CommissionerSam.com - Regional Arts & Culture Council

OPB Thurs. May 22nd--Art Beat: Everybody's Art!

Pollyanne Birge — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:03:07 -0700

opb

Thurs May 22nd: OPB's Everybody's Art

at 8:00 on OPB channel 10

Public art in Oregon: our statewide "gallery" of art that's accessible to all.
More than 30 years ago Oregon was one of the first states to commit consistent funding to public art. Thanks to Regional Arts and Culture Council's (RACC) 'Percent for Art' program Oregon is home to a collection of more than 2,500 pieces of art funded by us, the public.

Add to that the thousands of works that have been privately funded and it's hard to go through a day without passing a fountain, mural, sculpture or some other piece of public art. But who's creating public art and caring for it once it's been installed? What impact does public art have on communities, on you?

Start to answer these questions for yourself by watching Everybody's Art, join the conversation about public art with Think Out Loud on OPB Radio. Then get out and explore public art in your neighborhood and around the state using RACC's public art map.

Art in Our Future: Youth Art Show at City Hall!

Pollyanne Birge — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:17:18 -0700

. ..

Art in our Future:

City Hall Youth Art Show

Thursday May 1st 5-7pm

City Hall 1221 SW 4th

FREE and Open to the Public

Featuring work from:

* Buckman Arts Focus School

* The Children's Healing Art Project

* Young, Gifted, and Black Art Competition in collaboration with the African American Visual Arts Scholarship project.

Performances by:

* Buckman Chorus
* Buckman Marimba Ensemble
* Boys Dance Group, (led by Keith Goodman)

From painting and drawing to sculpture and performance, the night's spotlight will be firmly focused on the rich talent of Portland's young artists. City Hall is excited to open its gallery space for the next generation of creative thinkers to exhibit their amazing work!

Free refreshments, delicious food, youth produced art and great performance-be sure not to miss this event!

Partner Descriptions:

* Buckman Elementary School Arts Focus, a Portland Public School located in inner Southeast Portland, offers an innovative arts-integrated academic curriculum, in addition to intensive arts classes in dance, drama and music, and visual art. At Buckman, Portland's premier arts elementary school, students internalize their academic learning through these varied forms of creative self-expression, resulting in increased self-esteem, absorption of academic material, creative thinking, and understanding and acceptance of the self. Combining a love of the arts with high academic achievement, Buckman is both a neighborhood school and arts focus option program that is open for admission to all elementary students in Portland. Buckman was recently given the Creative Ticket School of Excellence Award by the Oregon Alliance for Arts Education in conjunction with the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network.

Children's Healing Art Project (CHAP) brings the healing power of art to children in crisis and their families with a mobile team of teaching artists working in Portland's children's hospitals.

CHAP has created art classes tailored to the needs of the children we serve in each partner facility: Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Shriners Hospital for Children, Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital & at Art Club (CHAP's out-of-hospital art camp in our Pearl District studio). In 2007, CHAP served over 5,000 children & their families. CHAP offers one-on-one classes for children in isolation and group classes in playrooms, lobbies and waiting rooms. CHAP classes include drawing, painting, sculpture, computer animation, mask making and jewelry. CHAP classes offer a place where nervous energy is transformed into creative energy. Our common language is based in the creative process of making art, which crosses all gender, age, and cultural, religious and ethnic boundaries. CHAP classes offer an art experience that engages and inspires -- where children can be seen for their artistic talents and not for their disease, diagnosis or disability. CHAP is a 501 (c-3) non-profit.

* African American Visual Arts Scholarship:
Visual Arts express the hopes, dreams and history of a people. As guardians of memory and gatekeepers of history, artists are often silently at the heart of resistance and revolution, consciously and unconsciously responsible for changes that have shaped our world. The artist is at once a griot, a teacher, a philosopher. African American Visual Arts Scholarships was created to recognize and support developing African American artists.
www.aavas.com

Young, Gifted, and Black Art Competition:
African-American/African Diaspora high school students 14-19 years of age from the Portland Metro area in Public, Charter, Private, Alternative or Home School.
To encourage the study of a rich cultural history as a living legacy and inspire the creation of original works of art.
Throughout time, the study and knowledge of history has given artists a foundation to fashion their visions as they chronicled and interpreted past and present people, places and events.
Each entry will be accompanied by a typed 100-200 word essay/outline from readings that provide the basis for your art.

