OREGON CULTURAL TRUST AWARDS GRANTS TO COOS ART MUSEUM, COASTAL CULTURAL COALITIONS

The Oregon Cultural Trust Board, at its quarterly meeting in The Dalles July 26, granted a total of $502,552 in competitive cultural development grants, along with its annual coalition and partner grants, including a grant of $4,800 to the Coos Art Museum on the Oregon Coast.

The grant to CAM will support the presentation of the 15th National Exhibition of the American Society of Maritime Artists (ASMA) from March 22 - May 18, 2013.

According to Operations Assistant Janice Keller, the Coos Art Museum is one of seven in the United States to show this exhibit, a prestigious distinction that will raise the museum's profile. "Our name is out there coast to coast now," said Keller, who noted that the museum will have a place in all ASMA's national advertising and marketing materials around the exhibit. "We are the only venue on the West Coast that has been selected to participate," she said.

The museum will host its own 19th Annual maritime artists' exhibit concurrently with the national show.  Keller says that the regional show attracts "upward of 2,000 visitors," and the national show "will bring in that many more."

Deryl Bebe, the museum's financial manager says the economic impact of the exhibit will be big for Coos Bay. "We know that when a dollar is spent here it travels around (the community). When visitors come here, they eat, sleep, visit the beaches, and other museums," said Bebe.

Bebe is excited about the Cultural Trust grant. "(It means) the Cultural Trust has that faith in us, that they know this will help keep the museum alive - for us and for out of town visitors," she said.

In addition, Oregon Cultural Trust awarded $55,368 in cultural participation grants to the cultural and tribal coalitions of the coastal region, including Clatsop, Coos, Curry, Lincoln, and Tillamook Counties, the Coquille Indian Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw.

The Oregon Cultural Trust is a private-public partnership that raises money from private donors and Cultural Trust license plate sales, and distributes 42% of private donations as grants, while building a permanent fund with the remaining 58%. Over the last 10 years since its inception, the Trust's unique Cultural Tax Credit has allowed the organization to raise over $25million and grant $11million to non-profits all over the state. Grant funded cultural programming has served over 500,000 people, with a significant impact on education, economic development and quality of life in Oregon.

According to Cultural Trust Board Chair Bob Speltz, "Over its 10 year history, The Trust has received an increasing number of relevant, competitive proposals from all corners of the state. (And) 2012 was no exception."

Said Keller of CAM, "The Cultural Trust grant means we are being recognized as economic and cultural force in our community. Support from the Trust means they have a belief that we are giving back, not just locally but statewide and now nationally." 

Cultural Trust Executive Director Chris D'Arcy is pleased with the outcome of the 2013 granting process. "This year's grants represent the variety and vitality of Oregon culture," she said.  "From Wallowa County to the Oregon Coast, the Trust is funding projects that reflect who we are, what shapes our communities and what we value."