Six Portland-area artists and organizations will share $546,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation's 2026 Creative Heights grants, the foundation announced Monday, Aug. 24.
The awards fund projects ranging from an Afro-Fantasy animated film co-created with elementary students to a disability-pride musical theater production.
The Portland recipients account for more than half of the $1 million distributed statewide to 12 groups, with individual grants between $35,000 and $100,000.
"Creative Heights asks artists to dream big and express what they believe matters right now to them personally and for their communities," Jerry Tischleder, OCF's senior program officer for arts and culture, said in a statement reported by Oregon ArtsWatch. "This year's projects reflect themes that resonate across Oregon and challenge us to bridge our differences."
The largest local awards, $100,000 each, went to three recipients:
- Spencer Garland for "Counter of Sheep," an immersive Afro-Fantasy animated short and extended-reality installation about ecological grief and community resilience, co-created with students at Martin Luther King Elementary and Black community members. Garland said the project feels especially timely given the increase in wildfires during summer 2026, and that his goal is to create a space where people can show up authentically in both grief and joy.
- The Independent Publishing Resource Center (318 SE Main St.) for "Radical Research: Community Archives & Publishing," a project led by poet and book-artist Harper Quinn that aims to produce 10 to 15 publications and educational programs on self-publishing, oral history and literacy.
- nūn studios, led by founder Sharita Towne, for "Inalienable AiR," a multidisciplinary residency and event series in risograph print, music and food for eight BIPOC creatives and cultural organizers across Oregon. Towne called the award an opportunity to support and be in community with creatives from around the state.
Three more Portland projects received grants:
- Dillon Simeone ($96,000) for "The Haptic Petting Zoo," a touring exhibition of kinetic sculptures that communicate through touch, vibration and thermal feedback. Simeone, an artist and design engineer, said the work is meant to be understood entirely through the skin, making touch the primary language rather than an accommodation.
- Erica Thomas ($75,000) for "The Fires That Bind Us," workshops with formerly incarcerated wildland firefighters leading to a book, art exhibition and event series about prison labor in Oregon forestry.
- PHAME Academy ($75,000) for an original rock/jukebox-style musical theater production rooted in disability pride, built through a collaborative process centered on adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Project director Laura Loy said the grant will let PHAME amplify the voices of disabled artists in Portland's arts scene.
Both PHAME and the IPRC are current City of Portland Operating Support grantees, according to city records.
A seventh Portland-connected grant of $35,000 went to Willamette University's Pacific Northwest College of Art for "Double Vision: New Perspectives on Old Town," a community art exhibition featuring four artists from Oregon's Asian cultural diaspora. Assistant director of galleries Marsha Mack called it a direct investment back into the Old Town community.
The Creative Heights program has invested roughly $1 million per year since 2014, funding 165 projects across disciplines including visual art, film, theater, music and literary arts, according to the Oregon Community Foundation.
Performance dates and exhibition openings for the funded projects have not yet been announced. Residents can follow each organization for updates as projects move into development.