Tonight! Art Spark Thursday March 20th

Pollyanne Birge — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:19:15 -0700

Every Third Thursday

Tonight March 20th--Join us at Art Spark!

Living Room Theaters 5-7pm

Click here to RSVP

Art Spark Mission:

A Monthly Mingling of Artists of All Sorts to Meet, Discuss, Blather, Applaud, & Plot the Growth of the Arts in Portland.

Join us for this monthly meeting to encourage conversation and advocacy in the creative community. The events are every 3rd Thursday--so if you can't make this one--put next month's on your calendar!

The Art Spark event is a way to continue the work of the Creative Capacity Strategy, which has been ramping up efforts starting with last year's Creative Capacity Town Hall, roundtable discussions, and the work of both the CC strategy and steering committees.

Living Room Theaters

Special thanks to: Courtney Spousta, Christi Denton, the Regional Arts and Cultural Council, and the Living Room Theatres who is graciously hosting the event.

A New Film about Working Together to Change Young Lives

Kimberly Schneider — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:02:50 -0800

In case you missed Second Chance - a film about changing young lives created by youth in the Multnomah County juvenile justice system - you can watch it here.

In 2005 Worksystems Inc. (the non-profit entity dedicated to workforce investment and training) in partnership with local employers, designed and launched a career exposure program called WorkSuccess for Portland area at-risk youth. Worksystems obtained funding for this pilot career exposure pathway program from the US Department of Labor and operates the program through regional alternative schools and youth providers.

In 2007, Worksystems partnered with the Northwest Film Center's Young Filmmakers Program, Multnomah County Department of Community Justice, Juvenile Services Division, and the Multnomah County Percent for Art Program to engage teenagers from the juvenile justice system to make a film about WorkSuccess.

Unlocking our Creative Capacity

Jesse Beason — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:18:10 -0800

Creativity helps make Portland a better place to live, a stronger competitor in the global marketplace and an incubator of innovation.

Strengthening our capacity to create and innovate has tremendous potential to contribute more to our community economically, socially and educationally. In the past few years, some have even argued this capacity is fundamental to our success in a globalized marketplace.

But there are alarming trends in the crucial elements that fuel creativity in our community:

arts education has disappeared for many of our children;
local arts & culture organizations, while receiving national attention, receive 32% less in corporate, foundation, government and individual support than similar sized cities;
our investments in growing the markets for are paltry.

In response to these alarming trends, Sam is helping lead a group of stakeholders throughout the region who are looking at sustainable strategies to fund the arts and culture programs that contribute to our children's education, our economy and our vitality.

The purpose of the Creative Capacity Strategy is to build and support a sustainable creative community through prioritized strategies with clear costs and achievable ways to fund them.

Related Documents

Creative Capacity Website

Community Partners

Our blog

Grow Arts & Culture: Things you can do

Jesse Beason — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:37:55 -0800

Did you know that our cultural organizations receive 32% less in corporate, foundation, government and individual support than similar sized cities like St. Louis, Cincinnati, Kansas City and Pittsburgh?

We all benefit from a higher quality of life thanks to the impact our local arts & cultural organizations have on our community. As the holiday season unfolds and another year draws to a close, there are steps you can take right now to help ensure a stronger, more vibrant creative community in 2008:

Fill out the Creative Capacity survey. Stakeholders throughout the region are looking at sustainable strategies to fund arts and culture programs. Please take 3 minutes to fill out the survey and let us know what you think.

Become a member of your favorite arts organization. Did you know that most cultural organizations only receive less than 50% of their budget from ticket revenue, and less than 2% from local government support? Memberships and contributions help these organizations present their exceptional programs while bringing music, dance, theater, film, visual arts, literary arts, and fold arts into our neighborhoods, schools, and community centers.

Tickets and memberships also make great gifts. Visit the RACC online calendar online to see what’s being produced and presented in the tri-county region over the next few months.

Support local artists. During this holiday season buy artwork at galleries and local art bazaars. RACC has created an online listing of art fairs and bazaars to get you started.

Support more than 75 local arts organizations with a single gift. Your contribution to Work for Art will be matched by a consortium of government partners and passed on 100% to arts organizations through RACC grants in 2008. In appreciation of your gift of $60 or more, you will receive an Arts Card, which provides a full year of 2-for-1 tickets and other discounts at hundreds of local arts events. www.workforart.org.

