Portland, December 20th, 2013. The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) has awarded $661,543 in project grants for calendar year 2014, including 60 grants to nonprofit organizations and schools, and 88 individual artists in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. This sum is 10.7% less than RACC awarded for project grants last year, attributable primarily to across-the-board cuts from the City of Portland, RACC’s largest funding source. Clackamas County, Washington County, Multnomah County, Metro, and Work for Art also help fund these project grants. 

With applications at an all-time high, this year’s grants were especially competitive – only 42% of all requests were fully or partially funded. Even so, many individual artists were successful in securing RACC funds for the first time – 60% of all funded artists and 20% of all funded organizations this cycle are receiving their first RACC project grant. 

Fifty-eight volunteers served on 14 different panels organized by discipline. Most (93%) served as a RACC panelist for the first time, and 38% identified as non-Caucasian and/or multicultural. Guided by staff during the months of October, November and December, these volunteers evaluated 134 proposals based on artistic merit, audience development and financial accountability, and forwarded their final recommendations to the RACC board of directors, which approved the grants on December 18. 

A summary of funded grants can be found at www.racc.org/2014projectgrants. Among them: 

  • First-time grant recipients David Ornette Cherry, a jazz and world music composer, will integrate storytelling, visual arts installation, and his Organic Nation band into a music performance; Anthony Hudson (aka Carla Rossi) will host a monologue and song-driven cabaret utilizing storytelling, music, dance, video and drag to tell the story of Weimar Germany juxtaposed against contemporary America; and playwright Deborah Rodney will further develop her original musical play for youth, “Bully the Kid,” through a series of community readings. 
  • Badass Theatre Company received their first RACC project grant to support an upcoming production of Sans Merci by Johnna Adams. Colored Pencils Art and Culture Council plans to develop a series of events in partnership with Multnomah County libraries to promote local authors and ESL students from diverse communities. The Northwest Animation Festival will use its first award to showcase the breadth of animation for NW audiences, and The Projects Festival will present workshops, panels and performances with experimental artists working in comics. 
  • The Art Gym in Clackamas County will feature a major exhibition and publication for Vanessa Renwick, and Christopher Mooney will exhibit his large scale portraits depicting workers on the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Willamette River Bridge. 
  • Washington County residents will see a new round of Ten Tiny Dances presented by the Beaverton Arts Commission and new mosaic pavers created by the community with artist Lynn Adamo installed at the Shute Park Library in Hillsboro.

In addition, an anonymous donor continues to provide special funding for an annual “Innovation Prize” of $2,500. This year’s award for outstanding, innovative, media-oriented project goes to Laura Heit for a hand drawn animated installation and film titled “Two Ways Down.” 

“RACC has been working hard to reach out and collaborate with new artists and new artistic communities in the region, and I believe that this fantastic slate of upcoming projects reflects that commitment,” Eloise Damrosch, executive director of RACC. “We are looking forward to another year of creation and innovation, and we will continue evolving our process and procedures to ensure that we are supporting a diverse array of artists and organizations in our community.”

A complete listing of grants appears below, and summaries of each grant are available at www.racc.org/2014projectgrants.

Note: (*) denotes Clackamas County applicants, and (**) denotes Washington County based applicants. All other applicants are based in Multnomah County.

 

Individual Artist Category/Discipline Amount
Lynn Adamo ** Community Participation $ 3,947
Andrew C. Anderson Furgeson Multi-Discipline $ 5,400
Yulia Arakelyan Dance/Movement $ 5,675
David Bee Media Arts $ 4,500
Heather Lee Birdsong Visual Arts $ 3,041
Paul Cavanagh Literature $ 4,973
Meshi Chavez Dance/Movement $ 3,404
David Ornette Cherry Music $ 4,500
Taiga Christie Community Participation $ 3,759
Krista Connerly Visual Arts $ 4,500
Tyler Corbett Visual Arts $ 4,230
Lori Damiano Multi-Discipline $ 4,129
Zackery C. Denfeld Social Practice $ 6,000
Steven Doughton Media Arts $ 4,798
Melanie Flood Visual Arts $ 4,421
Jack T. Gabel Music $ 5,870
Jeff Gierer Community Participation $ 5,100
Damien Gilley Visual Arts $ 4,784
Daniel J. Glendening Visual Arts $ 5,320
Cheryl Green Media Arts $ 4,600
Michael Griggs Theatre $ 6,000
Stacey Hallal Multi-Discipline $ 4,350
Jo Hamilton Visual Arts $ 4,232
Allie Hankins Dance/Movement $ 4,336
Wayne Harrel Theatre $ 2,194
Jen Harrison Music $ 5,686
Laura Heit Multi-Discipline $ 3,662
Laura Heit Multi-Discipline $ 2,500
Hector Hernandez Community Participation $ 4,309
Justin Hocking Community Participation $ 4,035
Tahni Holt Dance/Movement $ 5,150
Kurtis Hough Media Arts $ 5,100
Anthony Hudson Multi-Discipline $ 2,866
Laura Hughes Visual Arts $ 5,168
Linda Hutchins Multi-Discipline $ 4,800
Lawrence Johnson Media Arts $ 5,700
Evan La Londe Visual Arts $ 2,805
Mark LaPierre Theatre $ 3,013
Jeff Leake Arts-In-Schools $ 3,788
Waylon Lenk Literature $ 2,778
Ellen Lesperance Visual Arts $ 2,883
Alain LeTourneau Media Arts $ 5,905
Brian Lindstrom Community Participation $ 4,800
Gabriel Liston Visual Arts $ 1,588
Joaquin Lopez ** Multi-Discipline $ 3,216
Dana Lynn Louis Visual Arts $ 5,100
Anna Magruder Visual Arts $ 2,986
Susannah Mars * Theatre $ 4,204
Jim McGinn Dance/Movement $ 5,400
Anita Menon ** Multi-Discipline $ 5,328
Stephen Miller Multi-Discipline $ 3,071
Renee Mitchell Community Participation $ 5,355
Christopher Mooney * Visual Arts $ 4,500
Emily Myers Visual Arts $ 3,285
Sarah Nagy Arts-In-Schools $ 5,100
Motoya Nakamura Visual Arts $ 5,430
Loren Nelson ** Visual Arts $ 4,025
Caroline Oakley Arts-In-Schools $ 5,640
Chris G. Parkhurst Media Arts $ 5,320
Susan E. Peck Community Participation $ 3,998
Roger Peet Multi-Discipline $ 5,310
Andrew Phoenix Theatre $ 4,708
Ryan Pierce Visual Arts $ 5,236
Tracy Pitts Media Arts $ 4,309
Melissa Reeser Poulin Literature $ 4,423
Alicia Jo Rabins Music $ 3,400
Wendy Red Star Visual Arts $ 4,313
Vanessa Olivia Renwick Media Arts $ 4,930
Jen Delos Reyes Literature $ 3,881
Dmae Roberts Multi-Discipline $ 5,800
Deborah Rodney Community Participation $ 3,990
Danielle Ross Dance/Movement $ 4,654
Paul X. Rutz Visual Arts $ 4,280
Julie Sabatier Media Arts $ 4,304
Tracy Schlapp Multi-Discipline $ 4,893
Stephanie Simek Visual Arts $ 4,220
Anne Sorce Theatre $ 5,092
Dao Strom Multi-Discipline $ 5,850
Marianna C. Thielen Music $ 4,570
Lorenzo Triburgo Visual Arts $ 5,301
Leslie Tucker Visual Arts $ 2,879
Philip Van Scotter Media Arts $ 4,256
Holcombe Waller Multi-Discipline $ 4,500
Shu-Ju Wang Visual Arts $ 4,729
Damaris Webb Theatre $ 4,223
James Westby ** Media Arts $ 5,100
Kelly Williams Community Participation $ 5,990
Reeva Wortel Visual Arts $ 5,015
Erin Yanke Media Arts $ 5,038

