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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 September 14, 2021
We are thrilled to introduce HERE AND THERE, a new series of conversations between Portland-area muralists and muralists working outside of our region. This three-part series, unfolding monthly through October, hopes to serve as both a professional development opportunity for aspiring and working muralists and a point of connection for our communities to relate more […]
Posted August 19, 2021
A conversation with PSU Professor and York historian Darrell Millner, the York artist, and Kristin Calhoun, Director of Public Art, Regional Arts & Culture Council Listen to this pre-recorded conversation with the unidentified artist who created York and PSU Professor of History and Black Studies, Darrell Millner. York, a piece of artwork depicting an enslaved man and […]
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 […]