE Coalition* – 12-week collaborative arts series with The Geezer Gallery for older African Americans. $6,500
  • Public Annex* – Two terms of art classes for people with disabilities and arts community. $5,000
  • Right 2 Survive – Support Ambassador Project to host writing and art workshops integrating housed and homeless people. $6,500
  • ROSE CDC* – Comprehensive music education, production, and performance program in partnership with Holla Mentors. $6,500
  • Slavic Community Center of NW* – Cultural music event for Slavic immigrants featuring local musicians performing music by Russian composers. $5,000
  • The Giving Tree – 4 session class for residents to explore their mental health diagnosis in relation to their creativity and art-making. $1,810
  • The Rosewood Initiative – Role Models Apply Positive Peer Pressure (RAPP) Music Program. $4,000
  • World Stage Theatre – Imagination Express Arts Education mobile outreach program in East County. $6,000

After funding two cycles of Arts Equity Grants in 2016 and 2017, RACC has decided to integrate the Arts Equity Grant program in our larger Project Grant program. Learn more about Arts Equity & Access Project Grants on our Project Grant page.

RACC announces new structure for project grants

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RACC has long offered project grant support to individual artists and organizations in the region, helping to support the creation and presentation of artmaking of all kinds. More than 140 artistic projects were funded last year, ranging from solo dance performances to an audio documentary series exploring gentrification to afterschool Taiko ensemble classes for youth.

Traditionally, RACC’s project grant application has been offered once a year, in the summer, to support the many performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, broadcasts, festivals, tours, workshops, events, installations, and happenings that occur in the following calendar year. Now it is time for something new.

RACC is responding to community needs

Project grants are the most popular funding program at RACC by volume, and the interest and need for public support has increased significantly over the years. In 2008, RACC received 192 applications; two years later that number had increased to 267, and by 2014 RACC received a record 358 applications. This growth in the creative community needs to be met by a granting structure and timeline that better serves the artmakers, rather than the grantmakers.

In the most significant project grant change in years, RACC is moving from one deadline annually to three deadlines a year. The arts community can plan for the next project grant deadline coming up on Wednesday, August 2, 2017 by 5:00 p.m.  Subsequent project grant deadlines will be in February, June and October of 2018. RACC’s professional development grants will also move to the same multiple deadlines every year.

With the more frequent grant deadlines, artists and organizations can apply when they are ready to present their projects for consideration rather than when RACC’s application is available.

Grantmaking for Equity

Over the last two years, RACC staff have collected community feedback through online surveys and focus groups, and have researched and incorporated national best practices in grantmaking. Project grant enhancements are building on the lessons learned in administering RACC’s Arts Equity Grant program that was launched last year, and are a direct response to community need.

As always, RACC project grants are available to individual artists and non-profit organizations in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties. The project grant categories and the application itself are slightly different than in previous years, so RACC encourages applicants to explore the categories and other grant requirements well in advance. The new categories for project grants will be:

  • Arts Equity & Access. Arts Equity Grants, which were first awarded in 2016, are now being folded into project grants and made available to individual artists as well as organizations. This change also allows RACC to expand Arts Equity Grant funding to all three counties when it had previously only been available to City of Portland and Multnomah County applicants. Arts Equity & Access projects will support arts programs and services that involve direct community participation from communities that are underserved, students, and other events and festivals that are community based.
  • Arts Services. Arts Services is a new category to artists and organizations that are providing technical assistance and other services to the field. RACC has seen an increasing number of these proposals over the last few years, and this new category makes funding available to projects that support the arts community with activities such as workshops and conferences.
  • Artistic Focus. The Artistic Focus category remains unchanged with the vision, innovation, creativity and high artistic quality of the artist or arts organization at the heart of the proposal.

As returning grant applicants read through the project grant guidelines and application, they may notice some additional changes. For example, organizations will no longer be required to meet a one-to-one match in their proposed budgets, and the review criteria has been revised.

Two-step process

RACC is also implementing a new two-step application process that will include a shorter Inquiry Application, followed by a Full Application for those proposals that are ready to be considered by a grant review panel. The Inquiry Application is brief, including several short questions plus a narrative opportunity to describe the proposed project, but will allow a staff review panel to determine that the details and timing of the proposed project are far enough along to be competitive.

“This new process will help save applicants from doing all the work of a full application at once,” says grants officer Helen Daltoso. The Inquiry Application will be reviewed by staff, and projects most likely to be competitive will be invited to submit a Full Application. Proposals that are not selected to submit a Full Application will have an opportunity to prepare further and re-apply in the next project grant deadline.

“If a project isn’t quite ready to move forward and needs more time to work out some of the details, there will always be another opportunity to re-submit another application in a few months,” said Daltoso. “Applicants will no longer have to wait a full year for the next opportunity to apply.”

Summary of Key Changes

Taken together, these changes will give artists and arts organizations more flexibility, and more opportunities for success at the Full Application stage. With three annual deadlines, applicants can come forward with proposals when they, and the projects they are developing, are truly ready for consideration.

  • Move from one annual deadline in August to three deadlines February, June and October beginning in 2018.
  • Applicants will be establishing their own project timeline, rather than having to adhere to the calendar year.
  • Revising grant categories to include Artistic Focus, Arts Equity & Access, and Arts Service projects.
  • Two-step application process:
    • Step one: Inquiry Application – a short application outlining project details
    • Step two: Full Application – only projects most likely to be competitive will be invited to submit a full application

The RACC staff and board are excited to launch this evolution of project support and how we serve the many dancers, filmmakers, composers, actors, artists, writers, performers, producers and creatives throughout the tri-county region.

How to Apply

The first step in the application process is to read the Project Grant Guidelines. This document outlines all the details of the program and can help applicants determine whether their project is eligible for a grant.

