The Regional Arts & Culture Council is an organization that administers arts grants in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties that also do advocacy in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It evolved from the city’s Metropolitan Arts Commission agency in the 1990s. In 1995, the Metropolitan Arts Commission became the RACC as an independent non-profit organization.
Overview
The mission of the organization is to integrate arts and culture in all aspects of community life through vision, leadership and service. RACC is funded by the City of Portland, Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington counties, Metro, the Oregon Arts Commission, and several private donors. It provides programs and offers grants to artists and arts organizations throughout the region. RACC also manages the 1.33-percent-for-art program for Multnomah County, and the 2%-for-art program for the City of Portland. The City of Portland paid $228,000 for the Portlandia, statue in 1985 which was installed atop the Portland Building. RACC funds a variety of not-for-profit, publicly accessible arts activities in the region. From the five "majors" to smaller and emerging groups like Oregon Children's Theatre, Literary Arts, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, PlayWrite, and Write Around Portland, RACC funding provides approximately 1 to 5% of most local arts organizations' total budgets. RACC also funds a number of individual artists each year. RACC provides resources for artists through its website and several newsletters. RACC provides several technical assistance programs, including workshops for artists, and convenes public forums and other meetings to discuss important arts and culture issues in the community. In 2004, RACC launched a workplace giving program for arts and culture called Work for Art to raise additional funds for local arts organizations. The agency launched a public-private initiative as a gap filler for schools lacking art teachers called The Right Brain Initiative at an expense to the district of $15 per child. The organization receives funding from the city budget, but unlike a city bureau, it is governed by its own private governing board. In 2018, Portland MayorTed Wheeler and then commissioner Nick Fish asked the city auditor's office to investigate if RACC was meeting its contractual obligations with the city. The city's senior management auditor Jenny Scott reported "The city has no clear goals for arts and culture." Scott described the situation as "there’s little oversight at the city of how RACC spends its money."
Operations
The executive director of RACC is A. Madison Cario. Former executive directors have included Eloise Damrosch, Bill Bulick, Mike Pippi, and David Hudson. RACC is managed by a Board of Directors of approximately 25 persons, with a staff of approximately 40. In 2020, RACC laid off 15 staff to better address the goal and streamline the organization. The administration of Right Brain Initiative was moved to Young Audiences of Oregon and Southwest Washington during this change.
