Blog

Get our latest news or learn about some of the life-changing cultural projects we’ve funded across the state. Also hear from our many cultural partners about how their work is making Oregon a better place to live, work and play.

2024 ‘CONVERSATIONS WITH FUNDERS’ SCHEDULED

2024 ‘CONVERSATIONS WITH FUNDERS’ SCHEDULED

Salem, Ore. – Grant makers offering more than $5 million in funding for FY2025 will participate in the Oregon Cultural Trust’s 2024 “Conversations with Funders” events from March…

Celebrate Oregon! coming to Portland State University!

Celebrate Oregon! coming to Portland State University!

Salem, Ore. – In recognition of Portland State University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, the Oregon Cultural Trust will install a full-scale mural of its Celebrate Oregon! artwork…

Oregonians donate $5.4 million to Cultural Trust in 2023

Oregonians donate $5.4 million to Cultural Trust in 2023

Salem, Ore. – Oregonians investing in the Cultural Tax Credit contributed more than $5.4 million to support arts, heritage and humanities nonprofits in 2023, the Oregon Cultural Trust…

Salmon to run at Oregon Coast Aquarium

Salmon to run at Oregon Coast Aquarium

Let the river run! In March 2024, a brand-new Salmon Run sculpture will greet visitors to Newport’s Oregon Coast Aquarium, supported by an Oregon Cultural Trust grant award.…

The Old Church gets a makeover

The Old Church gets a makeover

The Old Church, Portland’s iconic performing arts venue, is getting a makeover. In winter 2024 the Old Church Society, which oversees the popular performing arts venue, will begin…

Stories and artifacts come to life at Oregon Jewish Museum

Stories and artifacts come to life at Oregon Jewish Museum

History speaks this winter at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. Oregon Jews, A to Z, an upcoming exhibition at the museum, sponsored by an…

Native students embrace success at Southern Oregon University

Native students embrace success at Southern Oregon University

All My Relations is weaving a vibrant tapestry of culture and learning for K-12 students and families in Native communities across Oregon, thanks in part to a Cultural…

p:ear helps youth heal through art

p:ear helps youth heal through art

One by one, disenfranchised youth from Portland streets arrive at p:ear, accompanied by histories of abuse, neglect and trauma. p:ear staff tends to the needs of as many…

NOW SEEKING OREGON’S 11th POET LAUREATE

NOW SEEKING OREGON’S 11th POET LAUREATE

Salem, Oregon – The Oregon Poet Laureate Program is now accepting nominations for the state’s next poet laureate. The program is funded by the Oregon Cultural Trust and…

Cultural Trust awards close to $3 million to 136 Oregon cultural organizations

Cultural Trust awards close to $3 million to 136 Oregon cultural organizations

Salem, Ore. – A “Salmon Run” sculpture for the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s new lobby, a trauma- informed media arts program for social justice nonprofits at Portland’s Open Signal…

Celebrate Oregon! float wins Governor’s Award!

Celebrate Oregon! float wins Governor’s Award!

Governor Tina Kotek awarded the Cultural Trust’s Celebrate Oregon! float the Governor’s Award during the live television broadcast of the June 10 Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade,…

Celebrate Oregon! artwork to come to life on Portland Rose Festival float

Celebrate Oregon! artwork to come to life on Portland Rose Festival float

Salem, Ore. – The Oregon Cultural Trust’s Celebrate Oregon! artwork will be brought to life on a float in the 2023 Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade, Cultural…

Spring appeal to support record grant applications

Spring appeal to support record grant applications

Salem, Ore. – In response to a record number of grant applications and the need within the cultural community, the Cultural Trust invites donors to make their cultural…

DanceAbility breaks barriers through dance

DanceAbility breaks barriers through dance

A dancers’ journey of beasts, wheelchairs, tornadoes, wizards, airports, crutches and realizations: That describes DanceAbility International’s performance of “Wizard of Odds.”  It’s just one example in a repertoire…

Oregon Arts and Culture Caucus expands to 23 members! 14 more Legislators join since Caucus established

Oregon Arts and Culture Caucus expands to 23 members! 14 more Legislators join since Caucus established

Salem, Oregon – Inspired by the energy and enthusiasm created by the launch of the Oregon Arts and Culture Caucus, 14 more Oregon Legislators have now joined the…

Oregonians donate $5.2 million to Cultural Trust in 2022 to support statewide arts, heritage and humanities organizations

Oregonians donate $5.2 million to Cultural Trust in 2022 to support statewide arts, heritage and humanities organizations

