PORTLAND, Ore. — More than two dozen Oregon artists were awarded thousands of dollars in grant money to help further their careers.
The Oregon Arts Commission, along with The Ford Family Foundation, distributed about $90,000 between 28 artists. Each artist received anywhere from $400 to $11,000 to go toward exhibitions and performances.
Portland sculptor Brenda Mallory received $10,000. The grant money will allow her to create an exhibit for the Heard Museum in Phoenix.
As a full-time artist, Mallory said the past two years have been rough.
"I lost income, shows that I had were canceled or postponed," Mallory said. "You know, I lost motivation to work."
With the news of the funding, Mallory said her motivation is back. She will be able to cover assistants, supplies and labor for the exhibit.
"I think they're crucial to artists and I think artists are crucial to society, so it's a win-win situation in my opinion," Mallory said.
In order to qualify for a grant, each artist had to be at least 18 years old, an Oregon resident and they had to have some level of past success in their career.
About 60 artists sent work samples to a peer review panel before the 28 of were selected.
"We're seeing an uptick in the number of applications as people are figuring out how to operate in a COVID environment in a safe way," said Brian Rodgers, executive director of the Oregon Arts Commission.
Loo Bain, a Portland sculptor and fiber artist, received around $2,000 in grant money. It will cover a month-long residency in Iceland, and his work will be featured at Nordia House, a nonprofit cultural center in Southwest Portland.
"Having funding for artists is really helping a depleted community," Bain said.
Artists interested in funding can apply on the Oregon Arts Commission website. The deadline is March 10 and the next round of funding will go out in the summer.