I've been very critical of how most of Portland's cultural institutions provide rungs of support and cultivate artists by being too doctriniare, conservative and overall not willing to get behind artists whose work questions the status quo by having more uncomfortable conversations (Hallie Ford Foundation and RACC you are just the tip of the iceberg but panel composition, criteria and expectations are part of it). Still, there have been improvements and strong artists do win area awards (at a ratio of say 1 out of 5 chosen, which is somewhat in keeping with the bloated, self-satisfied state of the art world. Also I do want to point out opportunities that seem to get it right aits very easy to fault area art awards as being less than fresh. Here are 3 fresh opportunities worth considering:

The annual Betty Bowen Award, administered by the Seattle Art Museum is different than most of the other area awards as artists themselves serve on the panel and the finalists make presentations (often with the work present). Artist panelists wouldn't work for the Hallie Fords as it would just perpetuate the milder tradition already in place (HFF's felt stronger in 2010 and 2013, though not enough women etc.) but in Seattle, the USA's capital of satirical snark they have a bit more appreciation for the bite that art can deliver. It is supposed to call attention to under recognized artists... a directive it follows loosely but at least there is some edge to the winners and they have avoided some of the lamer Oregon artists whose careers seemed to be calibrated to accumulating the milder awards in Oregon. Not perfect of course, no award can be. One obvious problem, The Betty Bowen still charges a $10 fee (how 1992 of you). Deadline: August 1


recent Open Signal Fellow Jaleesa Johnston

Unlike the Hallie Ford Fellowships Open Signal's much smaller but far more experimental New Media Fellowships dont focus on message over the media. These $2k fellowships repeatedly focus on video, VR, computer based and new media installation environments. They are often less academic and more innovative than other fellowships in the area. Open Signal is simply the most progressive and open of all of Portland's artist support institutions. Deadline: July 12

I like how these Kunstlerschloss Balmoral residencies are set up. There are both 3 and 9 month residencies in Germany's Rheinland and the panels refreshingly require an; art critic, museum director or curator, academician, member of the artists associations in the Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate, a visual artist, the artistic director of the Kunstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral... etc. I simply like the mix and the problem with most of the regional art awards here is there is a revolving door so that eventually the same artists are chosen by the small pool of mostly academic oriented panelists. The problem is academia in the USA and some other places has become hostile to a lot of the edgier intellectual and experiential gambits that artists might employ. Deadline: June 30