RACC announces 2011 Project Grants

RACC has awarded 121 Project Grants to artists, nonprofit organizations, and schools in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties for artistic projects taking place in 2011.

These 121 Project Grants are made possible because of significant ongoing public investments from the City of Portland, Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County and Metro. RACC also raises money for project grants and general support grants through Work for Art, its workplace giving program.

Despite some minor public funding cuts earlier this year, Work for Art campaigns continue to exceed expectations and RACC was able to reallocate some of its other, underutilized resources in order to respond to increasing demand for project grants. This year’s investment of $535,806 is 30% higher than last year’s project grant total of $412,895.

“We are thrilled to be able to award a significantly higher number of grants this year despite budget challenges,” said Executive Director Eloise Damrosch. “RACC is deeply committed to supporting highly creative projects by individual artists and arts organizations, and to doing all we can to grow the available funds.”

RACC received 295 applications in all – up 12% over last year. After an extensive peer review process involving 58 volunteers on 16 different panels, 121 of the proposals were recommended for funding to the RACC Board, which approved the final grants on December 15. Panelists consider artistic merit, community involvement, and fiscal responsibility when recommending which projects to fund.
Among the projects that will occur throughout calendar year 2011:

• In Mulieribus will present a vocal concert by women composers at St. Mary’s Cathedral
•  Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps will establish a winter marching drumline at Jefferson High School.
• World Arts Foundation will present their annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. titled Keep Alive the Dream
• Master drummer Kerfala Fana Bangoura will lead a series of traditional Guinean percussion concerts at the PSU Portland Farmers Market.
• Theatre artist Camille Cettina will develop and perform Mr. Darcy Dream Boat, a one-woman show devised in the Lecoq-based physical theatre style.
• Artists Renee Mitchell, Jesus Lolo Rivas, Lynn Takata, Emma Coburn, and Sarah Farahat will engage students and other community members in a variety of artistic projects
• Several media projects also received support this year, including the Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (POW Fest) and documentary filmmaker, Wendy Kohn for Doorways to Dignity as a first time grant recipients.
• An anonymous donor continues to provide funding for the RACC “Innovation Prize,” a special grant of $2,500 for an outstanding, innovative, media oriented project that extends the boundaries of animated, documentary, experimental and/or narrative motion picture arts. This year’s prize goes to Dustin Zemel for Scoop 6pm…All Is Well, a juxtaposition of two separate video pieces that explore the uniformity, sensationalism and the performative nature of local television news presentations in America.

Summaries of all projects receiving RACC funding can be viewed at www.racc.org/2011ProjectGrants.

RACC funding typically represents 25 to 50% of a project’s total cost, helping make arts events more affordable and accessible to the public; bringing new arts experiences to students and under-served citizens; and supporting economic growth throughout the region. Economic impact research reveals that for every ticket that is purchased to an arts event, an additional $24.24 in arts-related spending supports local businesses, including restaurants, parking structures, and retailers. Hotels and restaurants also benefit from cultural tourism generated by a diverse and healthy arts community.

A total of 71 grants, or 59%, was awarded to organizations and individuals who had never before received a RACC Project Grant. The majority of applicants were from Multnomah County. In the listings below, (*) denotes artists and organizations in Clackamas County; and (**) denotes artists and organizations in Washington County.

$246,970 was awarded to 56 organizations:

Alliance Francaise of Portland, Community Participation, $4,223
Bienestar, Community Participation, $1,463**
Bouand Dance Company, Dance/Movement, $5,022 **
Cascadia Composers, Music, $4,500
Dance Coalition of Oregon, Dance/Movement, $2,000
David Douglas SD 40, Arts-In-Schools, $4,344
defunkt theatre, Theatre, $5,584
Estacada Area Arts Commission, Community Participation, $5,980 *
Fear No Music, Music, $5,700
Grout Elementary, Arts-In-Schools, $4,791
Hand2Mouth Theatre, Multi-Discipline, $4,425
Homowo African Arts & Cultures, Arts-In-Schools, $5,396
In Mulieribus, Music, $5,645
India Cultural Association, Community Participation, $5,286 **
Japanese Garden Society of Oregon, Visual Arts, $5,100
Jewish Theatre Collaborative, Community Participation, $2,494
Lewis & Clark College Hoffman Gallery, Visual Arts, $5,700
MetroArts, Inc., Music, $4,388
Metropolitan Learning Center, Arts-In-Schools, $750
Mountain Writers Series, Literature, $5,100
Museum of Contemporary Craft, Visual Arts, $6,000
Native American Youth and Family Center, Community Participation, $4,800
Northwest Film Center, Arts-In-Schools, $4,500
Opera Theater Oregon, Multi-Discipline, $4,986
Oregon College of Art & Craft, Community Participation, $4,500**
Oregon Crusaders, Arts-In-Schools, $4,800
Oregon Cultural Access (ORCA), Community Participation, $2,157
Orlo, Literature, $4,425
Pacific Northwest College of Art, Visual Arts, $4,500
Painted Sky Inc., Community Participation, $4,328 **
PassinArt: A Theatre Company, Theatre, $5,285
PDX Bridge Festival, Community Participation, $4,473
PDX Pop Now!, Music, $4,919
PHAME Academy of Fine Arts, Community Participation, $4,276
Portland Actors Conservatory, Theatre, $3,918
Portland Jewish Academy, Arts-In-Schools, $2,250
Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (POW Fest), Media Arts, $4,500
Portland Playhouse, Theatre, $5,680
Portland Playhouse, Arts-In-Schools, $5,292
Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival, Media Arts, $5,800
Portland Theatre Brigade, Arts-In-Schools, $3,803
Portland Theatre Works, Theatre, $2,745
Portland Vocal Consort, Music , $3,360 **
RASIKA - India Arts and Culture Council, Music, $4,950
Reed College, Visual Arts, $4,800
Staged! Portland’s Musical Theatre Series, Theatre , $4,907 *
Stages of Life, Theatre, $4,800
Starlight Symphony, Music, $1,520 **
The Circus Project, Community Participation, $5,002
Theatre Vertigo, Theatre, $3,003
Triangle Productions!, Theatre, $5,475 **
Water in the Desert, Multi-Discipline, $5,100
Wisdom of the Elders, Community Participation, $6,000
Woodstock Elementary, Arts-In-Schools, $2,850
World Arts Foundation, Community Participation, $5,100
World Stage Theatre, Community Participation, $4,275