Take the tax credit. Please take a moment to add up all of the contributions you’ve made to arts and culture this year, and make matching gift to the Oregon Cultural Trust before December 31st.

When you do, you will receive a tax credit of up to $500 per individual ($1,000 for couples or $2,500 for corporations) when you file your 2007 taxes. Unlike a tax deduction, which reduces the amount of your taxable income, a tax credit reduces the amount of tax you owe – dollar for dollar!

Kick it to culture! The Oregon Cultural Trust and Portland Center for Performing Arts invite you to a spirited party to celebrate Oregon's art, culture and humanities.

Cost of admission? Just make a gift of ANY size to one or more of the many arts & culture nonprofits who'll be with us at the party. Then, make a matching gift to the Oregon Cultural Trust. Use part of your state kicker check to "kick some dollars to culture!"Kick It To Culture

Kick it to Culture!
Monday, December 10, 2007 5:30 - 8:00 pm
Portland Center for the Performing Arts
1111Broadway at Main
Info: [503]986-0088 [Salem]
Please RSVP online here

Hosted food, drink, entertainment and prizes.

Attend community conversations about arts education in the region

Jesse Beason — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:21:35 -0700

Area residents are invited to participate in a series of community meetings to help plan Arts Partners, a new vision for integrating arts and culture into every classroom in the Portland metropolitan area. Each of the following gatherings is designed to identify the educational priorities of the community, essential to the development of a mutually agreed upon agenda for arts education in the region.

October 18, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Rosa Parks School, Library, 8960 N Woolsey, Portland, RSVP here.
October 23, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Beaverton City Library, Meeting Room B, 12375 SW 5th Street, Beaverton, RSVP here.
October 24, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Center for Advanced Learning, Forum (Room 220), 1484 NW Civic Drive, Gresham, RSVP here.
October 29, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Community Music Center, Auditorium, 3350 SE Francis Street, Portland, RSVP here.
October 30, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Hollywood Library, 4040 NE Tillamook Street, Portland, RSVP here.
November 5, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Multnomah Arts Center, Auditorium, 7688 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, RSVP here.
November 7, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Walters Cultural Arts Center, Theater, 527 E Main Street, Hillsboro, RSVP here.
November 8, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Alder Creek Middle School, Library, 13801 SE Webster Road, Milwaukie, RSVP here.

Arts Partners is a collaborative initiative involving the Regional Arts and Culture Council, NW Business for Culture and the Arts, Young Audiences of Oregon and SW Washington, the City of Portland, Multnomah and Clackamas Counties and five local school districts including Beaverton, Gresham-Barlow, Hillsboro, North Clackamas and Portland.

In August, nearly 200 educators, artists, business leaders and community members attended a public unveiling of the Portland Metro Arts Partners initiative at the Gerding Theatre. Gigi Antoni and Gina Thorsen from Dallas, Texas, shared their successful arts education model entitled Big Thought, which has been in place for 10 years. Big Thought has chosen Portland as the only city they will mentor in 2007-08 to develop a similar local program.

Come to the Come Back Fair!

Daniel Ronan — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:15:11 -0700

Portland Public Schools, in collaboration with the Portland Schools Foundation and the alternative educational options are sponsoring a Come Back Fair.

The Come Back Fair is an opportunity for youth that are no longer in school to get back on track and find an educational program that fits their needs.

It's a one-day event (Saturday, September 8), held at Holladay Park, and youth can stop by anytime between 12 pm - 5 pm. The 20+ alternative educational options that PPS provides will be represented, and other service providers will be there as well.

It's like one-stop shopping for youth thinking about dropping back in; they can investigate the different options that are available to them and connect with the programs that best fit their needs.

It'll be a fun event, and the whole family is welcome. Lots of free food will be available.

Jammin' 95.5 will be present along with local youth bands. There will be also be a raffle, with chances to win i-pods, a bike, Nike gear, a $100 Adidas gift certificate, and many other great prizes.

Everything is free and open to the public.

Come to the Come Back Fair and get back on track!

What will it take to unlock Portland’s full creative capacity?

Sam Adams — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:36:34 -0700

Not enough money.

Making our creative community even better will take more than just finding more money for the effort. But, it is a lot about finding more money from the public and private sector.

Thank you to all who attended last night's Creative Capacity Townhall. Over 350 people attended the event, representing many of the established and emerging businesses and arts organizations in the region.

