Oregon’s only interactive singing mural launched on June 25, organized by one of our board members, Crystal Meneses.

The mural is layered with augmented reality. Hold your phone up to the mural, and you’ll see images come to life and hear voices singing “It’s Rainin’ Love.”

Read about the mural in this Oregonian article. Meneses wrote the Pride anthem, “It’s Rainin’ Love,” sung by three choirs – Portland Lesbian Choir, Portland Gay Men’s Chorus. and Maybelle Community Singers.

We can celebrate PRIDE in downtown Portland all year long!

The post It’s raining love in Old Town Portland! appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

The Oregon Legislative Assembly established the CREF in 2013 to create vibrant public spaces that integrate arts and culture with natural amenities; sustain Oregon’s rich arts and cultural experiences; and enhance a strong sense of place and community identity.

These projects have enriched local economies and the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals.

We go through this process every two years. In spring 2024, we’ll announce the process for the following cycle.

Could your project be next?

The Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon is proud of the long history of state support for Oregon’s cultural sector. Our state is strengthened by its artists and cultural institutions, which directly contribute to our vibrant social and economic well-being. We’re grateful the legislature has made financial commitments to the institutions who steward arts, heritage, and humanities via the CREF.

Apply now by July 28!

In anticipation of the FY23-FY25 biennium, we are inviting cultural institutions to apply for capital project support. Eligible projects include new construction, building acquisition, and historic preservation.

We look forward to seeing what creative projects you are looking to fund!

The post Apply for capital funding! appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is celebrating #PRIDE with an exciting new play, open through October! Buckle up for a musical story about Julie d’Aubigny—a queer 17th-century rule-breaking, sword fighting, opera-singing transgressor of boundaries. It’ll be loud, it’ll be rowdy, and it’ll be hilarious! Qui Nguyen sets this irreverent take on French history somewhere between the realms of superheroes and comic books and asks what it means to bust through your prescribed roles into who you truly are. Revenge Song: A Vampire Cowboys Creation, will run until October 14 in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. More info here.

IT‘S RAINING LOVE!

Introducing Oregon’s only augmented reality mural, launching June 25!

One of our board members, Crystal Meneses, is organizing a mural that will literally sing the voices of the Portland Lesbian Choir, Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, and Maybe Community Singers.

The June 25th event block party includes drag queens, a PRIDE flash mob, and a chance to meet the composer and the muralists.

Listen to Crystal talk about the project and find out more details.

Advances in LGBTQIA+ History in Oregon

We’ve chosen to highlight advances in queer culture instead of the many laws and other discriminatory efforts to marginalize the community.

Before colonizers formed the Oregon Territory, Native LGBTQ people were already living in Oregon. When Lewis and Clark arrived, they were told about two young indigenous men who left the tribe to set up their home together. A woman in the Kutenai tribe dressed like a man and had a “wife.”

1892: Marie Equi joined her high school girlfriend, Bessie Holcomb, on a homestead along the Columbia River. She would become one of Oregon’s first gay and suffrage activists and one of the first 60 Oregon women to become a physician. Equi and Holcomb lived in Portland and raised a daughter together.

1930: Darcelle (aka Walter Cole), the oldest drag queen performer on the West Coast, is born in Portland.

1970: The Portland Gay Liberation Front was born.

1971: After being fired for her sexual orientation, Peggy Burton was the first to file a federal civil rights suit. The case lasted four years, but the court ruled her dismissal was wrongful.

1972: Oregon became the fourth state to repeal its sodomy laws.

1973: Rep. Vera Katz introduced the state’s first gay rights bill, which failed to pass by two votes.

1974: Kristan Knapp and Naomi Little bear established Portland-based Ursa Minor Choir, perhaps the first gay choir in the country. Members Steve Fulmer and Sparky Lindsay later founded the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and Portland Lesbian Choir.

1975: Portland’s first outdoor pride celebration!

1977: The Imperial Sovereign Rose Court of Oregon, Oregon’s oldest LBGTQ organization, is founded.

1980: Portland Gay Men’s Chorus is founded.

1983: Just Out!, an LBGTQ+ publication, is founded by Jay Brown and Renee LaChance.

1986: Portland Lesbian Choir is founded.

1987: A state executive order banned discrimination based on sexual orientation.

1989: Soromundi Lesbian Chorus of Eugene and triangle productions! Are founded.

1990: Portland Gay Symphonic Band and Portland Pride Band are founded.

1992: Quaker activist Bonnie Tinker founds the Love Makes A Family nonprofit.

1993: Rose City Swing was founded.

1996: Basic Rights Oregon forms.

1997: Portland Queer Film Festival is founded.

1989: Drag entertainer Lady Elaine Peacock founded Peacock Productions and began running Peacock in the Park and other programs.
2000: Confluence Willamette Valley LGBT Chorus founded in Salem.

2004: Multnomah County attempted to issue some of the first gay marriage licenses in the country.

2007: Governor Ted Kulongoski signed the Oregon Family Fairness Act, recognizing domestic partnerships, and the Oregon Equality Act, which protects LGBTQ people from discrimination.