$288,836 was awarded to 64 individuals:

Michael Wegner Aiello, Visual Arts, $4,301 *
Devon Allen , Theatre, $5,300
Peter Armetta, Multi-Discipline, $5,400
Kerfala Fana Bangoura, Music, $4,355
Hayley Barker, Visual Arts, $4,303
Avantika Bawa, Visual Arts, $3,088
Chris Bennett, Visual Arts, $3,145
Peter Burr, Multi-Discipline, $4,485
Camille Cettina, Theatre, $2,993 *              
Meshi Chavez, Dance/Movement, $1,937
Tracey Cockrell, Multi-Discipline, $4,101
Emma Colburn, Community Participation, $4,798
Carlos Alexis Cruz, Theatre, $6,000
Fernanda D'Agostino, Multi-Discipline, $4,371
Lisa DeGrace, Theatre, $3,806
Suniti Dernovsek, Dance/Movement,  $5,970
Jeana Edelman, Literature, $4,500
Raquel Edwards, Visual Arts, $4,500 *      
Tamara English, Visual Arts             , $2,930
Travis Ezell, Media Arts, $5,092
Sarah Farahat, Multi-Discipline, $5,031
Eugenie Frerichs, Visual Arts, $4,527
Michelle Fujii, Multi-Discipline, $4,550
Subashini Ganesan, Dance/Movement, $4,421
Catherine Garvin, Theatre, $4,425
Leanne Grabel, Multi-Discipline, $3,881
Jen Harrison, Music, $3,969
Sarah Holloway, Community Participation, $3,230
Kazuyo Ito, Arts-In-Schools, $5,782
Graham Klag, Community Participation, $4,500
Wendy Kohn, Media Arts, $5,995 **           
Fuchsia Lin, Visual Arts, $4,775
Ivy Lin, Media Arts, $3,919
Brian Lindstrom, Community Participation, $5,691
Brian Lindstrom, Media Arts, $5,697
Jim Lommasson, Visual Arts,  $5,400
Margaret Malone, Literature, $1,083
Casey McFeron, Theatre, $5,400
Seann McKeel, Social Practice,  $4,693
Renee Mitchell, Community Participation,  $4,500
Laura Moulton, Social Practice,  $4,963
Leah Nash, Visual Arts, $6,000
Seth Nehil, Multi-Discipline,  $5,052
Brian Padian, Media Arts, $1,260
Kajanne Pepper, Dance/Movement, $2,750
Leif Peterson, Media Arts, $4,800
Vanessa Renwick, Media Arts, $4,238
Jesus Lolo Rivas, Community Participation, $3,900
Dmae Roberts, Media Arts, $5,400
Patrick Rock, Visual Arts,  $6,000
Lada Sarycheva, Community Participation,  $5,100 **   
Joseph Schlechter, Visual Arts, $2,868
Lisa Ann Schonberg, Music, $5,100
Ken Selden, Music, $4,481
David Stein, Visual Arts, $4,525
Lynn Takata, Community Participation,  $4,165
Robert Tyree, Multi-Discipline, $2,824
Holcombe Waller, Multi-Discipline, $5,700
Reed Wallsmith, Music,  $5,700      
Michael Wehrli, Arts-In-Schools, $4,500
Lisa Rochelle Wells, Literature, $5,859
Eugenia Woods, Theatre, $4,736
Nim Wunnan, Visual Arts, $3,201
Lucy Lee Yim, Dance/Movement, $1,870
Dustin Zemel, Media Arts, $4,500
Dustin Zemel, Media Arts (Innovation Prize), $2,500