The Oregon Cultural Trust awarded grants to nine mid-Willamette Valley arts, heritage and humanities projects for 20-23. The grants totaling an historic $3,422,748 dollars will be distributed to 138 arts, heritage and humanities organizations across the state, the Cultural Trust announced today. Made possible by generous Oregonians who invested a record $5.7 million in the Cultural Tax Credit in FY2022, this year’s awards bring the cumulative total of Cultural Trust grants to almost $40 million since its founding in 2001.
In the mid-willamette valley the organizations receiving awards include:
Antique Powerland Museum, Salem: $5,000
To support professionally replacing boiler tubes to preserve the Museum’s authentic 1900-
1930s era, steam-powered Miller Sawmill. The project will bring the boiler back up to code for
the working sawmill, which provides lumber for 14 partner heritage museums. Funding also will
support public education; the operation of the sawmill is a demonstration event at the Great
Oregon Steam-Up, including docents dressed in period costumes.
*Enlightened Theatrics, Salem: $17,983
To support a holiday family production of SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL comprised of
professional, community, and student artists.
Huitzilopochtli, Woodburn: $6,373
To support public access to authentic Aztec Dance performances and to create access for low[1]income Latinx families to learn Aztec traditions through community circle gatherings/classes.
McMinnville Short Film Festival, McMinnville: $11,881
To support the McMinnville Short Film Festival, an annual multi-day cultural event that brings
filmmakers’ voices from around the world to the rural community of Yamhill County. The goal is
to diversify the creative community of Yamhill County and raise their creative voices beyond the
Oregon landscape. Funding will help cover operational costs, advertising, marketing, community
outreach and live event expenses.
Salem Art Association, Salem: $7,457
To support the Association’s efforts to address the legacy and impact of Asahel Bush’s racism
by developing organizational capacity for embedding diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility
into all facets of the organization. Funding will be used for DEIA facilitation; training and tools;
DEIA strategic planning and goal setting activities; and the creation of outreach strategies to
better engage minority and historically underrepresented communities.
The Gilbert House Children’s Museum, Salem: $20,856
To support access for all children and their families, including those with mobility challenges, to
a play-based experience that inspires curiosity to learn by renovating areas of the Outdoor
Discovery Area to create six new outdoor exhibits.
The Gordon House Conservancy, Silverton: $29,575
To support the relationship between the Frank Lloyd Wright Gordon House and its setting as
Frank Lloyd Wright envisioned. The Usonian style of the Gordon House incorporates an outdoor
“room.” The overall site improvements project will complete the design as intended by Frank
Lloyd Wright, increasing the capacity of the Gordon House Conservancy to fulfill its mission of
preservation and education.
*Western Oregon University Development Foundation, Monmouth: $36,573
To support the presentation of The Legacy of Matthew Shepard, a month-long collaborative arts
project that includes the presentation of The Laramie Project, the Oregon premiere of
Considering Matthew Shepard, a commissioned dance, art gallery shows and a talk by Judy
Shepard to highlight and discuss the experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth in rural Oregon.
*Wisdom of the Elderberry Farm, Salem: $28,485
To support a pilot project to strengthen the capacity of staff to train and mentor Native American
youth so they can accomplish a cultural arts restoration project. A group of Native American
youth will be trained in filmmaking to produce a documentary featuring the cultural traditions of
their tribal community. Staff will learn to mentor gifted young people in filmmaking and train
them to learn traditional tribal stories, songs and other oral traditions.
The 88 Cultural Development grant awards range from $5,000 to $38,000 with an average award of $19,396. Sixty-six percent of the 133 eligible applications were funded.
Cultural Development Program awards fund nonprofit projects that increase access to culture, invest in organizational capacity, support community creativity and provide historic preservation. Applications were reviewed and scored by peer review panels; final award amounts were determined and approved by the Cultural Trust Board of Directors at its July 28 meeting. More than 60 percent of Cultural Trust funding (including awards to County and Tribal Coalitions) is awarded outside of the Portland Metro area.
See a full list of County and Tribal Cultural Coalition allocations.
See a list of the 88 Cultural Development recipients, alphabetical by region.
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Created in 2001 by the Oregon Legislature, the Oregon Cultural Trust was established as an ongoing funding engine for arts, heritage and humanities across the state. Funding comes through the Cultural Tax Credit, which empowers Oregonians to direct more of the taxes they pay to supporting cultural opportunities for all. Oregon is the only state in the country that gives its citizens this choice. Sixty percent of the money goes directly to cultural organizations and agencies in the form of grants. The remaining 40 percent helps grow a permanent fund for culture. It’s described by the Oregonian as “A way to make paying state taxes satisfying.” Oregonians directed a record $5.7M of their state taxes to fund arts, heritage and humanities in fiscal year 2022. The Trust’s three grant programs fund five Statewide Partners, 45 County and Tribal Coalitions and qualified cultural nonprofits through competitive Cultural Development grants. Learn more at CulturalTrust.org.
