“Portland punches way above its weight as a cultural capital,” says Christian Viveros-Fauné.
The Chilean-born, New York-based writer and curator is showcasing the Rose City’s rich arts community as Converge 45’s newest guest curator. Viveros-Fauné will lead programming with over 80 artists across 15 venues under the title Social Forms: Art as Global Citizenship, supported by a grant award from the Oregon Cultural Trust.
Converge 45 is committed to the region’s unique creative community and engaging with critical issues in contemporary art.
“It would be the understatement of the decade to say that I am excited about the opportunities a city-wide exhibition like Converge 45 presents,” says Viveros-Fauné.
Founded in 2016, Converge 45 seeks to enrich the region’s art community and connect it to the global contemporary arts ecology. What that means for Portland, and Oregon at large, is a deep engagement with regional art that opens dialogues with national and international conversations.
“Place is instrumental in Converge 45’s mission of highlighting Portland artists and deepening the dialogue between our local art community and the global art community,” said Executive Director Margaret Burke. “Our biennial program cannot happen anywhere else—it is specifically designed to spotlight the thought leadership, cultural capital, and creative work in Portland (to locals and non-locals) and deepen the dialogue between our arts community and the global arts community.”
As the third guest curator, Viveros-Fauné’s program will unfold over multiple venues and in collaboration with the region’s arts and cultural institutions. The main activities of Social Forms will take place in the second half of 2023 and will include local, national, and international artists.
“The challenges of our evolving moment are obvious; with Converge 45 I want to concentrate on its more critical and empathetic creative possibilities,” says Viveros-Fauné.
In addition to the sociopolitical climate today, Social Forms presents a huge strategic challenge profoundly aided by the Cultural Trust’s support.
There will be challenges.
“The sheer amount of logistical work that it takes to orchestrate a program of this scale,” said Burke. “There is a lot to consider, coordinating more than 80 artists across 15 venues and shows. With changing timelines and costs due to supply chain issues, there are also many variables that can’t be controlled. The Oregon Cultural Trust grant is a huge help for unexpected things like this, since it provides unrestricted funds that can go towards our project costs. It allows us to use the funding to support these evolving needs.”
Oregonians know just how exceptional our arts community is. Converge 45’s mission is to enrich lives through contemporary art while connecting the Pacific Northwest to the global arts community. Through Social Forms, Converge 45 will highlight and expand engagement with culture in our region. Stay tuned for more information about the exciting programs coming in 2023.
About the Oregon Cultural Trust
Since 2003, donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust have generated more than $30 million in grants to more than 1,500 cultural organizations across Oregon. The Cultural Trust has three cultural grant programs that enable broad and deep funding throughout the state: cultural development grants, direct to organizations; county and tribal coalition awards, which fund an average of 450 additional local grants each year; and cultural partner to the Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Heritage, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Humanities and the State Historic Preservation Office. All these grants are funded exclusively by Oregonians who participate in the Oregon Cultural Tax Credit. The list of FY2023 grants includes awards to 138 organizations making a difference in Oregon.
The primary way to support the Cultural Trust is to make a donation to a cultural nonprofit and then match it with a gift to the Cultural Trust. The donation qualifies Oregonians for a 100percent state tax credit in that amount.
For more information on the Oregon Cultural Trust, and to learn more about all the ways you can get involved, visit https://culturaltrust.org.
This article is in partnership with Here is Oregon.
