Gresham, April 14th, 2014. The Right Brain Initiative, the arts education partnership of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, celebrated its collaboration with the Gresham-Barlow School District. With student performances and visual artwork on display, East Multnomah County stakeholders gathered at the Gresham Library to honor integrated arts programming in public schools. This school year, the GBSD became the first district in the region to bring The Right Brain Initiative to all its elementary schools.
Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis makes a statement about the value of the arts, during a celebration for Portland area arts-in-schools program The Right Brain Initiative, in partnership with Bank of America. Photo by Allie Maya.
Gresham families and educators watch a presentation by The Right Brain Initiative and local leaders. Photo by Allie Maya.
The growth of the program was possible because of the Initiative’s public-private funding model, within which companies like Bank of America playing a key role in the expansion of the program.
Bank of America has been one of Right Brain’s top corporate partners since 2010 and is a lead private funder for the Gresham-Barlow School District expansion. Nicole Frisch, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Bank of America in Oregon and southwest Washington said, “As longtime supporters of education and workforce organizations, Bank of America understands the critical role Right Brain plays in helping ensure students are taught to think creatively and critically. Right Brain’s programs not only provide the important arts education our community needs, but support learning in all curriculum areas, including math and writing.”
Read more about the story here: http://racc.org/about/right-brain-initiative-and-gresham-barlow-school-district-bring-arts-all-elementary-students
Portland, June 26th. Nationally renowned filmmaker Todd Haynes is the subject of a one-of-a-kind portrait that posted on eBay. This ten-day auction supports a good cause: Haynes donated the giclee print to benefit The Right Brain Initiative’s arts education programming in Portland, Oregon area schools. The print is signed by both Haynes and the portrait’s artist, Steve Cohn. Cohn is brother-in-law to Haynes, and works under the pseudonym Jasper Marks.
The giclee print is available in an eBay auction through Sunday, August 5. http://r.ebay.com/iNGdP7
Portrait of Todd Haynes by Steve Cohn
Cohn rendered the portrait in homage to Haynes’ remarkable body of work in filmmaking. Haynes, a Portland resident, is the creative mind behind Far from Heaven, a feature film starring Julianne Moore, for which he was nominated an Academy Award for original screenplay; and I’m Not There, a biopic about Bob Dylan. He is also the writer/director of Mildred Pierce, a 2011 HBO miniseries nominated for an unprecedented 21 Primetime Emmy awards.
The original oil painting of this portrait hangs in Portland City Hall, inducted in April 2011 by Mayor Sam Adams as a testament to the city’s dedication to supporting independent artists and cultural leaders. “This office is honored to display such a beautiful portrait of one of our most prolific artists,” said Adams at the hanging.
The Right Brain Initiative’s dedication to providing rich arts education to all K-8 students in Portland resonates with Haynes’ personal experience as a student. “Music, art was all part of basic curriculum that most of us grew up with in the public school system. It’s a really different story today,” he said. “I’m extremely honored to have played even the smallest part in supporting The Right Brain Initiative and its commitment to bringing art and the value of creative experience into the lives of so many young people.”
The auction closes at noon on Sunday, August 5. Portlanders can see the work in person during business hours at the Lara Sydney Framing Gallery, 1230 NW Hoyt Street (including the First Thursday art walk on the evening of August 2) through the end of the auction. http://www.larasydney.com/
Watch the signing and dedication of the portrait to The Right Brain Initiative at https://vimeo.com/22419272.
About The Right Brain Initiative
The Right Brain Initiative is an equity-based arts education partnership of the Regional Arts & Culture Council, serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. During the 2011-12 school year, Right Brain brought learning to life for 11,500 students and 31 schools with visual and media arts, music, dance and more. In 2012-13, the program will grow to serve 45 schools. Established in 2008, the program’s vision is to transform learning for all children in the Portland area through the arts, creativity, innovation and whole-brain thinking. Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington serves as Implementation Partner. Read more online at TheRightBrainInitiative.org
About the Regional Arts & Culture Council
RACC is a nonprofit arts services organization serving the Portland metropolitan area, including Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. In addition to serving as the managing partner for The Right Brain Initiative, RACC provides grants for artists, arts organizations, schools and other community-based arts projects; conducts workplace giving for arts and culture (“Work for Art”) and other advocacy efforts; provides workshops and other forms of technical assistance; shares printed and web-based resources for artists; and integrates artwork into public places. Read more online at racc.org.
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