Community Updates

Meet the artists showcasing their work for 2018-19 Night Lights!

Photo of artist Laura Medina standing in front of a wall, with her artwork projected onto her and the wall.

Night Lights, RACC’s outdoor public art event series, is back for five months with local artists/collectives projecting their digital media works onto RACC’s building for several hours starting at dusk. Now in its fourth year, Night Lights is a unique event series that celebrates and highlights the intersections of digital technology, art, and place. Laura […]

Chloe Eudaly tapped to be Portland’s new Arts Commissioner

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has shuffled some of the City of Portland’s bureau and liaison assignments, and on September 4 Commissioner Chloe Eudaly will become the RACC liaison and arts commissioner. A strong advocate for culture and creativity, Commissioner Eudaly is no stranger to the arts. She has owned and operated an independent bookstore featuring […]

RACC board elects new members and officers

On July 1, Linda McGeady became RACC’s new board chair, succeeding Mike Golub who will serve as Chair Emeritus until June 30, 2019. McGeady is originally from Belfast, Ireland, and became a US Citizen 18 years ago; being involved in Portland’s arts community has been an important part of her life here.  She serves on […]

Latinidades: Redefining Art Spaces to Support Latinx Creatives

How do a regional arts and culture organization and a Latinx economic and community development organization intersect? Months ago, RACC and the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber (HMC) first met to discuss partnering and what that would look like. Together, we asked this question, and the answer was right there: our commitment to the creative and entrepreneurial […]

Reflections, Lessons, and Projections

Art Spark attendees stand on the grass facing the stage, listening to a speaker

by Jeff Hawthorne Interim Executive Director June is coming to an end, and so too is RACC’s 2017-2018 fiscal year. Now is a good moment, before a new fiscal year begins on July 1, to ruminate on RACC’s past and present, and what that means for our future. A year ago this week, we celebrated […]

Welcome New RACC Staff

School’s out and summer’s here! While you’re getting ready to attend the countless arts and cultural events happening these warmer months, we’ve got some new faces at RACC we’d like to introduce you to. Meet the newest RACC staff: Jae, Lokyee, and Yessica: Jae Yeun Choi Jae received her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop […]

Why Can’t I Just Exist: Code-Switching in the Art World

by Humberto Marquez Mendez Code-Switching, the practice of alternating between different languages, ways of speaking, conduct, and presentation of self, is often the reality for people of color and other marginalized groups. From a young age, we learn from our community, personal experiences, and observations that “acting” a certain way results in access to resources […]

Fresh Paint with Molly Mendoza

In a city known for murals, how do you get your foot (or art) through a door when you’re an emerging artist of color? Fresh Paint, a partnership between RACC’s Public Art Murals program and Open Signal, offers that door to have artists work in the public space. Last May, Molly Mendoza kicked off the […]