The search committee has identified finalists in the search for the next executive director of the Oregon Arts Commission/Oregon Cultural Trust and the public is invited to meet them and provide feedback to the committee. Pending the finalists' availability, community forums will be held on Monday, June 2, in Salem and Portland. The Portland forum is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon in the Oregon Historical Society Pavilion, 1200 SW Park Ave, and the Salem forum will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the State Lands Board Room, 775 Summer St. NE. Light refreshments will be served.  An online tool for collecting feedback on the finalists will be shared at the forums.

Strategic Partner Spotlight: Oregon Humanities

 

A conversation with

Adam Davis, Executive Director

Oregon Humanities

oregonhumanities.org

 

What is Oregon Humanities' mission?

We're in the business of building civic infrastructure - not roads and buildings but habits and practices of listening, thinking and talking with one another. Our vision is an Oregon that invites diverse perspectives, explores challenging questions and strives for just communities. 

 

 

How does your partnership with the Oregon Arts Commission benefit your work?

Sometimes with and sometimes independent of the Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Humanities works across the state to draw out and stir up imagination, reflection, empathy and hope in all of us. OAC and OH put on grant workshops together, cooperate on statewide activities like the Oregon Poet Laureate program, and generally aim to help people around the state build vibrant, connected communities. To oversimplify the conceptual foundations of the relationship between OAC and OH, OAC supports and attends to making and learning about arts, while OH supports and attends to making meaning. This means we're first cousins, or even siblings.

 

Click here to see some upcoming Oregon Humanities events and activities.

Art in Action:

      

Does art keep our brains young? A special collaboration between Geezer Gallery and Oregon Health Sciences University aims to quantify the impact of art activity on brain function. Called "Vibrant Elders/ Capturing Time," the project uses special sensors to track the activity levels of seniors before, during and after intensive, multi-disciplinary art therapy. Supported by an Arts Build Communities grant, the project will evaluate the efficacy of art therapy for elders with and without cognitive impairment by measuring changes associated with depression, anxiety, loneliness and social engagement during and after art therapy.

   

"Vibrant Elders/Capturing Time" will be part of an Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) exhibit opening June 6. In addition, it has captured the attention of the National Center for Creative Aging -- Geezer Gallery has been asked to present at its national conference June 10-14 in Washington, D.C. Pictured: Elders taking part in Geezer Gallery's therapeutic arts programs.