‘Arts Build Communities’ grants around state

Art as a medium to rally community around a shared need is reflected in 34 Oregon projects awarded $200,000 in 2015 Arts Build Communities grants from the Oregon Arts Commission.

Vacant downtown storefronts become celebrations of community in Corvallis; incarcerated youth fulfill treatment requirements by sharing their stories through pictures or performance in Clackamas County; and in Enterprise, Fishtrap inspires 1,700 people to read Luis Alberto Urrea’s “Into the Beautiful North” before engaging in discussions, events and activities that explore Latino issues.

Now in its 19th year, the Arts Build Communities program targets broad geographic impact and arts access for underserved audiences. More than half of the 2015 awards go to communities outside of the Portland area.

“This program demonstrates the amazing power of art to bring people together around a common purpose,” says Commission Chair Julie Vigeland, who led the review panel. “Due to a melding of this program with our former Cultural Tourism grants, we were able to award the largest grant total in the program’s history. The award amounts are relatively modest, but the impact is huge.”

In many cases the awards are seed money to spur additional local funding. In 2012 alone, Arts Build Communities projects attracted more than $570,000 in spending, much of it representing salaries paid to artists and others as well as products and services purchased in the funded communities.

Arts Build Communities grants are made possible through a funding partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

The 2015 recipients are:

The Arts Center, $8,000, Corvallis – Art in Rural Storefronts is a place-making project dedicated to strengthening connections between people and their hometowns through engagement with art. Focusing on one underserved rural town, three artists create contemporary art installations based on concepts from local cultural or natural history and community input. The installations transform vacant storefronts, signs of economic stress, into celebrations of community life through the arts.

Arts Council of Pendleton, $6,000, Pendleton – The goal of this project is promote traditional fine crafts of the region by creating self-guided tours of the artists’ studios and retail outlets that display their work. Included is the creation of a database of Eastern Oregon fine crafts workers; the design, printing and distribution of a publication that lists open studio locations with maps and hours of operation; creation and marketing of four self-guided studio and outlet tours; and three workshops.

Ballet Folklorico Ritmo Alegre, $3,500, Talent – Cultural Bridges to Friendship will bring a Latino cultural arts course to 600 children from local K-12 schools. Planned by educators from six local schools and Ballet Folklorico Ritmo Alegre, it will teach Latino culture through Mexican folk culture and dance and provide participatory programs for Latino and non-Latino students in a community performance and class. Funding will be used to pay for busing and reduced ticket prices for the community performance.

The Circus Project, $7,000, Portland – Funding will support the expansion of outreach partnerships with four schools serving primarily youth from low-income families. The curriculum will be based on the existing eight-week model used in social service agency settings serving youth who have had little or no access to arts education. Funds will be used for artist and coach salaries and for the purchase and upkeep of program equipment.

Chehalem Cultural Center, $7,200, Newberg – Focus Culture brings the Northwest’s indigenous art and traditions home through a partnership with the Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center. The collaboration includes a series of free public events, performances, field trips, hosted conversations, outreach and workshops – all within the context of an evolving exhibition that will change from a historical focus to a contemporary arts focus over four months.

Clackamas County Arts Alliance, $7,000, Oregon City – Youth Arts for Change gives teens in the County Juvenile Department and Parrott Creek residential facility a unique way to fulfill probation/treatment requirements. Working with artists, counselors and peers, adjudicated youth publicly share their stories via a theatre performance or drawing exhibit, building community connections and social skills. Funds will support programming, professional theatre internships, and a new prevention partnership for rural middle-school youth.

Cornucopia Arts Council, $4,500, Halfway – The Clear Creek Music Festival provides instructional and performance enrichment for Eastern Oregon rural community members through concerts; group and individual voice, piano, cello and composition instruction; and classes in music appreciation, choral performance and a two-week Kids’ Camp. Support will fund the concert fees, instrument rental and a Kids’ Camp instructor.

Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts, $6,195, Pendleton – Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts will partner with Nixya’awii Community School to offer comprehensive art programs to its students. This project will engage the student population in art making, production and display. Crow’s Shadow will provide the space, technical expertise and resources to the students; the school will provide basic instruction and logistics. Funding will support space, materials, technical instruction, exhibition, display and public receptions.

Deschutes Public Library Foundation, $5,000, Bend – The Deschutes Public Library’s community read program, A Novel Idea, broadens cultural, social, educational and economic areas of community life by ensuring wide access through partnerships with local artists, organizations and businesses. Residents are encouraged to read, discuss, create and explore the selected community read book together. Grant funds will be used to purchase books and assist in paying for the selected author’s honorarium.

