(Artwork of Bruce Burris, from his March Gallery exhibition Friends and Foes | Photo courtesy of Oregon Arts Commission)
In the first of two rounds of FY2021 Career Opportunity Program grant awards, the Oregon Arts Commission and The Ford Family Foundation have awarded $82,305 to 24 artists for career development projects. The awards include $33,515 from the Oregon Arts Commission for all artistic disciplines and $48,790 in supplemental funding for 12 established visual artists through a partnership with The Ford Family Foundation’s Visual Arts Program. Individual grants range from $500 to $8,500.
Career Opportunity Grants support individual Oregon artists by enabling them to take advantage of timely opportunities that enhance their artistic careers. Most grants support the artists’ participation in residencies, exhibitions or performance opportunities.
“This grant program invests in the career growth of talented Oregon artists,” said Harlen Springer, the arts commissioner who chaired the review panel. “That support is needed now more than ever, as artists continue to suffer losses due to the pandemic.”
The Ford Family Foundation funds are available to established Oregon visual artists who are producing new work in the fields of contemporary art and craft.
“These awards allow artists to seize key opportunities in their careers. Even one exhibition or residency has the possibility of unlocking a new path, technique or business relationship that can alter an artist’s future in a significant way,” said Anne C. Kubisch, president of The Ford Family Foundation. “The Foundation is pleased to play a part in that.”
NOTE: The application for round two of FY2021 Career Opportunity Grants is now live. The deadline is March 4.
FY2021 Career Opportunity Program grant award recipients are:
Bruce Burris, Corvallis
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
To support the framing, packing and shipping of artwork for Burris’ one-person exhibition at Summertime Gallery in Chelsea, New York.
Francesca Capone, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $2,045
To support the publication of a trade edition of the artist’s book Weaving Language I: Lexicon, part of a series of interdisciplinary works that examine the poetics of weaving traditions through historical research as well as contemporary practices.
Tallmadge Doyle, Eugene
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $3,600
To support residency opportunities at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on the Oregon Coast and Hypatia in the Woods on the Olympic Peninsula (January-April 2021), and the creation of a new series entitled Great Tide Rising.
Tiana Garoogian, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $3,300
To support a three-month artist residency at The Monastere-de-Segries in France in the spring of 2021.
Antonio Huerta, Springfield
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
To support a professional development and training opportunity with master Charros (horsemen) and Talabarteros (leatherwork) in Ciudad Guzman, Jalisco, Mexico in spring or summer 2021.
Katie Janovec, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
To support Popping dance and professional development training in cultural sustainability in Washington D.C. April 9-14, 2021.
Shelley Jordon, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $3,475
To support a solo exhibition at the Maidoff Gallery at SACI (Studio Arts College International) in Florence, Italy in the fall of 2021.
Shoshana Gugenheim Kedem, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $1,800
To complete and print a graphic narrative publication supporting Kedem’s emerging project Or Hadash, a sustainable parchment-making intervention, including the creation of a Torah scroll.
Shaun Keylock, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
To support costume restoration, graphic design services and photo/video documentation of Keylock’s production of The Embodied Archive project, occurring between November 2020 and May 2021 at his SKC Studio.
Katharine Kimball, Beaverton
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $1,840
To support Kimball’s collaboration with Sarah Leen, a professional photo project editor with National Geographic/VII Photo Agency starting in November 2020.
Justin L’Amie, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,000
To support L’Amie’s exhibition at PDX Contemporary Art gallery in Portland.
Ellen Lesperance, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $6,500
To support Lesperance’s participation in Stitched Together” a February to May 2021 exhibition at KAI 10 / Arthena Foundation in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Jessica Mehta, Hillsboro
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
To support a Native-led public art installation commissioned by Artist Trust that highlights the indigenous history of the Pacific Northwest.
V. Moran, Eugene
Oregon Arts Commission $1,170
To support the packing and transportation of materials for an exhibition at the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay. The installation consists of 12 large-scaled works ranging from 24″x80″ to 36″x95″ and requires renting a truck.
Jayanthi Raman, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
To support publishing Raman’s third book — the world’s first illustrated dictionary on Bharatha Natyam Indian classical dance, scheduled for publication in October 2021.
Shawn Records, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $1,000
To support the publication of Hero, a book of photographs to be published in 2021 by Aint-Bad, an independent publisher of contemporary art.
Blair Saxon-Hill, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $7,000
To support the creation of new work and post-production costs for a yet-to-be-announced opportunity in New York City.
Stacy Jo Scott, Eugene
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $6,230
To support a collaborative artistic project through an ongoing public exhibition at Studio Halv in Oslo, Norway, and a culminating exhibition at Akershus Art Center in Lillestrøm, Norway.
Katherine Spinella, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,345
To support Spinella’s participation in the Future Landscapes exhibition at the Borders Art Fair in Venice, Italy.
Aremy Stewart, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
To support Stewart’s travel to Tennessee in March 2021 for a week-long residency at the Stay Home Gallery and Residency, where she will work with Stay Home Gallery’s founder and director, Pam Marlene Taylor.
Allie Sullberg, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $500
To support Sullberg’s participation in a three-month mentorship with an esteemed leader in the illustration and publishing industry for guidance in developing a strong illustration portfolio.
Mami Takahashi, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,000
To support travel and participation in the prestigious artist-in-residency programs at the Hambidge Center, the oldest residency program in the Southeast.
Garima Thakur, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $5,000
To support research, production and installation of the multi-disciplinary exhibition Waiting in Vain, a two-person show (with Sharita Towne) to be exhibited at the Center for Art Research at the University of Oregon in May-June 2021.
Sharita Towne, Portland
Oregon Arts Commission $1,500
The Ford Family Foundation $7,000
To support the production of a mural design, installation, publication, community celebration and preservation of a site-responsive painting that celebrates Black and Indigenous presence in Oregon, located on Williams Avenue at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art.