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Inversion +/-, Lead Pencil Studio, 2012-2013
The region’s public art enlivens urban and rural landscapes and promotes dialogue among people of all ages and backgrounds. Through a variety of public-private partnerships, RACC helps acquire and maintain community-owned artworks in public places. A Public Art Advisory Committee oversees RACC’s public art program, which is among the oldest and most highly regarded public art programs in the country.
Posted July 14, 2021
Outraged by the senseless killing of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police, instrumental hip hop producer LuvJonez waged a 50-day Instagram campaign starting on July 19, 2020, to “shine a light” on an all-too-common story. Originally from Kentucky but now based in Portland, Luvjonez wanted to do something to bring more attention to Breonna Taylor’s case […]
Posted June 4, 2021
Open Signal had a wall. We had experience creating murals. Salvador Mayoral, who facilitates our Public Art Murals Program, recalls how Fresh Paint, the partnership to provide emerging Black and brown artists a place to become muralists, got its start. “We were looking for a high visibility spot for a temporary mural pilot project,” he […]
Posted May 14, 2021
Mario De León is a local artist whose playful, detailed murals and paintings can be found throughout East Portland and Gresham. Passionate about his art and sharing it with the community, De León is bringing his talent to a new project engaging youth from the nonprofit Play Grow Learn. In May, these young artists brightened […]
Posted May 12, 2021
$75,000 NEA grant to connect people, culture, and transportation; strengthen the sense of community in East Portland The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), in partnership with TriMet, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), APANO, Division Midway Alliance, and Slavic Community Center of NW, will receive a $75,000 Our Town grant from the National Endowment […]
Posted May 3, 2021
Writer, poet, multi-media artist, and educator, Terrance Burton, breaks it down like this, “If I can inspire someone – another artist – not to give up, that would be it. My art is what inspired me as a survivor.” Terrance Burton credits being an artist to his parents, the ways that they expressed themselves in […]
Posted April 9, 2021
Fourth-generation Japanese-American Michelle Fujii creates contemporary work centered in the Japanese art forms of taiko (drums) and folk dance. “The work I create is rooted in my cultural identity and lived experiences,” she explains. “It responds to current events, community conversations and societal issues. Being personal and authentic is the foundation of my work, investigating notions of […]
Posted April 1, 2021
Multimedia artist janessa bautista’s artistic practice involves natural dyeing with plant material, some of which she harvested or grew herself. “I dye natural fibers in the form of fabric and rope.” she explains. “The work I create is about everyday needs and the energy that is put into the making process. I do my best […]
Posted April 1, 2021
May Maylisa Cat is a multidisciplinary artist whose work lies at the intersection of food culture, racialized labor, and identity. Her work spans new media, painting, glass, and performance. The panel of curators selected two of May Maylisa Cat’s works for Capturing the Moment. The first, a video titled Farang Kee Nok (Bird Sh!t […]
Posted March 31, 2021
Just over a year ago, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued her executive order putting our state into lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus. Last fall we asked artists to submit works of all media “Capturing the Moment,” reflecting their artistic response to the economic and health crisis in our communities. Submissions flooded in–sculpture, illustrations, video, […]
Posted March 31, 2021
Somya Singh makes “memoir comics” from lived experiences. “I have been making comics in ink for over ten years. They often depict painful or difficult moments that I’m trying to reconcile for myself,” Somya explains. The comics selected for Capturing the Moment depict what the lockdown has looked like, conceptually, and include familiar scenes from […]
Posted March 31, 2021
Ashley Mellinger strives to “re-imagine traditional narratives and include marginalized voices in ways that are not centered on their identities and, specifically, the trauma associated with their experiences. I am particularly committed to telling stories in the spirit of afro-futurism.” Her artistic practice straddles both theatre and film. She co-founded Desert Island Studios to increase […]
Posted March 30, 2021
Valerie Yeo is a psychologist in her “day job” and, she says, “an artist in all parts of my life.” A visual artist primarily working with ink, watercolor, and acrylic mediums, her series, Waves, painted in acrylic on 8″ x 8″ canvas panels, captures, as she says, “the collective trauma of 2020.” It made her […]
Posted March 30, 2021
Artist Julian Saporiti describes collaborating with community group Portland Taiko, to create Orient Oregon. “It was a historical song/film work composed against the backdrop of 2020. Through music it highlights the often invisible story of early Japanese American immigrants who worked as shopkeepers, loggers, farmers, and more. Over the course of a century, they endured […]
Posted March 19, 2021
Interpretation services available, email info@racc.org Servicio de interpretación disponible | Предоставляются услуги переводчика | Có dịch vụ thông dịch | 通訳サービスあり The Regional Arts & Culture Council seeks proposals for design, fabrication and installation of new artwork in Errol Heights Park. The budget for the commission comes from the City of Portland’s Percent for Art Program […]
Posted March 9, 2021
Article by Bruce Poinsette (update March 30, 2021) Images by Intisar Abioto For many, it might feel as if an eternity has passed since the announcement and installation of the In—Between project. RACC’s press release for the collaboration between Intisar Abioto and Hank Willis Thomas was published on Dec. 16, 2019. Since then, the COVID-19 […]
Posted March 3, 2021
This summer, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and with swift momentum behind the Black Lives Matter movement, many rallied together to protest racial injustice across the nation and here in our own city. Throughout the resistance in Portland, the recently completed Multnomah County Central Courthouse on Southwest First Avenue in downtown […]
Posted February 17, 2021
Mami Takahashi is an artist with SUPPORT BEAM, a new RACC grant program supporting artists’ long term creative practice and livelihood. These works are part of my “Seeing You/Seeing Me” project. “Seeing You/Seeing Me,” (previously titled “Hiding and Observing”) is an ongoing project in which I use mirrored domes to hide my body or face […]
Posted February 12, 2021
Interpretation services available, email info@racc.org Servicio de interpretación disponible | Предоставляются услуги переводчика | Có dịch vụ thông dịch | 通訳サービスあり Art Purchase Opportunity Artists from Oregon & Washington can add to the vitality of Portland’s Public Art Collection by submitting portable scale two dimensional works for purchase by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Types […]
Posted February 3, 2021
Artists awarded Support Beam commissions are giving us small windows into their work, processes, and personal stories. In their own voices, hear more from these inspiring artists. Support Beam funding from Multnomah County Percent For Art and PDXCARES. Follow along at #RACCSupportBeam on Instagram. Teressa White “I want Native people to feel stillness; a moment where they can connect with […]
Posted December 7, 2020
Interpretation services available, email info@racc.org Servicio de interpretación disponible | Предоставляются услуги переводчика | Có dịch vụ thông dịch | 通訳サービスあり 34 Black artists, Indigenous artists, and artists of color have had works selected for a new public art collection titled Capturing the Moment. This collection showcases work in a wide scope of medium, […]