Bena Rodecap From Grant High School Named Oregon’s 2025 Poetry Out Loud Champion; Gio Calandrella, Also From Grant High School, Named Runner Up (Photo) -03/10/25

Salem, Oregon – Bena (Bee-nah) Rodecap, a junior at Grant High School, is Oregon’s 2025 Poetry Out Loud champion. Rodecap received the top score at Saturday’s Poetry Out Loud State Contest, held at Salem’s Historic Grand Theatre. She will now represent Oregon at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, to be held May 5-7 in Washington D.C.

Watch Rodecap’s performance and the moment she was named champion by Oregon First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson, who attended the event. View and download event photos, also featuring the First Lady and Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston, who attended and performed at the event.

Gio Calandrella, a freshman who also attends Grant High School, was named runner up. Calandrella would be invited to represent Oregon in the national competition should Rodecap be unable to attend.

Rodecap chose to participate in Poetry Out Loud because she loves poetry and thanks teacher Ms. (Paige) Battle for her “tireless guidance.” She also likes to read, write and volunteer. The poems she chose to recite are “A Noiseless Patient Spider,” by Walt Whitman; “Say Grace” by Emily Jungmin Yoon and “How to Write a Poem,” by Laura Hershey.

“I chose poems that resonated with me,” Rodecap said. “I could immediately feel what the poet was trying to say.”

“I feel so honored and I am really shocked,” she said after being named champion. “I never thought I would win. I’ve loved poetry my entire life and this whole experience has been incredibly special.”

Calandrella spends his time acting, singing and doing other types of writing. He is currently in his school's musical and is the winner of da Vinci Arts Middle School's 2024 poetry slam.

“I am so inspired by the courage, tenacity and creative energy I saw on the stage at Poetry Out Loud!” said Cherle Ulmer, one of the judges at Saturday’s State Contest. “The students show they have the self-discipline to move mountains, great and small. Because of these dedicated students, the future looks a bit brighter to me.”

The other nine students who competed Saturday, after winning their school competitions and advancing from semifinals, are: Senna Alnasser, Oregon Charter Academy (Mill City); Gloria Flores Estrada, Oregon School for the Deaf (Salem); Josiah Gaither, St. Stephen's Academy (Beaverton); Josephine le Roux, Trinity Academy (Portland); Arianna Morris, Redmond High School; Kaydence Pope, South Medford High School; Sophie Roberts, St. Stephen's Academy; Madeline Torres, Lakeridge High School (Lake Oswego); and Dulce Wiles, Oregon Charter Academy.

A partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies, Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition to high schools across the country.

Note: Video by Allied Video. Photos by Bob Williams.

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The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of Business Oregon (formerly Oregon Economic and Community Development Department) in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities. In 2003, the Oregon legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission’s expertise in grantmaking, arts and cultural information and community cultural development. 

The Arts Commission is supported with general funds appropriated by the Oregon legislature and with federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust. More information about the Oregon Arts Commission is available online at: artscommission.oregon.gov.

2025 Individual Performing Artist Fellowships Announced: Portland Artist Balamurali Balu Receives Joan Shipley Award (Photo) -03/04/25

Salem, Oregon – Leading a group of five Oregon performing artists awarded 2025 Individual Artist Fellowships by the Oregon Arts Commission, Balamurali Balu of Portland is the recipient of the Arts Commission’s honorary Joan Shipley Award. All 2025 Fellows will receive $5,000 awards.

Other Oregon artists awarded 2025 Fellowships include Barbara Lima of Eugene, Maximiliano Martinez of Portland, Antonio Melendez of Grants Pass and Bora Yoon of Portland.

The Joan Shipley Award is named for Oregon arts leader Joan Shipley, who passed away in 2011. Shipley was a collector, philanthropist and supporter of many arts and humanities organizations. In 2005, she and her husband, John, received an Oregon Governor’s Arts Award. Many in the arts community also considered her a mentor and friend.

The Arts Commission’s Fellowship program is open to more than 20,000 Oregon artists from all disciplines. Applicants to the program are reviewed by panels of Oregon arts professionals who consider artists of outstanding talent, demonstrated ability and commitment to the creation of new work(s). The Arts Commission reviews and acts on the panel’s recommendations for fellowship recipients. A total of 143 applications were received for the 2025 Individual Performing Arts Fellowships. Visual and performing artists are honored in alternating years.