2007: QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival (QDoc) founded, the only festival in the U.S. devoted exclusively to LBGT documentaries.

2007: Rep. Tina Kotek kissed her wife Aimee on the house floor in response to Oregon granting same-sex couples the benefits of marriage.

2008: Sam Adams becomes the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city (Portland).

2014: Same-sex marriage is legalized is Oregon.

2014: Bridging Voices, a youth chorus for gay, straight, and questioning youth, is formed.

2015: Oregon became the third state to ban performing conversion therapy on minors.

2016: Governor Kate Brown becomes the nation’s first openly bisexual governor.

2016: Oregon circuit court ruled that residents could legally change their genders to non-binary, “the first ruling of its kind in the U.S.” according to the Transgender Law Center.

2017: A bill passed abolishing the requirement for transgender people to publish their names in newspapers before they can undergo a legal change of sex on government documents.

2017: Transpose PDX, Portland’s first transgender and nonbinary choir, and Portland’s Queer Comedy Festival are founded.

2018: Eugene Gay Men’s Chorus and Northwest Queer Chorus are founded.

2019: Gov. Brown signed an executive order to add gender identity to a policy prohibiting state agencies from engaging in unlawful discrimination.2019: Representative Karin Power introduced a bill to amend a law that equated “transvestites” with pedophilia.

2020: Darcelle celebrated his 90th birthday and still performs six shows a week at the club that bears his name.

2022: Pride parades are back! Canby holds its first Pride parade.

The post Celebrating PRIDE in Oregon! appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Did you know we still have racist place names littered across the state?

Oregon has 12 places with “negro” in the title, and 55  with “squaw,” a racist term to describe Native American women. Many of these places used an even more racist term, the n-word, until the 1960s.

In 2020, “Negro Ben Mountain” in Jackson County was renamed “Ben Johnson Mountain” to honor the Black man who operated a blacksmith shop near Ruch, Oregon. You can see the name change proposals being considered by the Oregon Geographic Names Board on their website. For example, they are considering a proposal by the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians to rename “Big Squaw Mountain” in Douglas County to “Dumont Butte.”

In 2021, three geographic features in Jackson County once called Dead Indian Mountain, Creek, and Soda Springs were renamed for the Native Latgawa people, who lived in this area for more than a thousand years.

Oregon Black Pioneers, an organization in Salem, is identifying and commemorating sites with African American historical significance. The organization works through the Oregon Geographic Names Board, an affiliated partner of the Oregon Historical Society, to replace antiquated and racist terminology in state place names. Replacing racist road names throughout Oregon, though, will require many more years of investigation and lobbying.

In February Deb Haaland, our first Native American U.S. Secretary of the Interior, announced the department would be removing the racist and misogynist slur “squaw” from 660 national landscape features. Oregon State University recently unveiled a new study, “Words Are Monuments,” which assessed the origins of more than 2,000 place names throughout 16 national parks. When Haaland announced the name change plan, Oregon was already ahead of the other states, with 12 proposed name changes.

Did you know anyone in Oregon can formally propose a name change for a geographic feature? The Oregon Historical Society has more information on that process. Changing the racist names in our state is just one small step toward reconciling with our history of racism and bigotry.

The post Fixing Oregon’s racist place names appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

A conversation with our new board member: arts advocate, historian, and gallerist Jenny Green.

Tell us about your involvement in the arts.

I’ve been immersed in arts and education for the past 30 years. I’ve worked for museums, auction houses, and art galleries and taught art history at Central Oregon Community College.

I’ve opened two art galleries: the Jenny Green Gallery, an “occasional gallery” that exhibited in pop-up spaces and art fairs in Bend; Palm Springs; New York; Miami; and Venice, Italy; and At Liberty Gallery (now the Scalehouse Gallery), which I opened with friends.

In addition to joining the board of the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon (CACO), I chair the Oregon Arts Commission and serve on the Scalehouse Collaborative for the Arts board. I believe people’s lives are better when they can access arts and culture.

What led you into the arts?

I am not an artist, but I stand in awe of the power and gift artists have. Even as a child I was always drawn to the arts, intrigued with the stories art can express. I’m happiest when surrounded by arts and culture.

Tell us about what your work in central Oregon.

I’ve served on the boards of Scalehouse, World Muse, Bend Cultural Tourism Fund, Ellipse Theatre Community, Cascades Academy of Central Oregon, and the Arts & Culture Alliance of Central Oregon. I have also served in an advisory role to the High Desert Museum.

Why did you decide to join the CACO board?

I believe in CACO’s mission to increase ongoing public investment in arts, heritage, and the humanities. I firmly believe that arts and culture make us stronger – as individuals, families, businesses, communities, and a state.

Arts and culture are the foundation of innovation, prosperity, and vibrant people and places. We need robust funding for arts & culture, as they benefit Oregonians across the state.

Tell us about your work as commissioner of the Oregon Arts Commission.