Our discussion was an important starting point for forging the creative community into an effective advocacy group.

Thank you for your collective enthusiastic response to this call to action. Keep your ideas coming below. If you're looking for the powerpoint presentation, you can download it here (as a PDF or PPT). In the coming days we'll get the whole townhall uploaded here for you to view.

We will invite you to the next Creative Capacity Townhall in the fall after we have completed public opinion research and a series of smaller group discussions about specific topics.

In the meantime, get your colleagues, friends and patrons to sign up at: CreativeCapacity.org.

A tremendous thanks to the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Northwest Business for Culture in the Arts, and the Portland Development Commission.

Click for responses from the Creative Capacity Town Hall Exit Survey

Special thanks as well to our hosts last night: The Gerding Theatre at the Armory and Vibrant Table.

To action! To advocacy! To art!

Sam

Contact your state legislator & tell them to support CHAMP: Funding for Culture, History, Art, Movies & Preservation

Sam Adams — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 20:04:16 -0700

These are the remarks I gave today speaking at the noontime "CHAMP" (Culture, History, Art, Movies and Preservation) rally on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon.

"I am Sam Adams and I am proud to be Portland Arts and Culture Commissioner.

Just like parks, police, social services, housing and transportation, funding for arts and culture should be part of what we define as a basic government service.

And as you have already heard from some very eloquent speakers, but it bears repeating, funding for arts and culture is good for the economy by bringing family-wage jobs to this state.

And as Senator Brad Avakian just said, arts and culture in public education means that kids learn better and faster in all subjects; it's a good deal.

Finally, arts and culture serves as the mirror and sounding board for our individual growth as human beings - and for every community across Oregon. It is essential to our "humanness" as a state.

For far too long arts and culture funding has been treated as a luxury -- something we fund if we have extra money. Well, this Governor and First Lady Mary Oberst and the state legislators standing behind me are trying to change that.

They deserve our support they deserve the support of Oregonians across this state. Thank you."

Please contact your state legislator tell them to support CHAMP, Governor Kulongoski's $10.9 million investment package for arts and culture.

Updated: The Theme at Central North East Neighbors is Safety.

Shoshanah Oppenheim — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:30:21 -0800

Residents of the Central North East Neighborhood Coalition discussed their safety concerns at the budget town hall meeting Monday night. Unsafe intersections, unprotected pedestrian crossings, unmarked islands and poor pedestrian routes were primary concerns of residents in the district that spans the Cully, Rose City Park, Sumner, Hollywood, Beaumont-Wilshire, Roseway, Madison-South and Sunderland Neighborhoods.

Sam and Clarence Larkins, President of 42nd Avenue Business AssoicationCommissioner Adams clearly stated that his top priority is safety; when having to choose between dangerous intersections and unimproved roads, he will choose to spend money to save lives.

Neighbors highlighted many intersections they felt were unsafe and asked pointed questions about the plans both PDOT and BES had for the community. They discussed their traffic safety concerns and the impact of the CSO project on sewer rates.

We met in the district firehouse, which houses a sculpture byEverday Hero by Bill Will, housed at Central North East Firehouse Bill Will titled Everyday Hero. The sculpture was constructed in relief of hundreds of common objects, inspiring us to see the heroes all around us. Region Arts and Culture Council (RACC) has awarded grants to the Central North East Coalition district for music classes, theater productions, performance art and the 2007 Disability Pride Art and Culture Festival. For more information about RACC or how to take advantage of the grant program, go to www.racc.org.

Watch the budget town hall here.....src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=1050787959127685434&hl=en" style="width: 400px; height: 326px" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash">

Below are constituent questions from the meeting and answers from BES.

1. How can we get the Columbia Slough to qualify for a Green Street pilot program?
There has been a green street in the Slough area at 131st & NE Fremont for more than a year, and the Bureau is currently scoping another green street project on NE Shaver. Scaling up to a broader green streets program will be most effective in areas where significant redevelopment is occurring, and will be greatly enhanced by additional federal funding, which the Bureau is currently seeking.

2. Can we work together to come up with a better vision than a big box for the former landfill at 82nd and Siskiyou?
Yes. In fact, there may well be alternatives more attractive than sewer facilities, which would argue for broadening the participation further.

