The Oregon Community Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in Creative Heights grants to 14 Oregon artists and cultural groups, enabling them to bring ambitious, community-focused projects to life. The grants, ranging from $24,000 to $100,000, are particularly valuable at a time when federal funding for the arts has been drastically reduced, making private and foundation support increasingly critical. This year’s recipients were selected from over 200 applicants, emphasizing innovative projects that push creative boundaries rather than the size of the organizations themselves.
Unlike past grants often awarded to large institutions, this round prioritizes smaller groups and individual artists pursuing specific community-based initiatives. Projects vary widely, from envisioning the future of Portland’s Old Town Chinatown to curating a biennial of contemporary Indigenous art. Jerry Tischleder, senior program officer for arts and culture at the Oregon Community Foundation, noted that the key criterion is innovation and the potential of a project to advance the state’s creative landscape.
Since its inception in 2014, the Creative Heights program has distributed roughly $1 million annually, supporting 151 projects across multiple disciplines including visual arts, performance, folk arts, film, literary arts, music, theater, dance, and more. As federal support has waned under recent administrations, programs like Creative Heights have become essential for sustaining arts and culture in Oregon, especially for projects emphasizing diversity, equity, and inclusion that might otherwise be ineligible for federal funds.
Among this year’s notable recipients, Allie Hankins of Portland received $75,000 for an experimental dance project exploring queer multiplicities. CETI in Portland was awarded $100,000 to create multisensory experiences reflecting Old Town Chinatown’s past and future. enTaiko, also in Portland, received $66,000 for inclusive taiko performances for deaf, blind, neurodivergent, and physically disabled participants. Jason Hill and the Albina Music Trust were granted $100,000 to produce a docuseries on Portland’s Black music history, capturing artists’ stories while they are still alive.
Additional projects include Lamiae Naki’s $40,000 project uniting Oregon and international musicians to celebrate Southern Moroccan music, and Licity Collins’ $74,000 spoken-sung opera exploring collective grief. Luke Wyland received $65,000 to expand the Library of Dysfluent Voices, an immersive audio archive of people with speech differences. Masami Kawai’s $100,000 independent film, Valley of the Tall Grass, explores Indigenous identity through cinema.
Other awardees include the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland & Oregon East Symphony collaboration for $100,000, North Pole Studio’s $45,000 solo exhibition of non-verbal artist Doug Wing, Patricia Vázquez Gómez’s $100,000 experimental choral project, and Steph Littlebird’s $55,000 contemporary Indigenous Art Biennial. Smaller grants also went to Stephanie Craig for a digital basketry curriculum ($24,000) and Tim Burgess for a short documentary and music project ($90,000). Collectively, these grants showcase Oregon’s commitment to fostering innovative, community-driven arts initiatives across the state.
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