I am honored to play a role in supporting artists and arts organizations across the state. The arts connect and uplift people, foster understanding and acceptance among cultures, draw attention to society’s ills, and provide a roadmap to a better future. The only downside is having to turn away deserving grant applicants because of lack of funds. Increasing funding for arts is one of CACO’s goals, and this is where my work with the two organizations converges.

What do you love most about your job?

I love working with and supporting artists and arts organizations. Most artistic creations have a vibrant pulse at their core, and life is more exciting when I am closer to that pulse.

How can Oregon arts & culture be more inclusive?

The answer to this question lies in connection and hard work. We need to make better connections across Oregon’s diverse population to celebrate and support the arts and culture of all Oregonians.

For too long we have celebrated and supported only a fraction of Oregon’s arts and culture. Systemic racism, inequities, and barriers have been embedded into how we define arts and culture, regulating who has access and which arts and culture have been valued.

This needs to change. All arts and culture organizations need to start or improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility to ensure that all voices are being represented and supported.

At the state level, public servants need to take seriously our responsibility to provide equitable access to arts & culture funding, programs, and services across the state.

Although the Oregon Arts Commission and CACO focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, we have more to do to remove barriers. Making arts and culture more inclusive will strengthen our great state and help build a vibrant, innovative, and prosperous foundation for all of Oregon.

The post New board member Jenny Green advocates for arts across Oregon appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Simply said, that’s what we do at the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon (CACO). We get money for arts, culture, history, heritage, and humanities organizations in Oregon by:

• Cultivating relationships with elected officials, governments, and business to get money flowing to creative organizations and individuals like you
• Working with Business Oregon, the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Oregon Arts Commission, and others to get committed COVID recovery funds flowing directly to you
• Amplifying your work and publicizing creativity around the state
• Advocating for equal access to funding and exposure, no matter where you are in Oregon
• Creating and promoting grants for you to produce innovative, world-class programming
• Funding your capital projects

As organizations still struggle to recover from the pandemic, we know funding is still crucial to continue your work. As a unified, diverse, statewide coalition we can have incredible impact when we work together. Here’s how we help:

• During the height of the pandemic, Oregon arts & culture organizations received $50 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. At the time this was the largest amount any state allocated to the creative sector from federal relief dollars, thanks to our advocacy and lobbying!
• Since 2013, we have also advocated for over $30 million to support 36 capital projects of cultural institutions. Organizations like yours are tapping into state funds to design, build, and rebuild venues, interpretive centers, and museums.
• And another $35 million in federal relief funds are being distributed to the creative sector this year via Business Oregon.

As we enter our third year of the pandemic, we know that true recovery depends on arts, culture, heritage, and humanities to deliver hope and inspiration to rise as a people.

If you’re not already a member, will you join us?

The post Why support the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon? appeared first on Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Join us for Advocacy Day on April 23rd, because we need arts and culture in Oregon. 

WHERE | Willamette Heritage Center (1313 Mill Street SE, Salem, Oregon 97301), and the Oregon State Capitol (900 Court St NE, Salem, OR 97301) 
WHEN | Tuesday, April 23^rd, 2019. Check in at 8:30 a.m. Several events, legislative meetings, and cultural performances until 5:00 p.m.  Participants must register below. There is a suggested $25 event donation, which would include lunch, parking, and materials ($15 without lunch).  A scholarship option is also available to some, please email Events Manager Laurie Garrett at laurie@oregonculture.org to inquire. Registrants can make their payment through PayPal’s guest checkout (below) or pay at the door if needed. 

Supporting cultural programs, events, and organizations in our state improves education, fuels our statewide economy, bridges urban-rural gaps, opens our minds, and keeps us connected and healthy.  That’s why we need YOUR voice on our most important day of the year. Help protect arts, culture, and heritage in Oregon by attending the Cultural Advocacy Coalition’s Advocacy Day event on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tell us and your Oregon legislators why arts and culture are good for you and your community. 

Our Advocacy Day event will give guests a chance to meet staff from other cultural organizations, as well as receive advocacy training from experienced professionals, see cultural performances, and help you petition elected officials to include arts, culture, and heritage in policy and budgeting priorities. 

Following lunch, the afternoon will be spent at the Oregon State Capitol meeting with legislators. This is a rare opportunity to translate your voice into real action. Together, we will communicate how the Oregon State Legislature can better support arts and culture, and why the Cultural Tax Credit, which is set to expire in 2019, is critical to Oregonians. The tax credit helps fund cultural events, activities, awareness, and access across the state reaching from the coast to urban centers and to the high desert. Funds from the tax credit have supported more than 1,400 arts, heritage, and humanities nonprofits in Oregon. Join us on Tuesday, April 23rd and show how arts and culture transcends your life as an Oregonian. Register for Advocacy Day below.

Download or print the Arts & Culture Advocacy Day Event Packet.   

Can’t join in person? Support arts & culture in Oregon by sharing and following us on social media and consider becoming a member of the Cultural Advocacy Coalition. Your gift helps us continue advocating for policies and funding that will create a thriving environment for arts, culture, and heritage across Oregon. The Cultural Advocacy Coalition is the only statewide advocacy organization lobbying Salem on behalf of Oregon’s arts and culture. Become a member today. 

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