3. Can you explain Clean River Rewards?
Clean River Rewards is Portland's stormwater discount program. When you manage stormwater on your property, you can qualify for as much as a 35% discount on your stormwater management charge. There are many resources available for finding out more about the program. You can get more information about the program and even register online at www.CleanRiverRewards.com. Homeowners can also register by calling the Clean River Rewards hotline at 503-823-1371.
The Bureau also conducts Clean River Workshops around the city to show homeowners how to manage stormwater on-site and how to register for the program. A list of locations and a schedule is available online at the website.

4. Why are Portland environmental costs exceeding those of Gresham?
A large part of Portland's system consists of combined sewers that overflow to the Willamette River when it rains. The City is spending $1.4 billion to control these overflows. Gresham's sewer system does not require comparable work.

5. Is it viable to sell sewage for fertilizer?
The Bureau has in the past operated a composting facility, but has discontinued that activity in favor of biosolids application to rangeland in eastern Oregon. Land application is a sustainable, cost-effective alternative for the Bureau. Although we do not sell the biosolids applied to the rangeland, the cost savings relative to composting far exceed the loss in revenue.

6. Why don't we charge developers a higher percentage of the CSO price tag?
System Development Charges (SDCs) are charges paid by new development connecting to the sewer system. The only costs that can legally be collected in Oregon exclusively from new development are sewer facility costs necessary to accommodate that development. CSO costs do not qualify, since they are necessary to change the existing system. New development does pay a share of these facility costs through SDCs but only proportional to the portion of system capacity that they use.

7. When we are done paying for CSO will we be able to enjoy the Willamette?
When CSO controls are complete in 2011, the quality of the water in the Willamette River leaving Portland will be at least as good as the quality of the water entering Portland. While this should mean that the river can be enjoyed a greater percentage of the time than in the past, upstream water quality issues will still be a matter of concern.

8. Who audits expenses?
The Auditor's office periodically examines City bureau programs, but rotates these audits across bureaus from year to year. The Bureau of Environmental Services has in the past worked with the Auditor's Office and outside firms to audit selected construction contracts. In addition, the Bureau hired an outside firm for a management and cost audit on the West Side CSO Project.

ates for the remaining budget meetings are posted at www.commissionersam.com/node/1954. See Portland Community Media for telecast listings.

Relevant Documents

PDOT One Time Requests for improvements to the Central Northeast Neighborhood Coalition district.

PDOT Capitol Improvement Projects for the Central North East Neighborhood Collation Districts

BES Budget Overview

The Regional Arts & Culture Council to Offer Artists Workshops in 2007

Guest Author — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 11:35:18 -0800

Eloise Damrosch is the Executive Director of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Starting in January 2007, the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) will be offering professional development workshops for working artists in all disciplines. These workshops are offered as part of RACC's commitment to provide relevant and inexpensive learning opportunities that help artists become more successful in their careers.

Six professional development workshops will be presented from January to June, including sessions on public art, marketing, fabrication processes, legal issues, grant writing and new media formatting. RACC staff, along with highly qualified specialists in their fields, will be leading these presentations. The following is a schedule of workshops that will be offered in the Portland area, and preparations are underway to repeat some of these workshops later in the year for artists in Washington and Clackamas Counties. To register for RACC Workshops go to www.racc.org/workshops.

Friday, January 19, 2007 from 9:00 A.M. to noon
Artists Wanted: Public Art from A to Z

RACC's public art managers Peggy Kendellen and Kristin Calhoun review the process of applying for a commission from the City of Portland's 2% for Art Program and Multnomah County's 1.33% for Art Program. Participants will be guided through successful application examples, reviewing - 2 - budgets, timelines, and architectural issues associated with publicly funded capital construction projects. Location: Portland Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 1120 SW 5th, Portland, OR, 97204. Fee: $15.

Friday, February 16, 2007 from 9:00 AM to noon
The Balancing Act: Making Art and Making Money

This marketing workshop is specifically designed to help working artists in every discipline promote and/or sell their work. A panel of marketing experts including Carolyn Campbell, Bob Sterry, and Bonnie Meltzer will share their perspectives on marketing, and how artists can clarify their niche and market, create specific marketing plans, and design an effective website. Location: Portland Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium, 1120 SW 5th, Portland, OR, 97204. Fee: $25.

