Oregon’s art groups get a $52M boost to revive after pandemic shutdowns

Arts and culture organizations — still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic — will see a major infusion of cash over the next three years, thanks to a plan by Oregon’s two largest arts donors and politicians.

The Oregon Community Foundation and the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation have joined with the state Legislature to provide a combined $52 million for the arts.

“This is a day of joy!” Lisa Mensah, the president of the Oregon Community Foundation, said Wednesday morning during a news conference.

Exhibitions, performances and other live art gatherings experienced seismic drops in attendance during the height of the pandemic, and the sector has been slow to revitalize.

Over the last year alone, Portland Opera announced plans to sell its headquarters to pay debts; the Artists Repertory Theatre suspended performances due to a lack of money; and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival launched a fundraiser to save its season.

Arts leaders told politicians about diminished ticket sales during this year’s legislative session and in response, lawmakers approved $11.8 million to be distributed among arts organizations.

“Oregon legislators took a major step toward building back the vibrancy of the arts in Oregon,” Mensah said. “They’re not settling for merely ‘keeping the lights on’ and neither are we. Arts are essential to what makes Oregon, Oregon.”

Mensah described the financial support as a “love letter” to the state’s arts and culture entities and a much-needed sign of belief in the institutions’ collective futures.

The $52 million is aimed at inspiring additional contributions and getting people back into theaters and art museums.

“Maybe this will be a little bit of a flywheel as we set this into effect,” said Senate President Rob Wagner, a Democrat from Lake Oswego.

Liam Kaas-Lentz, Portland Center Stage’s managing director, said the number of people who subscribe to an entire season of their plays is still down 30% since before the pandemic.

“I think what many of us had hoped to be a one- to three-year rebound has turned into a three- to six-year rebuild of the entire sector,” he said.

After theaters were closed for one-and-a-half years, he said, audiences fell out of the habit of subscribing to a whole season.

He thinks Portland Center Stage will get close to $2 million from this deal over the next three years, “All of it is for general operating support. To make up for that 30%.”

The Oregon Community Foundation and local arts leaders have drawn-up a strategy to disburse the money and will tell potential grantees soon.

According to a recent report from the nonprofit Americans for the Arts, Oregon’s arts sector generated about $830 million in 2022.

The state ranks 41st in the nation for spending on the arts per capita, according to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

“The arts are an economic driver throughout our state, providing a huge boost to restaurants, shops, and businesses,” said Carrie Hoops, executive director of the Miller Foundation.

“A diverse ecology of arts organizations brings us together and inspires creative expression in each vibrant and unique community across Oregon,” Hoops said.

Editor’s note: The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation is a funder of OPB.