August 2006

· IN THIS ISSUE ·

• Feature: Work for Art Raises $44,318 in 2005-06; Sets $200,000 Goal for 2006-07
• From the Executive Director: Eloise Damrosch
• First Thursday Reception for Visual Chronicle of Portland at PCPA
• saturated pasture at the Portland Building
• RACC Receives Funding from the Oregon Cultural Trust
• Arts Action Alert for more Arts Education
• Current RACC Opportunities
  • Grants
  • Public Art
  • Internships
• August Events Funded in part by RACC:
  • Broadway Rose Theatre Company: The Case of the Dead Flamingo Dancer
  • Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery: Work by Rain Harris & Susan Taber Avila
  • India Cultural Association: India Festival
  • Portland Taiko: Behind-the-Scenes, Composer Spotlight
  • Oregon Symphony in the Parks

Work for Art Raises $44,318 in 2005-06; Sets $200,000 Goal for 2006-07

Work for Art, RACC's workplace giving program for arts and culture, raised $44,318 in the campaign ending June 30, 2006 -- primarily through employee pledge drives at 20 companies in the Portland metropolitan area. All Work for Art proceeds are passed on to more than 75 local arts and culture organizations in Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington Counties.

Between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006, employees at 20 companies participated in Work for Art campaigns: BOORA Architects, Bullivant Houser Bailey, City of Beaverton, City of Lake Oswego, City of Portland, Davis Wright Tremaine, 5th Avenue Suites Hotel, Metro, Multnomah County, ODS Companies, OHSU, PacifiCorp, Portland General Electric, Portland Public Schools, Portland Oregon Visitors Association, Regional Arts & Culture Council, Schwabe Williamson Wyatt, Tonkon Torp LLP, Washington Trust Bank, and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca.

The three companies that raised the most money through Work for Art were: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca ($8,188), Multnomah County ($3,903), and Oregon Health Sciences University ($3,886). In all, 339 individuals participated in the 2005-06 campaign, and several companies matched their employees' contributions.

Significant Growth Planned for 2006-07

The 2006-07 campaign is now underway and will continue through June 30, 2007. Under the leadership of Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams, the City of Portland has announced an extraordinary dollar-for-dollar match on all Work for Art contributions pledged or received by June 30, 2007. (These matching funds come from a reapportionment of business licenses fees, and not the general fund, and are capped at $200,000.) With this incentive in hand, RACC has announced its campaign goal for 2006-07: $100,000 in individual gifts and company matches, coupled with $100,000 in City matching funds.

"The City match provides an extraordinary opportunity for residents to help our local arts and culture organizations succeed," said Eloise Damrosch. "Our community is very generous, but with so many pressing needs, important arts and culture nonprofits sometimes get short-shrift. We are delighted to be leading this effort to generate new private contributions to help fuel the creative economy, enhance our children's learning with important arts education programs, and improve the quality of life for residents and visitors."

Another benefit of contributing to Work for Art is the Arts Card. Donors who contribute $60 or more (just $5 per month from their paycheck) will receive an Arts Card that provides a full year of 2-for-1 tickets, and other discounts, to hundreds of arts activities throughout the community. "We want donors to enjoy this opportunity to participate in the wonderful arts events that they help fund," said Kathryn Jackson, the program's coordinator. "This card makes it easy and affordable for them to do so as well as to explore some arts events that they and their family members might not have attended in the past."

Several companies have recently added their support to the 2006-07 campaign, including First Independent Bank, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Children's Theatre, The Port of Portland, The Standard, and Umpqua Bank. Some companies prefer to spotlight the arts through a special arts campaign (typically in the spring), while others choose to include Work for Art as part of the company's combined employee campaign along with other federations such as United Way, EarthShare and the Black United Fund (typically in the fall).

Local nonprofit arts organizations can access Work for Art proceeds by applying for a General Support Grant or Project Grant from RACC (guidelines and applications are available online at www.racc.org/grants). Through this established process, organizations are adjudicated by a panel of community representatives and scored on a variety of factors including artistic excellence, proven service to the community, and fiscal responsibility. Organizations that are awarded a RACC General Support Grant or Project Grant receive both government funds and these workplace giving funds.

For more information about running a workplace campaign, contact Kathryn Jackson at  503.823.5424 or visit www.workforart.org.

From RACC Executive Director:
Eloise Damrosch

The Regional Arts & Culture Council has selected new board officers for FY2006-07: Mary Edmeades, Chair; Ernie Bloch, Vice-Chair; Claudia Burnett, Treasurer; and Jim Neill, Secretary. In addition, RACC is pleased to welcome five new members to the Board of Directors:

Gwyneth Gamble Booth has been an active member of the philanthropic and nonprofit communities in Portland for many years, from her work at the Dougy Center to the board of the Portland Art Museum. She was the first woman to be named to the Board of Directors of Portland General Electric in the 1980s, and then was named Chair of the PGE Foundation at its inception in 1997. Gwyneth has been honored for her many contributions to the community with a bronze star in the pavement outside the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. She will no doubt be a star at RACC.

Prior to becoming Dean of the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education, Peter W. Cookson, Jr. was the president of the Doris Dillon Center and Teachers College Innovations at Columbia University's Teachers College. He earned his bachelor's degree in American history, his master's degree in American and European history, and his Ph.D. in sociology of education from New York University. Colleagues at Lewis and Clark describe him as extremely energetic, highly creative and unstoppable. RACC is thrilled that he has agreed to bring all of this to our board.

Mark Edlen is well known for his expertise and success in the commercial real estate industry. At Gerding/Edlen Development Company LLC, he is involved in all phases of the company's undertakings. Some current high-profile Gerding/Edlen projects directly involve the arts, including The Armory Theater for Portland Center Stage. Mark is partnering with the Housing Authority of Portland and RACC on public art at The Civic, a condo/HAP housing venture under construction on West Burnside. RACC is very pleased to welcome a Portland business leader with such a passionate commitment to arts and culture.