Saturday, March 17, 2007 from 9:00 AM to noon
Making Art/Work for a Public Space: the Ins and Outs of Public Art Fabrication

Learn how studio work can be fabricated for the public realm using permanent materials. The workshop will feature an interactive panel discussion with artists, fabricators and conservators who will address selecting the right materials for a project, appropriate fabrication processes for specific media and installation concerns. Following the discussion, artists will have time to talk with local fabricators who will be available to discuss their processes and provide information about their services. Location: New Columbia Community Education Center, 4625 N. Trenton, Portland, OR 97203. Fee: $25.

Friday, April 20, 2007 from 9:00 AM to noon
Legal Issues for Artists

Portland's own Art Cop and President of Northwest Lawyers and Artists, Attorney Kohel M. Haver discusses a variety of legal issues facing today's creative entrepreneur (artist). In this three hour session specially tailored for film makers, recording artists, literary artists, and visual artists, participants will review several types of artist contracts and business documents - including consignment agreements, copyright protection, litigation and fair use. Location: Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N Interstate Ave, Portland, OR, 97217. Fee: $25.

Friday, May 18, 2007 from 9:00 AM to noon
Grantwriting for Success

In this hands-on workshop Gigi Rosenberg leads artists through the grant writing process. Learn techniques for generating fresh language to describe yourself and your artwork. Discover methods to focus ideas, hone an artistic vision and secure funding for that next project. Please bring your artist's statement, if you have one, and start writing that next grant during this workshop. - 3 - Location: Portland State University, Smith Memorial Student Union, SW Park Avenue and Montgomery, Portland, OR, 97207. Fee: $25.

Friday, June 29, 2007 from 9:00 AM to noon
Going Digital: Submitting Application Materials in New Media Formats

Confused about the differences between JPG, TIF, PICT and other image formats? Unsure of which format is best for grant or public art applications? RACC staff will cover standard requirements for submitting music and other data on CD and video on DVD. Learn the best ways to format images, video and written materials and how to label and organize these images for readability. There will be two hours of hands-on activity where participants will learn to format digital images to meet general standards for projection and playback. Location: Art Institute of Portland, 1122 NW Davis, Portland, OR, 97209. Fee: $15.

Registration is now open, and space is limited. To Register online go to www.racc.org/workshops. A 20% discount will be available to artists who subscribe to the entire series. For more information email info@racc.org or call 503.823.4698.

Thomas Friedman is not ready to Cede the 21st Century to China Yet...

Jane Ames — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 10:45:35 -0800

Thomas Friedman has written an interesting column about the education goals necessary for the global economy that exists today. Competence, skill and creativity will be crucial for thriving in an economy that can scan the globe to find the least expensive resources and labor. A continuing committment to learning and changing will serve us well as individuals and as a community.

The New York Times

December 13, 2006
Op-Ed Columnist
Learning to Keep Learning
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

I recently attended an Asia Society education seminar in Beijing, during which we heard Chinese educators talk about their "new national strategy." It's to make China an "innovation country" - with enough indigenous output to advance China "into the rank of innovation-oriented countries by 2020," as Shang Yong, China's vice minister of science and technology, put it.

I listened to this with mixed emotions. Part of me said: "Gosh, wouldn't it be nice to have a government that was so focused on innovation - instead of one that is basically anti-science." My other emotion was skepticism. Oh, you know the line: Great Britain dominated the 19th century, America dominated the 20th and now China is going to dominate the 21st. It's game over.

Sorry, but I am not ready to cede the 21st century to China yet.

No question, China has been able to command an impressive effort to end illiteracy, greatly increasing its number of high school grads and new universities. But I still believe it is very hard to produce a culture of innovation in a country that censors Google - which for me is a proxy for curtailing people's ability to imagine and try anything they want. You can command K-12 education. But you can't command innovation. Rigor and competence, without freedom, will take China only so far. China will have to find a way to loosen up, without losing control, if it wants to be a truly innovative nation.

But while China can't thrive without changing a lot more, neither can we. Ask yourself this: If the Iraq war had not dominated our politics, what would our last election have been about? It would have been about this question: Why should any employer anywhere in the world pay Americans to do highly skilled work - if other people, just as well educated, are available in less developed countries for half our wages?

If we can't answer this question, in an age when more and more routine work can be digitized, automated or offshored, including white-collar work, "it is hard to see how, over time, we are going to be able to maintain our standard of living," says Marc Tucker, who heads the National Center on Education and the Economy.

