Oregon: Visual Arts Ecology Project

Since 2010, the Oregon Arts Commission‘s (OAC) partnership with The Ford Family Foundation (TFFF) has yielded direct support of Oregon’s artists—through Opportunity Grants for midcareer artists and the Art Acquisition Fund—as well as indirect support via the Visual Arts Ecology Project. The goal of the Visual Arts Ecology Project is to document and recognize Oregon’s visual arts community, and OAC has supported research about and interviews with more than 45 artists, curators and collectors from across the state. This work led to OAC’s publication of a book about Oregon’s visual arts community, Why We Work Here, which is a joint project of artist Tad Savinar and writer Jon Raymond. In July, OAC begins the second phase of the Visual Arts Ecology Project with a new grant from TFFF. Through it, OAC will collect and commission writing and other documentation of Oregon’s visual artists, and it will convene a series of gatherings across the state for artists, arts presenters, funders and other cultural stakeholders to talk about the issues most critical to their success. For more information, contact OAC Visual Arts Coordinator Meagan Atiyeh.