Drexel H. Foundation, $3,500, Vale – The Drexel Foundation’s rural Oregon multicultural youth and family programs build audiences and art appreciation while promoting personal growth and connecting the community through various art opportunities. The 2015 collaborative public art project is the result of planning by local high school youth, artists, community leaders, the Drexel Foundation and the mayor of the City of Vale, who all indicated a desire and need for artistic improvement to our city streetscape for economic development.

Eugene Springfield Art Project, $3,000, Eugene – ChalkFest 2015 will bring chalk artists (local and out of town), performing artists and local residents to downtown Springfield for a free festival during which large scale chalk art is created while music plays and street artists perform. The event also will feature a family fun zone with a free-for-all chalk art area and take away art activities. This second annual event is supported by NEDCO, Emerald Art Center and the City of Springfield in an effort to revitalize downtown through creative community events.

Eugene Symphony Association, $7,000, Eugene – The Eugene Symphony’s Roseburg Residency is a collaboration with the Umpqua Symphony Association and the Douglas County Youth Orchestra that includes all-ages concerts and related programs for young musicians. The project will provide Roseburg residents access to symphonic performances and strengthen local cultural resources and music education. The Symphony will include eight months of artistic development activities for students, culminating in an all-ages concert.

Fishtrap, Inc., $7,000, Enterprise – Beginning Jan. 8, Fishtrap will host its ninth Big Read, a month-long, countywide celebration of a work of literature. The featured book will be Luis Alberto Urrea’s “Into the Beautiful North.” 1,700 people throughout Wallowa County will read the book and come together for facilitated discussions, school presentations, lectures, films, potlucks, a finale with the author, and other activities promoting reading and discussion of key issues. This project stimulates community connection during winter months when rural isolation is at its highest.

Harney County Arts in Education Foundation, $7,000, Tigard – Harney County Arts in Education Foundation’s board will partner with the Harney County Chamber of Commerce to hold a two-day symposium in May 2015 to inform national, state and local leaders on the successes of communities that have used the arts as an economic development strategy in rural communities, as well as to demonstrate relevance to the proposed Performing Arts and Education Center.

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, University of Oregon – $5,800, Eugene – Club de Arte para Mams, a key component of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art’s Latino Engagement Plan, offers free art workshops and childcare for Latina mothers. Addressing a sense of isolation among Latina mothers revealed in a survey conducted by the Museum in 2013, the project combines adult socializing with creative expression and aims to make the museum a “second home” for Latina families. Spanish-speaking artists will lead studio art sessions while participants’ preschoolers enjoy separate art activities.

Lane Arts Council, $7,000, Eugene – The Lane Arts Council’s Fiesta Cultural is a countywide initiative to celebrate Latino arts and culture, celebrating the many Latino artists in Lane County; and to increase opportunities for integration of Latino individuals into the broader community. The project outcomes will be accomplished through Latino focused music and art events during four Art Walks in Lane County during September 2015 . Support will be used for artist fees, marketing and program coordination.

Living Stages, $6,000, Portland – Streets to Stages, a partnership with JOIN – an organization serving individuals in transitional housing – will offer three 12-week theatre and play development programs for individuals facing homelessness. The project will culminate in an interactive forum theatre presentation for communities at three transitional housing sites, and one presentation for the general public. Funding will support program coordination, artist stipends and participant support.

Literary Arts, $7,000, Portland – The Oregon Book Awards Author Tour creates community around literature by connecting small groups of people with our state’s most accomplished writers. Funding from Arts Build Communities will support tour events, including free readings, writing workshops, school visits and panel discussions. The project engages librarians, bookstore owners, schools, publishers, literary organizations, and writing groups across the state and beyond to connect and inspire Oregon’s readers and writers.

Miracle Theatre Group, $6,000, Portland – Milagro will bring a bilingual arts residency to Umatilla-Morrow County in collaboration with the Morrow County School District, the Desert Arts Council and the Hermiston Hispanic Advisory Committee. The three-day Journeys Residency with conclude with a public performance of Milagro’s touring production, “Searching for Atzln” at Hermiston High School.

My Voice Music, $7,000, Portland – My Voice Music’s Artist Mentorship Program was designed to give youth the chance to study music year-round, led by professional musicians, in small groups outside of social service settings. This project will develop the program with more emphasis on moving students into Youth Leadership roles both with younger students and through service opportunities in the wider community, including music sessions with high-need adults.

Northwest Documentary, $5,800, Portland – Using its expertise in digital storytelling, NW Documentary will create a custom video for The Dougy Center–a nonprofit that provides support for children and their families who have recently lost a loved one. The video will enhance the Dougy Center’s ability to effectively articulate its mission to the Portland community, thereby attracting new funders, volunteers, advocates and most importantly the families in need of their services. Funds will support production costs.

Obo Addy Legacy Project, $7,000, Portland – This project seeks to establish a new way of teaching through music with the intention of breaking down racism and empowering youth to look at the world with knowledge and understanding. The Obo Addy Legacy Project will bring “DRUM Language”- a replicable, integrated arts curriculum connecting African traditions to the roots of popular forms of youth expression to three Youth Correction facilities run by the Oregon Youth Authority.

