Community Updates

Next steps for toppled and removed monuments – FAQ

Updated following RACC Board Action 9/29/2021 What is the status of statues that were removed or toppled in 2020 protests? The statues from the City of Portland’s public art collection are secured in a temporary storage facility. This includes: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt: Rough Rider, Harvey Scott, Promised Land and Elk. Will these […]

Here and There – Three Conversations with Mural Artists

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 […]

Stronger Together – Reflections on RACC’s Advocacy and Engagement

by Mario Mesquita, Manager of Advocacy and Engagement Saludos, Greetings, and Hello fellow community members, supporters, artists, artist folx, and friends of the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Hands outstretched in an embrace with one another. One hand reaching for the other, both springing from different colored bouquets, one red, one grey. Located at Southwest […]

What Kind of Public Art Do We Want Now?

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 […]

Community grant review uplifts artists in RACC decision-making process

Our grantmaking continues to change as we strive to align our values of access and equity in our services and investments. Feedback from an online survey in summer 2020, and a series of focus groups with Black, brown, and Indigenous artists who shared their perspectives and needs with us last fall, fueled the creation of […]

Capturing the Moment artist Luvjonez

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 […]

Regional Arts & Culture Council adds four new board members, elects officers

Four new members were approved to the Regional Arts & Culture Council Board of Directors and Nathan Rix became RACC’s new board chair on June 29, 2021. Rix succeeds Parker Lee who will serve as Chair Emeritus until June 30, 2022. The Board also approved a new slate of officers to steward the organization including […]

Fresh Paint Opportunity Re-Opens to First Time Muralists

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 […]