RACC has worked with Stacey Graham in a professional capacity for several years, throughout the development of our workplace giving program, Work for Art. Stacey is now vice-president and director of marketing for a Vancouver-based financial institution, First Independent Bank. She's also an avid arts supporter that we're fortunate to count among our ranks; Stacey brings invaluable experience in non-profit fundraising and marketing to RACC through her former role on the management team of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.

After years of asking Portland artist Tad Savinar, we are pleased to announce that he is joining our Board. He describes himself as "an artist who has chosen ideas as his media". As well as making his own studio work he also has extensive experience on major public art projects such as the Westside MAX design team, the new light rail system in Phoenix, and the design team for the downtown mall renovation and MAX here in Portland. He has received several National Endowment for the Arts Individual Fellowships, and his work is included in the collections of the Portland Art Museum, Smithsonian Institute National Archives, and Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others.

These five talented people will bring tremendous energy, expertise and commitment to RACC and we thank them in advance for their time and contributions.

Eloise can be reached at edamrosch@racc.org.

First Thursday Reception for Visual Chronicle of Portland at PCPA

Showtime by Katherine Pennington, 1992 Acrylic

On August 3, there will be a reception open to the public at the exhibition of the Visual Chronicle of Portland at the Performing Arts Center at 1111 SW Broadway. Jim Lommasson, a member of the Visual Chronicle Selection Committee since 2001, curated the show. The Visual Chronicle of Portland is a city-owned collection of works on paper -- prints, photographs, paintings and drawings -- that focuses on artists' views of the city's social and urban landscapes. The exhibition runs through August 28. Click here to find out more about the Visual Chronicle of Portland collection.

RACC presents saturated pasture at the Portland Building through August 11

saturated pasture re-evaluates the constructed landscape and our relationship to it. Portland artist Jenene Nagy plays off the idea of traditional landscape painting, inventing her own interpretation of the concept. This temporary installation series is part of the RACC Public Art Program. Read more

RACC Receives Funding from the Oregon Cultural Trust

The Oregon Cultural Trust has announced its Cultural Development Grant awards for Fiscal Year 2007, including $6,000 to RACC to help bring artists into workplaces as an important component of Work for Art. For a complete list of grants, click here.

Arts Action Alert for more Arts Education

The Commission on No Child Left Behind, a bipartisan independent commission, is soliciting comments in all areas of K-12 education before they make formal recommendations to Congress in early 2007. Take this opportunity to offer constructive feedback on the importance of the arts in the next version of NCLB. Click here to find out more and send your comments.

Grants

• FY 06-07 RACC Project Grants provide financial support to non-profit organizations and individual artists to offer specific arts programs or presentations for the general public in three categories: Artistic Focus, Neighborhood Arts and Arts In Schools. All Project Grant applicants will need to submit a brief "Intent to Apply" form. This form, along with guidelines and grant application, are now available at www.racc.org. Intent to Apply Deadline: 8/14/06. Application Deadline: 8/21/06.

• FY 06-07 RACC Professional Development Grants (Cycle II) assists artists or arts administrators with opportunities that specifically improve their business management development skills and/or brings the artist or the arts organization to another level artistically. Applications will be available at www.racc.org. Letter of Intent 10/2/06, Application 10/9/06.

Public Art

• RACC's Design Team Roster. Call for artists available mid-August. Click here to receive notification by signing up for RACC's Public Art Listserv. Contact: pkendellen@racc.org.

Internships

• RACC has internship opportunities available in a variety of areas for those interested in working in the arts. These are unpaid positions. Please email Marci Cochran at RACC at info@racc.org to inquire about current openings.

Ian Knauer plays the tap dancing detective, Nick Lambert

Broadway Rose Theatre Company: The Case of the Dead Flamingo Dancer

On a stormy night in the summer of '42 a corpse is discovered in the drawing room at the DeManor Manor. Nick Lambent, the tap dancing detective, arrives with his hard-boiled sidekick, Gussie. Twists, turns, surprises, a little love and a lot of lunacy fill every scene.

Broadway Rose Theatre receives General Support funds from RACC

BeDazzle by Rain Harris

Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery: Work by Rain Harris & Susan Taber Avila

Rain Harris' ceramics explores the tension between elegance and kitsch. Susan Taber Avila' Shoe Stories examines the relationship between the body and the cultural environment it inhabits. Artist Talk by Avila (8/5) and Harris (8/12).

Contemporary Crafts receives General Support funds from RACC

India Cultural Association: India Festival

India Festival is filled with tastes, sounds and sights of India. There will be live music, excellent dance performances, food and entertainment!

This event was funded in part by a RACC Project Grant

Photo by Rich Iwasaki

Portland Taiko: Behind-the-Scenes, Composer Spotlight

Teresa Enrico and Michelle Fujii share their visions of taiko with excerpts from new work to premiere at the Fall Concert. Hear about the ideas that inspire and shape their work and about their creative processes-up close and personally

Portland Taiko receives General Support funds from RACC

Oregon Symphony in the Parks

The Oregon Symphony's biggest community events during the year are the two Oregon Symphony in the Parks Concerts, which are free for the general public. On August 26, the Symphony will be at Harrison Park in SE Portland, with festivities starting at 3pm and the concert, with conductor Gregory Vajda, will begin at 7pm. On August 31, they will perform at Waterfront Park by the Hawthorne Bridge, with the Portland Youth Philharmonic performing at 5pm and the concert at 7pm, with conductors Carlos Kalmar and Gregory Vajda.

Oregon Symphony receives a Special RACC Grant for these Concerts

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