The review panel for 2025 Fellowships was chaired by Arts Commissioner Jenny Green and included arts professionals Alex Behr, Fritz Gearhart, Heidi Duckler, Kathie Hsieh and Michael Cavazos.

Fellowship recipient biographies follow.

Balamurali Balu is a versatile composer, music producer and cultural ambassador based in Portland. Raised in India, Balu grew up immersed in the rich traditions of Indian classical music, sparking a lifelong passion for crafting meaningful and emotive compositions. Balu refined his craft at Berklee College of Music, where he received formal training in composition and production, establishing the foundation for his distinctive artistic voice. To date, he has composed music for more than a dozen feature films, as well as numerous short films and TV commercials, demonstrating his versatility across genres. A passionate advocate for cultural exchange, Balu collaborates with immigrant musicians in Oregon to create groundbreaking fusion works that blend traditional Eastern instruments with Western contemporary sounds. By spotlighting underrepresented musical traditions, he helps diverse artists gain visibility and perform on larger stages. Balu’s artistic journey is driven by exploration, collaboration and a steadfast commitment to using music as a tool for cultural connection and social change.

Barbara Lima is a Brazilian dancer, choreographer and artistic director with 20+ years of experience in contemporary and urban dance. She began as a classical ballerina but found her passion for community-driven movement with the street dance group Xstyle in Rio de Janeiro. Known for her fierce yet elegant style, Lima blends eclectic movements through a somatic framework. She is the founding artistic director of ELa FaLa Collective and has led workshops, master classes and residencies across North and South America and Europe. Her expertise empowers performers and audiences, fostering connection through her visionary leadership and unique artistic voice.

Maximiliano Martinez, mononymously named maximiliano, is an experimental visual and performance artist, using semiotics and ritual communal actions to channel the profanity and ineffability of diasporic mythoi as multimedia productions, sculptures and paintings.

Antonio Melendez is a multifaceted artist who serves as a musician, filmmaker, composer, photographer, philanthropist and storyteller. He is the founder of Heartisan Films, a production company dedicated to creating films and music that inspire and educate on meaningful global and humanitarian topics. Melendez’s creative journey began in childhood, where he nurtured a deep passion for storytelling through various forms of art, including music and filmmaking. His commitment to storytelling has led him to produce numerous impactful projects, including films on social justice, environmental issues and personal triumphs. Melendez uses his talents to raise awareness and support for causes that matter, often collaborating with nonprofits to help them share their stories and amplify their fundraising efforts. His work is built on a foundation of empathy and connection, always aiming to touch the hearts of his audience and empower them to act.

Bora Yoon is a Korean-American composer, vocalist and sound artist who conjures audiovisual soundscapes using digital devices, voice and instruments from a variety of cultures and historical centuries to formulate a storytelling through music, movement and sound. Using unusual instruments and everyday found objects to make music, Yoon evokes what George Lewis describes as “a kind of sonic memory garden” – using voice, viola, Tibetan singing bowls, vocoder, Bible pages, bike bells, turntable, walkie-talkies, chimes, water and electronics. As a performer/composer, Yoon has presented her work around the globe, including at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and Nam June Paik Art Center in South Korea. As a composer, she has been commissioned by So Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, Cabrillo Orchestra and Voices of Ascension Chorus and Orchestra. In addition, she has received numerous foundation awards and has been featured on Apple TV’s Pachinko series and on WNYC (NPR).

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The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine commissioners, appointed by the governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of Business Oregon (formerly Oregon Economic and Community Development Department) in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities. In 2003, the Oregon Legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission’s expertise in grantmaking, arts and cultural information and community cultural development.

The Arts Commission is supported with general funds appropriated by the Oregon Legislature and with federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust. More information about the Oregon Arts Commission is available online at artscommission.oregon.gov.

24 Oregon Artists Receive Career Opportunity Program Grant Awards (Photo) -02/26/25

Salem, Oregon -- In the first round of FY2025 Career Opportunity Program grant awards, the Oregon Arts Commission and The Ford Family Foundation have awarded $88,242 to 24 artists for career development projects.

