Salem, Oregon – Oregon traditional artists who would like to be considered for the Traditional Arts Recovery Program may self-nominate between now and Tuesday, Aug. 31.

Administered by the Oregon Folklife Network in partnership with the Oregon Arts Commission, the Traditional Arts Recovery Program will provide stipends of $5,000 to 15 Oregon traditional artists for the creation of new work. Eligible artists will use a range of art forms to represent and express Oregon’s diverse ethnic, sacred, occupational and regional cultural arts.

Salem, Oregon – David Harrelson, the Cultural Resources Department manager for The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and a Grand Ronde tribal member, has been appointed to the Oregon Arts Commission by Governor Kate Brown.

Harrelson has championed the use of his people’s ancestral art forms for the purpose of public art. His support for this work has resulted in five public art installations in the last four years throughout Northwestern Oregon. He has worked in the field of cultural resources for 10 years and before that worked as a wildland firefighter.

Oregon artists may now apply to a new Artist Relief Program created by the Oregon Arts Commission in partnership with The Oregon Community Foundation and the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation. Awards ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 will be distributed until the program fund, totaling just over $1.25 million, is depleted.

We must act now. We at the Oregon Arts Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust stand in solidarity with those who are outraged by the killing of George Floyd and many other Black victims of despicable racial violence.

In the words of Governor Kate Brown, “mourning their loss is not enough. We must commit ourselves to racial justice.” These unforgivable acts of violence are a tragic symptom of a society that tolerates systemic racism, police brutality, white supremacy and oppression.