April 14. 2010
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Page 15
C lassifieds
To Place Your Classified Advertisement
Contact:
Phone: 503-288-0033
Fax: 503-288-0015
e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com
Volunteer Supervisor (half time) for Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASAs)
Half-time Volunteer Supervisor needed for the Multnomah County
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program.
CASA for Children seeks an experienced child welfare/human
services professional to supervise & support volunteer Court
Appointed Special Advocates working with abused children.
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Music instructors and students from the non-profit Ethos, Inc. line up outside the Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center for a group photo as the music education group makes a bid to take over the community
venue from a failing theater and arts gallery. Pictured are (front row, from left) Harmon Laurin, Michele
Anderson and Michelle Boss Barba; (second row, from left) Charles Lewis, Jedidiah Chavez and Daniel
Santiago; (third row, from left) Betsy Brumm, Beatriz Santiago and Luis Romero; and (fourth row, from
eft) Patrick York, Wanda Wright, Peter van der Meulen and Amy Vanacore.
Rescue Bid
co n tin u ed ¿ ^ J r o m F ron t
c a te d on th e c o rn e r o f N o rth
K illingsw orth Street and W illiam s
A venue, is financially healthy, and
already has m any has close ties to
IFC C , w hich it considered m erging
w ith five years ago.
Portland Parks and R ecreation
ow ns the building, and has co n ­
tracted w ith IFC C to m anage the
space. It’s currently looking for a
n e w te n a n t, a c c o rd in g to P P R
spokesperson Beth Sorenson. A t
press tim e, she d id n ’t know how
m any, if any, other groups had a p ­
plied or had plans to occupy the
space. H ow ever, she did say that
PPR is looking for som eone w ho will
carry on the IF C C ’s m ission.
M uch o f the spotlight has fo­
cused on the IFC C 's long-standing
financial w oes and unsteady lead­
ership, follow ing the new s that it
c o u ld n ’t keep its doors open.
B ut the center- w hich w as estab­
lished in 1982 by the C harles Jordan,
P o rtla n d ’s first A frican A m erican
city com m issioner- has bee a p re­
em inent place for em erging artists,
particularly artists o f color, to show ­
case their w ork, hone their skills,
and gain exposure.
T he atm osphere is som ber, as
s ta ff m em bers put cardboard on the
e d g e s o f p a in tin g s th a t o n c e
adorned the w alls ju s t a few w eeks
ago. B oxes containing w orks o f art
are packed up, as the IFC C , w hich
has nurtured countless artists p re­
pares to close its doors.
Sitting in her second-floor office,
A drienne Flagg, the center's outgo-
ing creative director, explains that
the IFC C has been a part o f h er life
since nearly its inception.
"I grew up here as a kid," said
Flagg, w ho recalls taking acting
classes shortly after it opened its
d o o rs.
Flagg, w ho spent tim e on the
East C oast developing her chops as
an actress before returning to P ort­
land and b ecom ing its creative d i­
rector in 2005, said that early on the
IFCC w as one o f the few venues to
host productions that took on is­
sues o f race and gen trificatio n , o f­
ten w ith casts co m posed largely o f
m inorities.
"Portland is a very w hite tow n,
and ify o u go and look at play s there
is o v er 170 p roducing com panies in
Portland. So there's a lot to see, but
it's being produced by a pretty n a r­
row w indow o f people in a certain
age range and a certain ethnicity,"
said Flagg. "A nd w ithout any sort
o f m indful program m ing, w e're g o ­
ing to lose a lot o f o u r diverse artists
that w e do have"
Each year, a com m ittee w ould sift
through the p roposals received by
the IFC C to use its 9 9 -seat theatre,
its art gallery and dance studio. The
cen ter pu t on 1,400 pro d u ctio n s by
artists w ho w ere req u ired to pay a
nom inal fee in ex change for the
chance to show th eir w ork to the
20,000 p eople w ho visit the cen ter
each year.
Flagg said that the cen ter has
helped fu rth er the careers o f artists
like A drienne C ruz, a visual artist
w ho received a fellow ship in 1998
and w hose w ork now can be seen at
M A X stops in north Portland. It
also helped serve as a launching
board for B aseR oots T heatre C o m ­
pany, w hich focuses on the A frican
A m erican experience.
H eidi D urrow , w ho is gaining
national attention for her novel “The
Girl W ho Fell From the Sky”, rem em ­
bers the IFC C as a refuge from the
grit and peril that characterized much
o f n o rth and n o rth east Portland
during the 1980s.
“ It definitely w as the first place I
w as confirm ed as an artist,” said
D urrow w ho first took a theatre c lass
a tth e lF C C in 1983, w hen she was 13
years old, and is saddened to hear o f
its closure.
T he IFC C has also provided art
classes to local elem entary schools
and paired Jefferson H igh School
students w ith w orking artists w ho
serve as their m entors.
"R ight now , there isn't going to
be so m ebody in the Portland visual
o r p erfo rm in g arts scene that is sp e­
cifically, m indfully seeding the pipe­
line w ith diverse artists," said Flagg.
Local artist B obby F o u th er said
that he had been so involved in
p e rfo rm a n c e s p r o d u c tio n s an d
teaching classes at the cen ter that
he has a hard tim e keeping track o f
itall.
"It w as a launching pad for a lot
o f artists and groups," said Fouther.
T he IFCC has alw ays been d e­
p en d en t o n 'th e city to subsidize its
sh o e -strin g o p eratio n s, an d w as
co n trib u tin g about a third to the
n on-profit's roughly $ 300,000 bud­
get.
L ast year, rum ors sw irled that the
cash-strapped city w as going to cut
its b u d g et entirely, before an o u t­
p ouring o f support prom pted C ity
co n tin u e d
on p a g e 1 7
Desired experience in child welfare and/or human services and/or
volunteer management. Excellent communication skills, advocacy,
teamwork, and volunteer management skills are required.
Spanish language skills a big plus! Substance abuse treatment
background also useful.
Must be proficient in dealing with people from a wide range of
backgrounds and cultures.
Bachelor’s degree and three years experience or equivalent required.
Salary $17,500 for 0.5 FTE + benefits.
Send cover letter and resume to Trudy Linton c/o CASA, 1401 NE
68th Ave., Portland, OR 97213, or: jobs@casahelpskids.org(include
job title in subject line)
EOE. No phone calls, please.
Retirement Living
Westmoreland’s Union Manor
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503*233*5671
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2020 NW Northrup Street ♦ Portland 97209
503*225*0677
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3530 SE 84th Avenue ♦ Portland 97266
503-777-8101
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360*694*4314
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