One World Chorus, $5,580, Lake Oswego – One World Chorus is partnering with Portland’s King School and the Oregon Trail Academy in Boring to bring a new collaborative chorus program to both schools. Third through fifth grade students at each site will be taught the same songs from a broad range of musical genres for 16 consecutive weeks. Between January and May of 2015, students will share musical ideas via Skype, email and video. The culminating performance will be in May, at Oregon Trail, where both groups will perform together for the community.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival, $7,000, Ashland – The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s partnership with the Oregon Child Development Center/Migrant Head Start in Ashland provides free classes and workshops in Spanish about theatre. The programs are for parents and teachers and are taught by the festival’s bilingual teaching artists. Funding will pay for bus transportation, Spanish open-captioned plays, English/Spanish tours, and pre- and post-show discussions and gatherings with actors and artistic staff.

Oregon Writing Project, $7,000, Portland – SlamBoo will unite students from rural, urban and suburban Oregon to collaborate and compete as slam poets. Teachers and aspiring high school slam poets will provide instruction at six geographically and culturally diverse middle schools. Participants from each school will gather for evening events in order to collaborate, compete and share a common meal. SlamBoo will facilitate positive interactions between students from diverse geographic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Philomath Downtown Association, $3,500, Corvallis – The Public Arts Council will construct and print a series of 15 street banners, designed by a Philomath artist, to celebrate the history and education focus of the Philomath community. Local citizens and youth will develop requests for proposals from local artists; the banners will be produced as public art.

Portland Classical Chinese Garden dba Lan Su Chinese Garden, $4,475, Portland – The project will expand arts activities during the second annual Mid-Autumn Festival and attract a larger audience for this significant Chinese holiday. Funding will be used for dance, music, storytelling and puppet performances; hands-on family art-making projects; and marketing to promote the Mid-Autumn Festival as one of Chinatown’s key family cultural events.

Robert Farrell High School, $5,600, Salem – Art Workshops at Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility will bring families and incarcerated youth together in monthly art workshops. The workshops in painting and mosaics will create rainforest banners and pebble mosaics. Students from Oregon State University’s Inside Out sociology class and the community will participate. Funding will be used for artist fees, materials for painting, printmaking, mosaics, sculpture, concrete casting and to print a booklet of the process.

Salem Art Association, $7,000, Salem – Project Space will provide 50 local artists with a place to collaborate, present new work and engage with the community as they bring contemporary art to an unoccupied but highly visible temporary venue in Salem’s City Center. Using the arts as a creative place maker, community members will engage in dialogue with artists during the art-making process and attend exhibits featuring new art. Grant funds will assist with artist payments, public events and project administration.

Sisters Folk Festival Inc., $4,050, Sisters – APAOS was started by Sisters Folk Festival in 2011 with the Sisters School District and Family Access Network to address the need for arts-related tuition for low-income youth, K-12. Program expansion will allow more at-risk youth to achieve social and academic benefits that come from long-term and specialized arts and music instruction. Grant funds will cover tuition, materials and instrument repair for programs and private instruction for up to 50 additional students.

The Skanner Foundation, $10,000, Portland – The Vanport Multimedia Project workshops in North Portland taught by professional artists will train individuals to record the oral histories of Vanport flood survivors. The recorded histories will be used to create video, audio, photo essays, theatre and poetry works disseminated electronically and presented in three venues during fall 2015 with post presentation discussion. Up to 400 community members will attend the presentation events. Funding will be applied to artistic trainer’s fees.

The Tillicum Foundation, $6,500, Astoria – The 19th annual FisherPoets Gathering (Astoria, Ore.) will bring together commercial fishermen and women to perform their poetry, prose and song in Astoria venues. Rooted in traditional forms, these creative performances highlight the significance of Oregon’s fisheries. The gathering demonstrates the connections between Oregon’s maritime culture, restaurants and food traditions, and the regional economy.

Well Arts, $3,000, Portland – The Well Arts Voices of Military Sexual Assault Project is a partnership between Well Arts, Returning Veterans Project and Wise Counsel and Comfort. The partnership will lead two playwriting workshops (one for women, one for men) for veterans who were sexually assaulted during service in the military. The project will pair each veteran with a professional actor who will perform the stories written by the veterans for the public in six performances.

Write Around Portland, $7,000, Portland – Write Around Portland holds creative writing workshops for the most socially isolated and least financially secure Oregonians. In spring 2015, Write Around Portland will hold 15 ten-week creative writing workshops in partnership with social service agencies. 150 adults and young people will experience the power of the literary arts to connect, heal and transform. These workshops will culminate in the publication of writers’ work and in readings held for the broader community.