High Desert Museum’s ‘Kids Curate’ program for La Pine Elementary students receives state arts grant
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – Thirty-one Oregon arts organizations, including Bend's High Desert Museum, will each receive a $10,000 grant to strengthen arts education for K-12 students through $310,000 in Oregon Arts Commission Arts Learning Program funding for fiscal year 2025.
All funded projects feature partnerships with Oregon schools within communities throughout the state.
The High Desert Museum grant will support Kids Curate, an immersive, year-long educational initiative that will provide more than 50 hours of engaging and sequential arts learning experiences for 50 underserved students attending La Pine Elementary School.
“Unfortunately, so many schools lack adequate funding for arts education,” said Arts Commission Executive Director Brian Rogers. “We are grateful that arts organizations are providing well-rounded education through creative and enriching learning experiences for our youth. Arts education inspires further development and creative problem-solving skills that are important for Oregon’s future leaders,” he added.
Arts Learning grants are designed to support projects that provide K-12 students a responsive opportunity for learning in and through the arts; foster the exchange of knowledge between artists and educators; and impact the achievement, skills and/or attitudes of learners.
Applications were evaluated by a review panel, based on project quality and responsiveness, project support and project impact.
Priority for funding is given to projects that primarily impact schools in one or more of the following categories: Title 1 participation; location within a county with more than 16.9 percent of the population experiencing poverty; or location in a rural community.
Other FY2025 Arts Learning Grants:
Architectural Foundation of Oregon, Portland
To support the growth of the Architectural Foundation of Oregon’s Architects in Schools (AiS) program into more low-income, underinvested urban and rural schools around the state, including a free design residency that integrates into what children are learning in school and connects to the community and world around them.
Astoria Arts and Movement Center, Portland
To support providing dance instruction to approximately 500 students at Hilda Lahti Elementary (grades K-8) and Knappa High School (grades 9-12) in partnership with the Knappa School District and the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology.
Crossroads Creative and Performing Arts Center Inc, Baker City
To support our most underserved, challenged K-12 students in partnership with educators to provide 12 months of custom, interactive arts experiences resulting in positive and creative opportunities to express themselves, thereby increasing self-esteem, confidence, sense of potential, achievement and joy!
CymaSpace, Portland
To support K-12 music learning in the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) population to address the challenges faced and yield solutions towards access and inclusion related to general music education.
Eugene-Springfield Youth Orchestras, Eugene
To support beginning strings instruction on-site at 13 Eugene 4J public elementary schools, emphasizing accessibility to low-income and Latinx students.
Eugene Symphony Association Inc, Eugene
To support the expanded Encouraging Young Musicians to Achieve (EYMA) program, which strengthens music programs in high-need public schools through 1) supplemental student instruction by ESA musicians; and 2) professional development for music instructors in Eugene-area school districts.
Fishtrap Inc, Enterprise
To support the continuum of Arts Learning opportunities that Fishtrap offers to youth across Eastern Oregon. In 2024-2025, Fishtrap hopes to reach 700 young rural writers ages 5-18 through their youth writing programs.
Hand 2 Mouth, Portland
Hand 2 Mouth’s Student Voices program brings free theatre education workshops to more than 450 students in seven to 10 under-resourced Portland-area public schools each year, empowering youth to collaboratively devise original work and express their unique life experiences under the mentorship of professional artists.
Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre Northwest, Portland
To support Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre Northwest’s teaching artists leading a series of movement classes for 50 children (grades K-5) during the Community Transitional School’s 7-week summer program between June and July 2025. The classes culminate in a performance for parents/staff.
Lane Arts Council, Eugene
To support Creative Link, an arts integration program pairing artists with educators to serve an estimated 365 students across four Lane County school districts, including serving low-income, migrant and other vulnerable students, while providing arts integration training to educators countywide.
Literary Arts Inc, Portland
To support bringing 20 to 25 professional writers into classrooms at 13 public high schools to provide dynamic creative writing instruction in 30-40 semester-long residencies designed to increase student engagement with writing while building writing and editing skills. The goal is to serve 1,500 students.
Maxtivity, Philomath
To support the artistic development of students from Title 1 schools in distressed areas through three responsive residencies totaling more than 40 hours: large-scale parade puppetry, acrylic painting and a community mural. The goal is to foster creativity, community engagement and arts skill-building.
Miracle Theatre Group, Portland
To support bilingual theatre residencies and matinees with three Marion County schools in the FY2025 school year.