The awards include $45,366 from the Oregon Arts Commission for all artistic disciplines and $42,876 in supplemental funding for nine established visual artists through a partnership with The Ford Family Foundation's Visual Arts Program. Individual grants range from $1,000 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 Arts Commissioner Roberta Lavadour, who led one of two review panels. "That support is a powerful way for artists to become better recognized and enhance their arts resumes."

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.

"The Ford Family Foundation values the research and labor of artists to further their careers through training, dedicated work time and new exhibition opportunities," said Kara Carlisle, president and CEO of The Ford Family Foundation. "We're thrilled as ever to partner with the Arts Commission to help amplify these efforts."

FY2025 Career Opportunity Program round 1 grant award recipients are:

Laura Allcorn, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support travel to Science Gallery Melbourne in Australia in July to complete the installation of a newly commissioned participatory artwork, "Pledge Drive For Focused Attention," and participate in press interviews during the launch.

Gregory Allison, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support travel to Kerala, India, to study, rehearse, perform and record with Allison's Carnatic violin teacher of 10 years, Peroor Jayaprakash.

Myles de Bastion, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support the development and implementation of the "SeeMusic" visualizer for a deaf jazz performance during the Jazz Roads Tour, enhancing accessibility and participation for deaf and hard-of-hearing musicians, in November and December 2024.

Sara Behrman, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support a two-week mini book tour to the Bay Area to present 12 author-led "The Sea Hides a Seahorse" story-time events for young readers and their families at four public libraries, five Title I elementary schools and two bookstores, as well as for participants in the Splash Zone Head Start program at Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Michael Boonstra, Eugene

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $4,500

To support the framing and shipping of artwork for a two-person exhibition and artist talk in Santiago, Chile, at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Mike Bray, Eugene

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $6,500

To support travel, shipping, materials, studio assistant hours and the fabrication of work toward a solo exhibition at Devening Projects in Chicago in March.

Ben Buswell, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $4,500

To support the fabrication and transportation of work for three exhibitions around Oregon related to a larger, ongoing central project located in Malheur County.

Tomas Cotik, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support the publication and international release of an exceptional-quality CD featuring Paganini's Caprices for Solo Violin in a new interpretation accompanied by videos, set for release in 2025 by Centaur Records, one of the oldest and largest independent classical labels.

Matt Devine, Hubbard

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $6,500

To support Devine's first solo museum exhibition at the Oceanside Museum of Art in March, showcasing new, large-scale metal sculptures, and to offset the shipping costs associated with this self-funded exhibition.

Carolyn Drake, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $5,500

To support material and travel expenses for a one-month residency in June at the Iceland Textile Center in Blönduós, Iceland.

Tamara English, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $1,560

To support a solo exhibition of paintings at the Clymer Museum in Ellensburg, Washington, April 4-May 31.

MF (Martin French), Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support the first solo exhibition of emerging photographic collage artist MF at Waterstone Gallery in Portland in March.

Kye Grant, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support transportation, equipment and wardrobe costs for a 10-month artist residency (August 2024-June 2025) at Performance Works Northwest, a performance venue and rehearsal space in southeast Portland, to develop a new 25-minute solo performance to debut in June.

Kazuyo Ito, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support a live performance collaboration between Japanese taiko drum and AXIS Dance Company featuring disabled, non-disabled, d/Deaf, and neurodiverse dancers, at Exploratorium in San Francisco, May 5-8, including to create a new composition and to cover travel expenses.

Roberta Lampert, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $1,500

To support the documentation of Lampert's first invitational solo exhibition at Waterstone Gallery, in Portland, November 2024, providing access to new audiences and markets with a body of work that explores new creative and conceptual approaches.

Sarah Marguier, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $1,811

To support a two-week development residency at Culture Mill, a performing arts laboratory in North Carolina, January 13-24, 2025, to create an art photo book featuring photographs taken during the creative process of the collaboration "When We Were Queens...," which premiered in 2024.

Isabel McTighe, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $1,000

To support the sound and set design of an original hour-long dance performance, "Dirt Play," made possible through Shaking the Tree Theatre's Open Space Residency in November 2024.

