Keeping Vera's Funding Promise to PICA's TBA Festival

By Jesse Beason

PICA's TBA Festival has grown into an important signature event for our City. It attracts the attention of the nation and the world for all of the right reasons. It highlights the breadth of thinking in this community, the creative spirit of our people, and the role that innovation has played in making Portland much, much more than just another city in America. As Andrea Liu put it in NYArts magazine, "there is a breadth and depth of creativity here unsullied by commodification, product homogeneity and cosmopolitan ego that one would not have imagined possible."

In recognizing that such kudos are key to attracting investment, former Mayor Vera Katz began working with PICA in 2002 to develop a strategy for TBA's growth. The strength of PICA's proposal and the potential to highlight Portland's arts internationally led to Vera's commitment of $250,000 from the Mayor's Economic Development Fund. Though her health kept her from finalizing arrangements until December, her legacy wish was clear in the Spring of 2004: PICA was worth our City's two-year investment.

For these reasons, we championed fulfilling the full pledge of $250,000 with the last installment of $125,000. This investment helps ensure that the TBA Festival can continue to expand its role within our community and on the world's stage with a pivotal activity in support of the burgeoning creative economy in this city.