In the first round of FY2023 Career Opportunity Program grant awards, the Oregon Arts Commission and The Ford Family Foundation have awarded $92,297 to 36 artists for career development projects.
The awards include $45,020 from the Oregon Arts Commission for all artistic disciplines and $47,277 in supplemental funding for 15 established visual artists through a partnership with The Ford Family Foundation’s Visual Arts Program. Individual grants range from $596 to $9,000.
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 Avantika Bawa, the Arts Commissioner who chaired the review panel. “That support is critical as artists continue to rebuild from losses related to the pandemic.”
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.
“These awards allow artists to seize key opportunities in their careers. Even one exhibition or residency has the possibility of unlocking a new path, technique or business relationship that can alter an artist’s future in a significant way,” said Anne C. Kubisch, president of The Ford Family Foundation. “The Foundation is pleased to play a part in that.”
Note: The application deadline for round two FY2023 Career Opportunity Program awards is 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8.
FY2023 Career Opportunity Program grant award recipients are:
Robert Arellano, Talent
Oregon Arts Commission $1,895
To support Arellano’s travel and accommodation expenses for an invited residency at Tulane University, home of the Stone Center for Latin American Studies, where the artist will conduct research for a forthcoming novel-in-progress, “Havana Loca,” the final book in an award-winning Cuban noir series from Akashic.
David Gibb, Jacksonville
The Ford Family Foundation $2,000
To support Gibb’s photography of Oregon landscapes from an aerial perspective using camera-equipped drone equipment during fall 2022, including printing large 4’x9′ mural prints to be displayed permanently in the Jacksonville and Grants Pass post offices in spring 2023.
The Oregon Arts Commission provides leadership, funding and arts programs through its grants, services, and special initiatives. 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.
Source: OAC
