Bend’s High Desert Museum among state Heritage Commission grant recipients

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Oregon Heritage Commission has awarded $380,000 in grants to 31 organizations throughout the state. The grants will help fund a variety of projects, including collection preservation and access, research, oral history, exhibits and performance projects.

Award amounts ranged from $350 - $20,000.

Funded projects:

• Albany Regional Museum, in Albany, update exhibit content to improve preservation, address accessibility, and tell diverse stories in equitable ways.
• Architectural Heritage Center, in Portland, for an exhibit that reexamines the activist history of Portland’s architectural preservation movement.
• Baker Heritage Museum, in Baker City, to purchase and install collections care equipment.
• Big Butte Historical Society, in Butte Falls, to upgrade heating and provide programming.
• Burns Paiute Tribe, in Harney County, to present the history of the homeland through virtual reality. 
• The City of Independence, in Polk County, to deploy an interactive tourism application downtown. 
• The City of Pendleton, in Umatilla County, to purchase archival materials to re-house the special collections materials of the library.
• Constructing Hope Pre-Apprenticeship Program, in Portland, produce a history of BIPOC pioneers in Oregon’s construction history, website materials and a Day of Hope celebration.
• Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, in McMinnville, redesign signage to address gaps in inclusive content and Oregon STEAM history.
• Harney County Historical Society to complete a 10-year strategic plan. 
• The High Desert Museum, in Deschutes County, to complete phase two of Creating Together a collaborative exhibit process to update the permanent exhibit of the Indigenous Plateau.
• Jefferson Historical Society and Museum, in Jefferson, to install exhibits, collect oral histories, and develop hands-on experiences in the new museum space.
• Keizer Heritage Foundation, in Keizer, to purchase equipment to collect oral histories. 
• Klamath County Museums, in Klamath Falls, to digitize the Klamath Republican newspaper.
• Lincoln County Historical Society, in Newport, to produce three videos.
• Miracle Theatre Group, in Portland, to collect oral histories of Latino individuals through out the state and house them at the Oregon State University Archives.
• Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, in Portland, offer exhibits and programming focused on Native American Artists from rural Oregon.
• Oregon Arts Watch, in Portland, to create a series of written and photo essays to document the history of gender nonconforming and transgender communities in Oregon. 
• Oregon Black Pioneers, in Salem, to create a website the collects and makes available to the public all know research on Letitia Carson. 
• Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, in Portland, to provide online access to the organizations archival and artifact collections.
• Phoenix Historical Society Museum to catalog and re-house collections. 
• Portland Art Museum to design and install the Black Artists of Oregon exhibition. 
• Portland Chinatown History Foundation to add 12-15 new oral histories and photos to the Chinatown Live! Online content. 
• Portland Japanese Garden to restore the historic Natural Garden machiai.
• Salem Art Association to develop a strategic plan for Bush House Museum and Salem Art Association.
• Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, in Florence, to install sprinklers systems in the museum and library buildings. 
• The Immigrant Story, in Hillsboro, to present The Immigrant Story Live, a public arts program.
• Tillamook County Pioneer Museum to create and promote a cultural heritage tourism passport program. 
• Vanport Placemaking Project, in Portland, to develop audio accessible content for interpretation at the Vanport site.
• Willamette Falls Trust, in Oregon City, to create a design recommendations document that will outline tribal recommendations to guide the design, interpretive plans, programming, and habitat restoration for development around the Willamette Falls. 
• World Stage Theatre, in Portland, to develop, promote, present and record Vanport the Musical. 

This competitive grant program is for qualifying organizations, and is offered once per biennium for projects that conserve, develop or interpret Oregon’s heritage. It is a program of the Oregon Heritage Commission. The Commission works to secure, sustain and enhance Oregon’s heritage. The Commission consists of nine members appointed by the governor and nine agency advisors. Members are chosen from state agencies and statewide organizations, and represent diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds. 

The Commission is part of Oregon Heritage, a division of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. To learn more about the Oregon Heritage Grant or the Oregon Heritage Commission, visit www.oregonheritage.org or contact Kuri Gill at Kuri.gill@oprd.oregon.gov or 503-986-0685.