So the beleaguered Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler's city survey completely leaves out all mention of the arts as a form of civic participation. That's a tone deaf oversight (sorry Ted I believe you are a talented admin but do you know what makes Portland Portland?... clue its the permissive cultural climate, which is spearheaded by the arts). Keeping Portland's character means supporting the arts ecosystem, which is challenged like never before. That requires more than a namecheck on any document about this place. Yet it doesnt even get a mention.

So let's fix this as the survey has numerous places to chose "other" and write in responses. Do it, the squeaky wheel gets the oil so speak! How about access to and support of the arts (visual being my favorite but the varied ecosystem is crucial and I do have a deep background in other areas). For those who feel there are other more pressing matters, well that's a false dichotomy as what we need to support is depth of forms in the arts ecosystem as well as address the homeless and parks. The city doesnt do just one thing and we need all of its organs including the Arts which are kind of like the nerves and glands of the city. Losing great things like several entire colleges and studio buildings is tantamount to losing a coral reef or a rain forest. Get with it Ted, and yeah RRACC... get a clue too. For example, artists cannot get project grants if their work is presented at institutions that get operating funds from RACC... that's essentially a back door tax on the artists that are the lifeblood of the ecosystem. There are other complaints none of which have been addressed by RACC since being called out on them late last year (Since then they've drastically slashed support for many institutions... wrong direction Ted). The art scene does not accept RACC's silence on this and I'm merely one of the few with license to bring it up.

The link is here, have at it culturati. Deadline extended through May 31.