Montavilla Jazz Festival, Portland
To support the collaborative creation of new music by and for students led by Mary-Sue Tobin and additional local jazz artists engaged in a three-month collective residency at Vestal Elementary, a Title 1 Portland Public School.
Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland
To support Oregon Ballet Theatre’s Learn About Ballet (OBT LAB), increasing access to dance with the goal of helping students build lifelong skills.
Oregon BRAVO Youth Orchestras, Portland
To support BRAVO’s overarching program objective to provide students with an enriching and fun music instruction both in and after school, in which they can learn the value of teamwork, kindness, respect, diversity and discipline through the performing arts.
Oregon Children's Theatre Company, Portland
To support the continuance of the re-launch of the Theatre’s popular literacy-focused Ticket to Read program, which offers each student free field-trip performance tickets, class-based activities on literary adaptation and free copies of the book on which the play was based.
Oregon Coast School of Art, Gardiner
To support six weeks of full-day, free, summer art camp classes for students in rural Gardiner and Reedsport in coordination with the Reedsport School District, plus three additional weeks at a subsidized rate for students in surrounding areas, thus impacting 162 students on the Oregon Coast.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association, Ashland
To support the relaunch of Oregon Shakespeare Festival's School Visit Program, by which two pairs of teaching artists will travel to underserved and under-resourced Oregon schools over several weeks in the fall of 2024 to provide performances, talkbacks and workshops for approximately 15,000-22,500 students.
Play It Forward, Beaverton
To support Keys to Learning, which offers free weekly lessons, free instruments, songwriting instruction and recital opportunities in piano/keyboards, guitar and ukulele to elementary and middle-school students in Portland.
Portland Center Stage at The Armory, Portland
To support 25 to 55 hours of theater education activities at six Portland-area secondary schools and nonprofit learning programs, progressing from youth matinees and workshops to playwriting residencies with performance and internship opportunities.
Portland Jazz Festival, Inc., dba PDX Jazz, Portland
To support PDX Jazz education and outreach programs during the 2024-2025 school year, filling the gap of reduced funding, and in many instances no funding, for arts education in Oregon's socio-economically under-served communities.
Portland Playhouse, Portland
To support the planning, implementation and evaluation of the 2024-25 Social Justice Theatre Project and bring the power of creating live performance to 425 students at eight to 10 elementary, middle and high schools in the Portland metro area.
Resonance Vocal Ensemble, Portland
To support Resonance Vocal Ensemble’s partnering with Portland Public Schools and community partners to provide musical and cultural leadership and education for year two of the Latinx Affinity Choir, an afterschool opportunity for Latinx-identifying students from across the Portland area.
Rogue Valley Art Association, Medford
To support the Elementary Arts Outreach program that provides visual art instruction for up to 900 fifth-grade students attending underserved schools in Jackson County, through either a comprehensive arts programming option or a one-time field trip option.
Rogue World Music, Ashland
To support developing elementary school students’ innate musicality as a means for connection and engagement through the RWM Songbirds world music education program via classroom instruction, curriculum development or professional training for classroom teachers.
Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, Otis
To support rural Oregon Coast art education access through the Sitka Youth Program for 4,000+ youth in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in partnership with local Title 1 schools during the 2024-25 school year and through a four-week summer STEAM series for more than 100 rural youth in Tillamook, Lincoln and Clatsop counties.
STAGES Performing Arts Youth Academy, Hillsboro
To support 138 hours of theater arts education afterschool residencies and “no-school day” workshops serving 130 students at Hillsboro School District elementary schools in Washington County, including four Title I schools and one school outside the urban growth boundary.
The High Desert Museum, Bend
To support Kids Curate, an immersive, yearlong educational initiative that will provide more than 50 hours of engaging and sequential arts learning experiences for 50 underserved students attending La Pine Elementary School.
Wordcrafters in Eugene, Eugene
To support 78 creative writing residency sessions, with proven ability to improve academic skills, creativity and school engagement, at three Lane County schools: Lane County Youth Services (regional detention center); Kalapuya High School (all at-risk students); and Elmira High School (rural, low-income).
Young Musicians & Artists, Portland
To support David Douglas High School students across the performing and visual arts spectrum, this initiative partners with faculty to identify and offer financial aid to those who would benefit from YMA's programs, removing tuition as a barrier to access.
The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of Business Oregon (formerly Oregon Economic and Community Development Department) in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities. In 2003, the Oregon Legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission’s expertise in grantmaking, arts and cultural information and community cultural development.
The Arts Commission is supported with general funds appropriated by the Oregon legislature and with federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust. More information about the Oregon Arts Commission is available online at artscommission.oregon.gov.