Jessica Mehta, Hillsboro

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $4,500

To support a three-week fellowship at Winterhur Museum, Garden & Library in summer 2025 to complete a series of erasure poems using archival materials as primary sources.

Jaclyn Moyer, Corvallis

Oregon Arts Commission $1,495

To support attendance of a 12-day awarded residency at PLAYA in October 2025 to develop a longform creative nonfiction manuscript.

Alyson Provax, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $2,000

To support a solo exhibition of new letterpress works at Norco College Art Gallery in winter 2025.

Denver Robinson, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support Robinson's nine-month, one-on-one work with author and poet Diana Goetsch and a coinciding artist residency, during which he will work on completing the first draft of "Rupture," his first book of nonfiction.

Dao Strom, Portland

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $4,000

To support participation in Yellow Echoes, an exhibition/performance of work by She Who Has No Master(s), Strom's collective of Vietnamese women writers and artists, at NOVILLA in Berlin, Germany, in August in collaboration with Moving Poets.

Taravat Talepasand, Hillsboro

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

To support a new multidisciplinary, multi-media live performance and exhibition, "With Her Own Wings," featuring Iranian-American artists and composers, to be completed in 2025 and performed accompanied by a video in 2026.

Alexis West, Tillamook

Oregon Arts Commission $2,000

The Ford Family Foundation $4,876

To support West's exhibition of her painting in the 2025 Florence Biennale in Florence, Italy, Oct. 16-28. It will be the 15th edition of this international competition for arts and design.

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The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine commissioners, appointed by the governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of Business Oregon (formerly Oregon Economic and Community Development Department) in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities. In 2003, the Oregon Legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission's expertise in grantmaking, arts and cultural information and community cultural development. 

The Arts Commission is supported with general funds appropriated by the Oregon Legislature and with federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust. More information about the Oregon Arts Commission is available online at artscommission.oregon.gov

Eleven Oregon High School Students Advance To March 8 Poetry Out Loud State Contest (Photo) -02/24/25

Salem, Oregon -- Virtual semifinals have identified the 11 Oregon high school students who will compete in Oregon's 2025 Poetry Out Loud State Contest on Saturday, March 8. The State Contest, which will feature a presentation by Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston, is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. at Salem's Historic Grand (191 High Street NE). Oregon's state champion will advance to the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, scheduled for May 5-7 in Washington D.C.

Poetry Out Loud is a recitation contest for high school students, organized in Oregon by the Oregon Arts Commission in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Participants memorize and present poems, practicing public performance skills while exploring the complexity of poetry.

The students advancing to Oregon's 2025 State Contest are: Senna Alnasser, Oregon Charter Academy (Mill City); Gio Calandrella, Grant High School (Portland); Gloria Flores Estrada, Oregon School for the Deaf (Salem); Josiah Gaither, St. Stephen's Academy (Beaverton); Benjamin Miranda, West Linn High School; Arianna Morris, Redmond High School; Kaydence Pope, South Medford High School; Sophie Roberts, St. Stephen's Academy; Bena Rodecap, Grant High School; Madeline Torres, Lakeridge High School (Lake Oswego); and Dulce Wiles, Oregon Charter Academy.

"The student performances are inspiring and heartfelt every year. It's exciting to see which poems they choose and the judges did a wonderful job of selecting the group of finalists who will be moving on to the state competition," said Tiff Harker, the Arts Commission's arts education/Poetry Out Loud coordinator.

The Poetry Out Loud State Contest is free and open to the public.

Please note: Student bio information available upon request.

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The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, special initiatives and services. Nine commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine arts needs and establish policies for public support of the arts. The Arts Commission became part of Business Oregon (formerly Oregon Economic and Community Development Department) in 1993, in recognition of the expanding role the arts play in the broader social, economic and educational arenas of Oregon communities. In 2003, the Oregon legislature moved the operations of the Oregon Cultural Trust to the Arts Commission, streamlining operations and making use of the Commission's expertise in grantmaking, arts and cultural information and community cultural development. 

The Arts Commission is supported with general funds appropriated by the Oregon legislature and with federal funds from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust. More information about the Oregon Arts Commission is available online at artscommission.oregon.gov.