Salem, Ore. – The number of donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust increased by 227 in 2022, resulting in 10,839 donations totaling $5.2 million for the calendar year.…

Thomas Lauderdale and Hunter Noack to perform at Oregon Arts and Culture Caucus Launch Event Feb. 27; Event moved to Salem’s Elsinore Theatre with free ice cream courtesy of Salt & Straw

Thomas Lauderdale and Hunter Noack to perform at Oregon Arts and Culture Caucus Launch Event Feb. 27; Event moved to Salem’s Elsinore Theatre with free ice cream courtesy of Salt & Straw

Salem, Oregon – Thomas Lauderdale, the founder of Pink Martini, and Hunter Noack, the founder of In A Landscape, will perform as special guests at the Oregon Arts…

2023 ‘CONVERSATIONS WITH FUNDERS’ SCHEDULED

2023 ‘CONVERSATIONS WITH FUNDERS’ SCHEDULED

Salem, Ore. – Grant makers offering more than $5 million in funding for FY2024 will participate in the Cultural Trust’s 2023 “Conversations with Funders” from Feb. 28 through…

Nine Legislators form first-ever Oregon Arts and Cultural Caucus; Public launch event scheduled for Monday, Feb. 27

Nine Legislators form first-ever Oregon Arts and Cultural Caucus; Public launch event scheduled for Monday, Feb. 27

Salem, Oregon – Recognizing the vital role arts and culture play in the livability and prosperity of Oregon communities – and in enriching the lives of Oregonians –…

Gilbert House inspires learning through play

Gilbert House inspires learning through play

Kassi Garner’s children never knew the man who reportedly “saved Christmas,” A.C. Gilbert, but his legacy and namesake Gilbert House Children’s Museum in Salem has transformed their lives.…

Josephy Center honors Nez Perce heritage

Josephy Center honors Nez Perce heritage

Illuminating Joseph County’s Nez Perce heritage is the focus of a “Head and Heart” exhibition being developed by the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture, supported by a…

Winter light festival illuminates Portland

Winter light festival illuminates Portland

When long dark nights have Portland in their grip, the Portland Winter Light Festival brightens lives and locales, with support from the Oregon Cultural Trust. Performers prance and…

Budding filmmakers capture indigenous culture

Budding filmmakers capture indigenous culture

There’s a new crop taking root in the Willamette Valley under the nurturing care of the Elderberry Wisdom Farm near Salem, Oregon. Its leadership is seeding a new…

Only in Oregon can taxpayers direct their taxes to fund arts and culture

Only in Oregon can taxpayers direct their taxes to fund arts and culture

Salem, Oregon – Oregonians, and only Oregonians, have the unique opportunity to direct a portion of their state taxes to fund arts, heritage and humanities work across the…

Enlightened Theatrics encourages audiences to “play a play”

Enlightened Theatrics encourages audiences to “play a play”

You can play a play warm, you can play a play cold. You can play a play young, you can play a play old. The sky is the…

Oregon’s little theater that could… and does!

Oregon’s little theater that could… and does!

A script for self-reliance, a bit of frontier spirit and some pluck… that’s the scenario for success at Little Theatre on the Bay in North Bend, Oregon. While…

Deb Schallert appointed to Cultural Trust Board of Directors

Deb Schallert appointed to Cultural Trust Board of Directors

Salem, Oregon – Deb Schallert, a retired Portland General Electric cultural and historic resources and environmental compliance manager, has been appointed to the Oregon Cultural Trust Board of…

Talent Historical Society shares stories of rebirth from Almeda Fire

Talent Historical Society shares stories of rebirth from Almeda Fire

In September of 2020, the Almeda Fire hit the town of Talent, Oregon. Spreading widely and rapidly, the fire destroyed homes, businesses, and many forms of wild and plant life. In…

City-wide art programming will showcase Oregon artists

City-wide art programming will showcase Oregon artists

“Portland punches way above its weight as a cultural capital,” says Christian Viveros-Fauné. The Chilean-born, New York-based writer and curator is showcasing the Rose City’s rich arts community…

Performers, patrons of the arts find a home in Elgin

Performers, patrons of the arts find a home in Elgin

Nestled alongside the Wallowa Mountains sits Elgin, Oregon, a small Eastern Oregon community home to just under 2,000 people that also boasts a booming artistic community. At the…

