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 December 20, 2017
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) in Portland, Oregon, invites artists living in Oregon and Washington to submit qualifications for a roster of artists qualified to create murals. Artists remain on the roster for three years, after which time they will be asked to reapply. The deadline for submitting application materials is the first Wednesday of every […]
Posted November 17, 2017
The $195 million, three year long renovation of the Portland Building has begun! Many already know that the City of Portland’s main administrative building is considered one of the first examples of Postmodern architecture, and that its western façade is the home of Raymond Kaskey’s iconic Portlandia. It is less well known however, that hundreds of […]
Posted October 24, 2017
Mauricio Robalino’s “Bird” sculpture was dedicated on Saturday, October 21st as part of the Grand Opening of Luuwit View Park. The Grand Opening was put on by Portland Parks & Recreation and ran from 11 am to 2 pm. Attendance was high despite the rain. Events were officiated by Commissioner Amanda Fritz and began with […]
Posted October 18, 2017
Fresh Paint, a temporary mural wall project, began in early 2017 as part of a new professional development initiative of RACC’s Public Art Murals programming. Three artists have been selected to paint a temporary mural on an area of the exterior west-wall of Open Signal facing the highly-visible Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Each mural […]
Posted September 27, 2017
Alex Chiu is the next artist to be featured in Fresh Paint, our temporary mural program in partnership with Open Signal. The mural is on an area of Open Signal’s west-wall facing Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Chiu is the second artist to be showcased in the pilot program and will also be teaching a […]
Posted August 31, 2017
As City Bureaus begin relocating their offices in advance of the Portland Building renovation RACC has also been working to find temporary storage for the many public art works that will be displaced during construction. Portlandia will stay put on the building’s west façade, but the iconic 35 foot high sculpture will be screened off […]
Posted August 24, 2017
Regional Arts & Culture Council and Open Signal to host projections from local artists PORTLAND, ORE — Night Lights, a monthly public art event, continues into its third year of urban intervention. A special launch party will be held at Open Signal on Wednesday, September 20 before the First Thursday series begins on October 5, […]
Posted August 7, 2017
PORTLAND, ORE – As the three year long renovation of the Portland Building approaches RACC will take an opportunity to present A Look Back: 23 Years at the Portland Building Installation Space. This “venue retrospective” will celebrate the rich and varied history of art installations in the modest gallery space that adjoins the Portland Building […]
Posted July 27, 2017
As the two year long renovation of the Portland Building approaches RACC will take an opportunity to look back at the rich, 23 year long history of art installations in the gallery that adjoins the building lobby. Over 200 exhibitions have taken place here over the years, all dedicated exclusively to site-specific installation art. The […]
Posted July 26, 2017
RACC is co-sponsoring the next RACE TALKS, Tuesday, August 8, 2017; “Williams Avenue Black History Corridor”; at McMenamins Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Avenue; Portland, OR 97211; Doors open at 6 pm; Newcomers Intro 6:45 pm; Food and drink available for purchase. About Williams Avenue’s Black History Corridor N Williams is changing. A lot. What many now living, […]
Posted July 6, 2017
PORTLAND, ORE – The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is pleased to present an installation by artist Elijah Hasan in the exhibition space adjacent to the Portland Building lobby. Hasan’s installation, which runs from July 10 to August 4, combines a set of the artist’s stunning films with a suite of still images. The […]
Posted June 29, 2017
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) in Portland, Oregon, invites artists living in the Portland Metropolitan Area producing graphic art & text to submit qualifications for Intersections an Artist-in-residence (AiR) project at the City of Portland Archives and Records Center (PARC). This is the third in a series of residencies for Archives. The selected […]
Posted June 29, 2017
On June 3, there was a community celebration for the Black Williams History Project public art installation. Many community members were on hand to share reminiscences of the neighborhood. Over the summer, take a tour of the project using this map. Artist Cleo Davis (center) with Honoring History of Williams Ave. Committee members Gahlena Easterly […]
Posted June 28, 2017
RACC is pleased to present an installation by artist and award winning film maker Elijah Hasan at the Portland Building. Using Portland as his stage and backdrop Hasan’s work skillfully and poetically explores themes of race, place, and social consciousness. 12 Degrees Black, which runs from July 10 to August 4th, combines a set of […]
Posted June 28, 2017
Fresh Paint is a pilot project of the Regional Arts and Culture Council’s Public Art Murals program in partnership with Open Signal: Portland Community Media. From May 2017 – May 2018, three emerging artists will have the opportunity to paint a temporary mural that will be up for a period of four months on Open […]
Posted May 30, 2017
The Regional Arts & Culture Council in Portland, Oregon, invites artists/teams currently living in the Portland metropolitan area and who are producing work in visual, performing, literary and/or media to submit qualifications for a one-year artist-in-residence opportunity in the Humboldt Neighborhood in North Portland. This will be the first in a series of 3 residencies […]
Posted May 26, 2017
Williams Ave. was once the vibrant heart of Portland’s Black community. Formerly known as the “Black Broadway,” the corridor included a concentration of Black churches, businesses, social service organizations and nightclubs that were thriving and active community institutions. Although the landscape has changed, there is much to remember, celebrate and build upon. In 2012, the […]
Posted May 25, 2017
House for Summer, artist Helen Lessick’s living tree sculpture located within Portland’s Hoyt Arboretum, is turning 30 years old! This captivating installation of birch trees, part of the City of Portland’s public art collection, has been pruned and shaped to take the form of a house, a house that changes with the seasons and is […]
Posted May 24, 2017
PORTLAND, ORE – RACC is pleased to present a new work by sculptor and installation artist Crystal Schenk in the Installation Space located adjacent to the Portland Building lobby. I’m Not a Barnacle, I’m Just a Boy, opens June 5 and features an arresting sculpture that asks the viewer to look beyond their common understanding […]
Posted May 18, 2017
Night Lights is a monthly public art event that promotes digital media, urban intervention, and technological innovation through site-specific outdoor art experiences. This is a call for five artists for the $1,000 honorarium and for a residency for one artist who will receive a $5,000 honorarium. On the First Thursdays of October through April, juried […]