There is only one right answer to that question: In a globally integrated economy, our workers will get paid a premium only if they or their firms offer a uniquely innovative product or service, which demands a skilled and creative labor force to conceive, design, market and manufacture - and a labor force that is constantly able to keep learning. We can't go on lagging other major economies in every math/science/reading test and every ranking of Internet penetration and think that we're going to field a work force able to command premium wages. Freedom, without rigor and competence, will take us only so far.

Tomorrow, Mr. Tucker's organization is coming out with a report titled "Tough Choices or Tough Times," which proposes a radical overhaul of the U.S. education system, with one goal in mind: producing more workers - from the U.P.S. driver to the software engineer - who can think creatively.

"One thing we know about creativity is that it typically occurs when people who have mastered two or more quite different fields use the framework in one to think afresh about the other," said Mr. Tucker. Thus, his report focuses on "how to make that kind of thinking integral to every level of education."

That means, he adds, revamping an education system designed in the 1900s for people to do "routine work," and refocusing it on producing people who can imagine things that have never been available before, who can create ingenious marketing and sales campaigns, write books, build furniture, make movies and design software "that will capture people's imaginations and become indispensable for millions."

That can't be done without higher levels of reading, writing, speaking, math, science, literature and the arts. We have no choice, argues Mr. Tucker, because we have entered an era in which "comfort with ideas and abstractions is the passport to a good job, in which creativity and innovation are the key to the good life" and in which the constant ability to learn how to learn will be the only security you have.

Economics is not like war. It can be win-win. We, China, India and Europe can all flourish. But the ones who flourish most will be those who develop the best broad-based education system, to have the most people doing and designing the most things we can't even imagine today. China still has to make some very big changes to get there - but so do we.

Oregon Literary Arts is a Winner

Maria Thi Mai — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 10:27:11 -0800

George W Sr Aguilar won the Sarah Winnemucca award for creative nonfictionLast Friday night, Sam and I joined hundreds of other book enthusiasts to honor Oregon writers at the 20th Annual Oregon Literary Arts Book Awards at the Oregon Art Museum. We began the evening with Barry Lopez who spoke eloquently about the evening's full moon and community of the landscape.

Literary Arts wrote that "The ceremony celebrated the state's finest authors and nearly 500 people attended, including State Senator and Oregon Cultural Trust board member Ben Westlund, Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams, and many past recipients of Oregon Book Awards and Oregon Literary Fellowships. " Click here to read more.

"See and Be Seen" Bike Light Public Service Safety Campaign Shines

Maria Thi Mai — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:02:10 -0800

Bikers- Light up! Drivers-Be aware!On November 30th, Sam launched Portland's first Bike Light Parade at the Community Cycling Center. This parade kicked off our winter cycling safety campaign, "See and Be Seen." We brightened up a chilly Alberta Street Last Thursday with an array of bike lights, Christmas lights, reflective gear, glow sticks, and more. Although Sam's bike was bright enough to leave you seeing spots, he had some serious competition in the all of the "Best and the Brightest" contest categories. Any bike that arrived without proper lighting departed with a free set of front and back lights installed by Jeff Bernards, the founder and operator of the Get Lit campaign.

Last night was also the unveiling the "See and Be Seen" campaign logo that will begin showing up around town in mid-December. Tri-met is donating space on bus backs, bus shelters, channel cards, and bench backs for the next 8 weeks. The public service announcement is aimed at both drivers and bikers. The ads mean to remind drivers to ‘see' bikes and bikers to ‘be seen' by lighting up -- a simple concept that can have detrimental consequences if overlooked.Brightly colored cycles of all shapes and sizes rode down Alberta Street for the Bike Light Parade

The campaign has received enthusiastic support from the community. In addition to Tri-met's generous donation of advertising space, PGE, Hoffman Construction, NW Natural Gas, OHSU, and the Alliance for Community Traffic (Acts Oregon) are all sponsors for the public service announcement. Many local bike shops are offering discounts on reflective and winter cycling gear for those who attend "See and Be Seen" events. The BTA, the Community Cycling Center, Shift2bikes, GetLit, and bikeportland.org also deserve a big kudos for their participation and support.

These signs can also be seen inside buses and bus sheltersLook for the "See and Be Seen" advertisements and for more bike light events. And more importantly, keep an eye out for bikes when driving and light up your ride when cycling after dark.

You can learn more about the kickoff by clicking on the "See and Be See" video link on the KOIN News 6 website or through Katu News 2's article on the event.