High Desert Museum explores imagined utopias

High Desert Museum explores imagined utopias

Envisioned utopias, both past and future, were the focus of High Desert Museum’s recent “Imagine a World” exhibition, which ran through Sept. 25. Visitors were inspired to speculate…

Newly wrapped Oregon Coast Art Bus unveiled

Newly wrapped Oregon Coast Art Bus unveiled

While the stunning new look for the Oregon Coast Art Bus was the focus of an unveiling event at the Newport Performing Arts Center Aug. 18, the reaction…

Cultural Trust awards more than $3.4 million to 138 Oregon cultural organizations

Cultural Trust awards more than $3.4 million to 138 Oregon cultural organizations

Salem, Ore. – A new library for Grants Pass, the restoration of an iconic ski lodge in Sisters, Montavilla Jazz Festival’s 10th anniversary celebration and multimedia documentation of…

Donors boost fiscal year fundraising to $5.7 million

Donors boost fiscal year fundraising to $5.7 million

Salem, Ore. – Donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust surpassed $5.7 million in fiscal year 2022, an 11.7 percent increase over fiscal year 2021. The amount also surpasses…

Governor Brown extends Anis Mojgani’s term as Oregon Poet Laureate through 2024

Governor Brown extends Anis Mojgani’s term as Oregon Poet Laureate through 2024

Salem, Ore. – Anis Mojgani (AH-neess Mozh-GAH-nee) will remain Oregon Poet Laureate through 2024, Governor Kate Brown announced today. Mojgani, a two-time individual champion of the National Poetry…

Sen. Bill Hansell and Rep. John Lively  appointed to Cultural Trust Board of Directors

Sen. Bill Hansell and Rep. John Lively appointed to Cultural Trust Board of Directors

Salem, Oregon – Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena) and Rep. John Lively (D-Springfield) have been appointed to the Oregon Cultural Trust Board of Directors. Sen. Hansell, who was appointed…

Oregonians donate $5.55 million to Cultural Trust in 2021 to support statewide arts, heritage and humanities organizations

Oregonians donate $5.55 million to Cultural Trust in 2021 to support statewide arts, heritage and humanities organizations

Salem, Ore. – Donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust surpassed $5.55 million in 2021, a 6.7 percent increase over 2020’s record-setting results of $5.2 million. The funds will…

20 years of funding for Oregon culture!

20 years of funding for Oregon culture!

This month’s brand story in Oregon Business magazine shares how the Cultural Trust, in its first 20 years, has proven itself a stable source of funding for Oregon…

Announcing the new Celebrate Oregon! Cultural Trust License Plate!

Announcing the new Celebrate Oregon! Cultural Trust License Plate!

A new license plate design that celebrates Oregon and the diversity of its culture will debut Oct. 1 in recognition of the Oregon Cultural Trust’s 20th Anniversary. The…

Arts and culture investment boosts economic recovery

Arts and culture investment boosts economic recovery

Here in Oregon and across the nation, arts and culture have a critical role to play in stimulating economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. That is the conclusion…

Oregon Business Brand Story: Help us protect Oregon culture!

Oregon Business Brand Story: Help us protect Oregon culture!

This month’s issue of Oregon Business shares more about the challenges facing our arts and culture community and how Oregonians can help them survive the pandemic by claiming…

Gratitude pours in for Coronavirus Relief Funding for Cultural Support

Gratitude pours in for Coronavirus Relief Funding for Cultural Support

Tears of joy. That was the response from many cultural leaders when they learned they were among the 621 recipients of $25.7 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF)…

621 organizations awarded $25.7 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund Cultural Support grant awards

621 organizations awarded $25.7 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund Cultural Support grant awards

Salem, Ore. – Coronavirus Relief Fund Cultural Support (CRFCS) grant awards totaling $25.7 million will be distributed to 621 cultural organizations across Oregon through a partnership between the…

Impact videos demonstrate breadth, value of Cultural Trust support

Impact videos demonstrate breadth, value of Cultural Trust support

Nothing conveys the incredible impact a donation to the Oregon Cultural Trust can have more than the adorable students in the Eugene-Springfield Youth Orchestras’ String Academy sharing their…

Cultural Trust geographic reach “remarkable,” says impact report; Per capita funding for culture peaks in rural Oregon

Cultural Trust geographic reach “remarkable,” says impact report; Per capita funding for culture peaks in rural Oregon

Salem, Ore. – A new impact study of the Oregon Cultural Trust calls its geographic reach “remarkable” and reinforces its unique role as a stable and accessible funding…

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