City of Portland, Oregon sent this bulletin at 07/27/2026 02:15 PM PDT
July 2026
Eligible Arts Organizations: Time to Apply for Operating Support Grants
Past Operating Support Grantees including (clockwise, from upper left) Portland Youth Choir (photo by Fora Collective), Portland Winter Light Festival (photo by Brett Nemece), Portland Center Stage and Portland Playhouse (photo by Jingzi Photography), Street Books, Oregon Symphony and Portland Taiko (photo by Jason Quigley).
The Office of Arts & Culture provides Operating Support Grants to established Portland-based nonprofit arts organizations to strengthen Portland's vital nonprofit arts sector and support a wide variety of accessible arts experiences.
Eligible organizations can apply now for two years of unrestricted operating support to sustain their operations, advance their missions, and expand access to arts experiences for Portland residents. Operating Support Grants are funded in part by the Arts Access Fund, and awards will range from $25,000 to $145,000 annually.
Arts organizations must have a minimum budget of $150,000, three years of history providing arts experiences in Portland—including services for K-12 students and people in underserved communities—and meet other eligibility requirements described in the grant guidelines.
Nonprofit arts organizations are invited to attend an online information session on Tuesday, August 4 from 2-3 p.m. and apply by noon on September 11, 2026. Grants will be awarded in November.
Entities that are not eligible to apply for Operating Support Grants — including individual artists, smaller and emerging arts organizations, and other community-based organizations — are encouraged to explore other funding opportunities available.
The Office of Arts & Culture just released the 2025-26 Arts Education Report, which details the impacts of Portland’s investment in arts education for over 28,000 children during the 2025-26 school year.
Access to the arts allows children to experience belonging, build community, and develop durable skills like collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. This is made possible through the Arts Access Fund, fueled by the Arts Education Tax, which ensures every elementary public-school student in Portland has access to a standards-based arts education as part of their school day.
This annual report provides data on multiple indicators including staffing, instructional minutes, student caseload, arts pathways and arts partnerships as well as an overview of the state of arts education in Portland. It offers Portlanders insight into the work of the Arts Access Fund and the Arts Access Fund Oversight Committee information so that they can perform their oversight responsibilities.
For the 2026-27 school year, the Office of Arts & Culture will publish a directory to connect public schools in Portland with local arts organizations.
The Arts Organizations Directory for Schools will be published on our website and shared directly with schools. If your arts organization is interested in being included, please fill out an Arts Organizations Directory Submission Form by August 15, 2026.
Community arts organizations provide students with opportunities to engage in a wide variety of artistic genres, build an understanding of multiple perspectives, and find new ways to share their voice with their community.
The Office of Arts & Culture will offer sponsorships between $2,000 and $7,000 to public elementary schools to pay for field trips, assemblies, and residencies with local arts organizations through the Arts Access Fund.
This directory is part of the Office of Arts & Culture’s Creating Together initiative, designed to support arts partnerships in schools. It is intended for arts organizations, not individual teaching artists. However, the Office of Arts & Culture also publishes a Teaching Artist Directory, which will open again for new submissions in September.
Recommendations are in for the Future of Large-Scale Performing Arts
Two independent advisory groups charged with evaluating the future of Portland's large-scale performance venues shared similar recommendations for Portland. The Mayor’s Ex Officio Table – made up of regional elected officials, arts leaders, and labor representatives – and a separate Steering Committee, made up of technical experts in relevant fields both recommended a similar phased approach.
They recommend building a new large-scale Broadway-capable venue at PSU, while simultaneously planning for the future use of Keller Auditorium. Both bodies shared several priorities including the preservation of jobs, the downtown economy, and cultural activity as well as a strategic vision that expands the region’s arts ecosystem and cultural life.
These recommendations will help inform future discussions by City leadership while they continue technical analysis, funding evaluation, and gathering public input regarding the future of Portland's performing arts facilities.
You are invited to join the City of Portland and other community members for a public conversation about the Portland’s Abraham Lincoln sculpture at the Portland Art Museum on Tuesday, September 8 at 6 p.m.
You will get to learn about the City's plans to reinstall the monument to Abraham Lincoln in early 2027 on a new, seismically upgraded base in the South Park Blocks, and explore site renderings and high-level details of the contextual elements. You will also have a chance to ask questions of panelists and other Portlanders who care about history and public art.
This event is presented by the City of Portland Office of Arts & Culture as part of the Portland Monuments Project. The Portland Monuments Project supports public conversations, artistic projects, historical research, conservation, and community engagement examining monuments and public memory throughout Portland.
Larry Yes, "The Answer to All the Questions," 2019. Photo by Rachel Houghton.
The Office of Arts & Culture and the Portland Bureau of Transportation are pleased to announce this summer’s participating artists for Portland Plaza Projects, a new program of temporary public art installations in street plazas. Portland Plaza Projects seeks to bring artists with a broad range of approaches to public art to plazas across the City.
Almost 50 artists and artist teams applied for the opportunity, and five were selected to move forward with projects this summer:
The selected artists are finalizing planning for their projects this month. Look for their works and activities to pop up around Portland starting in August as well as full details on the projects in our August newsletter.
Find Summer Events and Engage
Photo provided by Shawnte Sims.
Portlanders can participate in the arts throughout the summer! Find opportunities to engage with the arts throughout our city with activities for your whole family.
Across every corner of the city, artists and arts organizations are bringing people together through live performances, exhibitions, festivals, and community celebrations. Whether you're discovering a new neighborhood, spending time with family and friends, or simply looking for inspiration, there is a local arts experience waiting for you!
Artists and arts organizations play an important role in civic dialogue and expressing ideas, perspectives, and identities. This virtual workshop can help you apply a pro-democracy narrative to your work.
The 2026 Converge 45 triennial "Here, To you, Now" centers on experiences that bring people together while celebrating the meaningful temporary communities that form around art.
The annual HeART of Portland returns to the Portland Art Museum on April 15 with a K–12 exhibition featuring more than 100 works by Portland Public Schools student artists.
"Bust of York" is on display at the Portland Art Museum! Participate in the exhibition and survey to help inform public conversations about history and monuments in Portland.
The City Life Committee meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. This meeting will include a presentation about the Future of Large-Scale Performing Arts.
Traducción e Interpretación | Biên Dịch và Thông Dịch | अनुवादन तथा व्याख्या 口笔译服务 | Устный и письменный перевод | Turjumaad iyo Fasiraad Письмовий і усний переклад | Traducere și interpretariat | Chiaku me Awewen Kapas
Translation and Interpretation: 311
The City of Portland ensures meaningful access and reasonably provides: translation, interpretation, modifications, accommodations, alternative formats, auxiliary aids and services. To request these services, call 311 for Relay Service or TTY: 711.