RACC is moving to a new online grant application system, so first time and returning applicants alike will need to create a new account in the new system at racc.org/apply.

Applicants who submit an Inquiry Application will receive a response from RACC within 5 weeks. Full Application proposals will be grouped by discipline and reviewed by a panel of community volunteers who have interest and experience in arts and culture programming.

The next four project grant deadlines are:

  • Wednesday, August 2, 2017 by 5:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, February 7, 2018 by 5:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, June 6, 2018 by 5:00 p.m.
  • Wednesday, October 3, 2018 by 5:00 p.m.

GRANT ORIENTATIONS

For more detailed information on Project Grant applications you may attend the following free, optional orientation sessions. It is important that you register for these orientations by either going to racc.org/rsvp or emailing Jack MacNichol at  jmacnichol@racc.org.

  • Thursday, July 13, 2017 | 6:00-7:30pm | Beaverton Library Auditorium 12375 SW 5th St, Beaverton
  • Friday, July 14, 2017 | This session is full and we are not able to accept additional registrations
  • Monday, July 17, 2017 | 6:00-7:30pm | Kenton Library Meeting Room – 8226 N Denver Ave, Portland
  • Wednesday, July 19, 2017 | 6:00-7:30pm | Midland Library Meeting Room – 805 SE 122nd Ave, Portland
  • Thursday, July 20, 2017 | 3:00-5:00pm | RACC Office – 411 NW Park Ave #101, Portland
  • Wednesday, July 26, 2017 | 6:00-7:30pm | Hollywood Library Meeting Room – 4040 NE Tillamook St, Portland
  • Thursday, July 27, 2017 | 9:00-11:00am | RACC Office – 411 NW Park Ave #101, Portland

Questions?

You can learn more about Project Grants and read the new Grant Guidelines on our Project Grant page. Please contact Quinn MacNichol with questions about RACC grants, or with translation and technical assistance requests, at 503-823-2928 or qmacnichol@racc.org.

RACC awards Arts Equity Grants to 24 organizations

Written by

PORTLAND, ORE — The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $126,540 in Arts Equity Grants to 24 organizations that are advancing RACC’s goals for equity and inclusion. These grants are funded by City of Portland’s Arts Education & Access Fund, or arts tax, along with support from Multnomah County.

Arts Equity Grants provide financial support to organizations that are conducting arts and culture projects and programming for communities of color, immigrants, refugees, underserved neighborhoods, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ communities, people experiencing homelessness and houselessness, and other communities that have historically been marginalized.

A total of 75 nonprofit organizations submitted eligible Letters of Interest in this cycle and 31 organizations were invited to submit full applications. A panel of RACC Board Members and community representatives reviewed the 29 submitted applications and recommended full or partial funding for 24 applicants, totaling $126,540. The RACC Board of Directors approved the final grant awards on May 24, 2017.

Here is a brief summary of the 24 Arts Equity Grants awarded (*First-time RACC Grant recipient):

  • Autism Society of Oregon – Art workshops for adults on the autism spectrum. $1,250
  • Cinema Project – Social justice film screenings at correctional facility in partnership with Liberation Literacy. $1,480
  • Cymaspace – Oregon Arts & Accessibility Festival to showcase the work of deaf and hard of hearing artists. $6,500
  • Fuse Theatre Ensemble – OUTwright Theatre Festival, celebrating the contributions of the LGBTQI+ community to the art of theatre. $5,000
  • Girls Inc of the Pacific Northwest* – Five week summer documentary filmmaking program that inspires girls to share the stories of Portland women. $6,500
  • Hmong American Community of Oregon* – New Year Celebration at Glenhaven Park. $6,000
  • Instituto de Cultura y Arte In Xochitl In Cuicatl – Dia de los Muertos ceremony and accompanying workshops/programming. $5,000
  • Jim Pepper Native Arts Festival* – 5th Annual Festival featuring and supporting Native American/First Nations artists, activists, and vendors. $6,000
  • Kukatonon Children’s African Dance Troupe – After-school African dance and drumming program, including partnership with The Portland Ballet. $6,500
  • Latino Network – Multi-media video art project with Latino youth in East County. $6,500
  • Morpheus Youth Project – Breakdancing workshop in partnership with Department of Community Justice, Juvenile Services.  $6,500
  • NAYA Family Center – Neerchokikoo Honoring Powwow, an annual celebration honoring Native American Cultural Arts. $5,000
  • New Expressive Works – Weekend of workshops and activities highlighting the experiences of urban South Asians. $6,500
  • Outside the Frame* – Intensive filmmaking workshop and subsequent weekly programming for youth experiencing homelessness. $6,000
  • Portland Art & Cultural Center* – Annual Chinese New Year Cultural Fair. $6,000
  • Portland Interfaith Gospel Choir* – Free community concert at St. Andre Bessette Catholic Church. $4,500
  • PreSERVE Coalition* – 12-week collaborative arts series with The Geezer Gallery for older African Americans. $6,500
  • Public Annex* – Two terms of art classes for people with disabilities and arts community. $5,000
  • Right 2 Survive – Support Ambassador Project to host writing and art workshops integrating housed and homeless people. $6,500
  • ROSE CDC* – Comprehensive music education, production, and performance program in partnership with Holla Mentors. $6,500
  • Slavic Community Center of NW* – Cultural music event for Slavic immigrants featuring local musicians performing music by Russian composers. $5,000
  • The Giving Tree – 4 session class for residents to explore their mental health diagnosis in relation to their creativity and art-making. $1,810
  • The Rosewood Initiative – Role Models Apply Positive Peer Pressure (RAPP) Music Program. $4,000
  • World Stage Theatre – Imagination Express Arts Education mobile outreach program in East County. $6,000

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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.