106 Arts Organizations To Receive FY2023 Small Operating Grants (Photo) - 09/08/22

Salem, Oregon – Small grants that often make a large difference in ensuring arts access for Oregonians, especially in rural areas, have been awarded statewide to 106 arts organizations by the Oregon Arts Commission for FY2023. 

Awarded to arts organizations in virtually every region of the state, Small Operating Grants are designed to provide support to arts organizations with budgets under $150,000. Eligibility is limited to organizations who have operated as an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit for a minimum of two years and provide ongoing, sustained artistic programming and outreach programs. Each organization will receive $2,261. 

“Although the Drexel H. Foundation (Vale) and our community is rural and small compared to other parts of Oregon, our impact is HUGE,” said Sandijean Fuson, president of the Drexel H. Foundation. “This grant helps us keep an unbroken existence of programs we have had for over 25 years, reminding our community they are important.” 

“Music is sanity,” said a participant in the Open Hearts Open Minds (Portland) Columbia River Correctional Institution Music Studio. “It has been my sanctuary, my sounding board, my therapy. Without it I truly believe I would have crumbled from the daily pressures of prison life and the immense stress involved in spending years in prison.”

“This grant program was developed to increase the Arts Commission’s support of Oregon’s small but mighty arts providers,” said Arts Commission Chair Jenny Green. “These organizations frequently represent the only arts presenter for remote and underserved regions of the state.”

For more information about the Small Operating Grant Program, contact Liora Sponko at (971) 345-1641 or via email at liora.sponko@biz.oregon.gov.

FY2023 Small Operating Grants, sorted alphabetically by region, will be awarded to:

Central Region

BEAT Children's Theatre, Bend

High Desert Chamber Music, Bend

Opera Bend, Bend

Tananawit, Warm Springs

Greater Eastern North Region

Inland Northwest Musicians Inc, Hermiston

Greater Eastern South Region

Drexel H. Foundation, Vale 

Portland Metro Region

Airlie Press, Portland

All Ages Music, Portland        

Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Portland

Art in Oregon, Oregon City

Bach Cantata Choir, Portland

Bells of the Cascades, Tualatin

Big Mouth Society, Portland

Boom Arts, Portland

Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre, Portland

Bump in the Road Theatre, Portland

Cathedral Park Performing Arts Collective, Portland

Choro in Schola, Portland

Classical Up Close, Tigard

Conchords Chorale, Tualatin

Dance Wire PDX, Portland

Eastside Theater Company, Gresham

en Taiko, Portland

Experience Theatre Project, Beaverton

Fear No Music, Portland

Future Prairie, Portland

Golden Road Arts, Hillsboro

Greater Portland Flute Society, Portland

Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre Northwest, Portland

Hillsboro Symphony Orchestra, Hillsboro

Lovegood Performing Arts Company, Portland

Media Institute for Social Change, Portland

Media-Rites, Portland

Montavilla Jazz Festival, Portland

Northwest Print Council, Portland

Open Hearts Open Minds, Portland

Oregon ArtsWatch, Portland

Oregon Bluegrass Association, Portland

Original Practice Shakespeare Festival, Portland

Performance Works NorthWest, Portland

Piano Santa Foundation, Portland

Portland Chamber Music, Portland

Portland Chamber Orchestra, Portland

Portland Child Art Studio, Portland

Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, Portland

Portland Taiko, Portland

Rasika Society for Arts of India, Hillsboro

Resonance Vocal Ensemble, Portland

Risk-Reward, Portland

Siren Nation, Inc., Portland

Soulflags, Oregon City

Steps for Youth, Portland

The Artback, Estacada

The Geezer Gallery, Portland

Tualatin Valley Community Band, Tigard

Twilight Theater Company, Portland

Valley Art Association, Forest Grove

Willamette Writers, Portland

Women in Film-Portland, Portland

ZENAZEZZA INC, Portland

Mid-Valley Region

Festival Chorale Oregon, Salem

Keizer Creative Art Association, Salem

Keizer Homegrown Theatre, Keizer

McMinnville Short Film Festival, McMinnville

Oregon Artists Series Foundation, Salem

Oregon Spirit Chorus, Salem

Paradise of Samoa, Keizer

Salem Philharmonia Orchestra, Salem

Salem Pops Orchestra, Salem

Willamette University, Salem

North Central Region

Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association, Hood River

The Dalles Art Association, The Dalles

North Coast Region

Astoria Arts and Movement Center, Astoria

Astoria Visual Arts, Inc, Astoria

Bay City Arts Center, Bay City

Cannon Beach Arts Association, Cannon Beach

Hoffman Center for the Arts, Manzanita

Partners for the PAC, Astoria

Tolovana Arts Colony, Cannon Beach

South Central Region

Lost River Arts and Cultural Alliance, Keno

South Coast Region

Pelican Bay Arts Association, Brookings

Riverbend Live!, Winston

Umpqua Symphony Association, Roseburg

South Valley/Mid Coast Region

Arts and Business Alliance of Eugene, Eugene

Corvallis Guitar Society, Corvallis

Corvallis Repertory Singers, Corvallis

DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon, Eugene

Ditch Projects, Springfield

Florence Regional Arts Alliance, Florence

Gallery Calapooia, Albany

Mid-Valley Prelude Sinfonia Inc., Albany

Opal Center for Arts and Education, Cottage Grove

Orchestra Next, Eugene

Oregon Brass Society, Eugene

Oregon Coast Youth Symphony Festival Association, Newport

The Rural Art Center, Lorane

Willamette Jazz Society, Eugene

Willamette Valley Symphony, Albany

Wordcrafters in Eugene, Eugene

Southern Region

Anima Mundi Productions, Phoenix

Art Presence, Inc., Jacksonville

Ashland New Plays Festival, Ashland

Guitar Society of Southern Oregon, Ashland

Rogue Valley Wind Ensemble, Ashland

Southern Oregon Guild, Cave Junction

Region key: 

Central (Jefferson, Deschutes and Crook Counties)

Greater Eastern North (Gilliam, Morrow, Umatilla and Wheeler Counties) 

Greater Eastern South (Grant, Harney and Malheur)

Portland Metro (Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties)   

Mid-Valley (Yamhill, Polk and Marion Counties) 

North Central (Hood River, Wasco and Sherman Counties)

North Coast (Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook Counties) 

Northeast (Wallowa, Union and Baker Counties)

South Central (Klamath and Lake Counties) 

South Coast (Douglas, Coos and Curry Counties) 

South Valley/Mid-Coast (Lincoln, Benton, Linn and Lane Counties) 

Southern (Josephine and Jackson Counties) 

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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:  www.oregonartscommission.org.