 

Organization Category/Discipline Amount
45th Parallel Music $ 5,132
Badass Theatre Company Theatre $ 4,680
Beaverton Arts Commission ** Presenting $ 5,415
Blackfish Gallery Visual Arts $ 3,825
Boom Arts Theatre $ 3,686
Cascadia Composers Music $ 3,000
Colored Pencils Art and Culture Council Community Participation $ 3,071
Community Alliance of Tenants Multi-Discipline $ 4,630
Conduit Dance, Inc. Dance/Movement $ 6,000
Creative Music Guild Multi-Discipline $ 4,463
Creative Science School PTA Arts-In-Schools $ 2,588
Curious Comedy Theater Theatre $ 5,520
Disjecta Interdisciplinary Art Center Visual Arts $ 5,700
Estacada Arts Commission * Community Participation $ 5,369
Estacada Together * Arts-In-Schools $ 5,700
Fear No Music Music $ 4,500
George Middle School Arts-In-Schools $ 2,250
Grout Elementary Arts-In-Schools $ 4,400
In Mulieribus Music $ 4,294
India Cultural Association ** Community Participation $ 4,350
Irvington School PTA Arts-In-Schools $ 5,100
Jewish Theatre Collaborative Arts-In-Schools $ 2,250
Ko-Falen Cultural Center Arts-In-Schools $ 1,548
Kukatonon Community Participation $ 4,500
Live on Stage Theatre $ 4,391
Los Portenos ** Theatre $ 4,503
Media Rites Media Arts $ 4,388
MetroArts, Inc. Music $ 4,229
Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon (MESO) Community Participation $ 4,500
Museum of Contemporary Craft Folk Arts $ 4,500
My Voice Music Community Participation $ 5,288
National Alliance on Mental Illness of Clackamas County (NAMI-CC) * Community Participation $ 4,275
New City Initiative (JOIN) Community Participation $ 4,500
Northwest Animation Festival Presenting $ 4,399
Northwest Film Center Community Participation $ 3,720
Open Meadow Alternative Schools Arts-In-Schools $ 4,228
Opera Theater Oregon Multi-Discipline $ 5,945
Oregon Cultural Access (ORCA) Community Participation $ 4,728
Oregon Jewish Museum Visual Arts $ 3,520
Performance Works Northwest Presenting $ 2,388
Portland Children’s Museum Visual Arts $ 5,400
Portland Community College Foundation Visual Arts $ 3,854
Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble (PETE) Theatre $ 6,000
Portland Jazz Festival Music $ 5,690
Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival Media Arts $ 5,100
Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival Media Arts $ 5,850
Portland Vocal Consort ** Music $ 3,744
POV Dance Dance/Movement $ 4,487
RASIKA – India Arts and Culture Council Music $ 4,520
Risk/Reward Presenting $ 5,390
Signal Fire Literature $ 2,800
The Art Gym * Visual Arts $ 5,700
The Circus Project Community Participation $ 3,637
The Library Foundation Community Participation $ 5,400
The Obo Addy Legacy Project Community Participation $ 4,388
The Projects Festival Community Participation $ 5,653
Triangle Productions! Theatre $ 4,418
VOZ Worker’s Rights Education Project Community Participation $ 4,500
Water in the Desert Multi-Discipline $ 4,489
Well Arts Institute Community Participation $ 1,299

 

 

###

 

Share