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 |
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