Page 2
May 17, 2023
Albina Arts Center Two Women. Courtesy of Oregon Community Foundation
Black Community Leaders
Collaborate to Create a Vision
Oregon Community
Foundation Seeks
Next Owner for
Albina Arts Center
Oregon
Community
Foundation
(OCF) is seeking proposals to identify
the new owner of Portland’s Albina Arts
Center. The center’s new owner will be
chosen through a Request for Proposals
issued by OCF on May 9, 2023, follow-
ing a year-long community visioning
process to develop a future vision for the
Albina Arts Center. “Oregon Community
Foundation has conducted quite a robust,
inclusive and equitable community out-
reach process. Deliberate efforts were
employed to engage and solicit critical
input from key Black leaders, respected
Black elders and Black community mem-
bers,” said Karis Stoudamire-Phillips.
Mrs. Stoudamire-Phillips serves as vol-
unteer leader on the steering committee
that architected the process for vision-
ing the future Albina Arts Center. “The
genuine hope, the insights and the vision
– brought forward by gathering and lis-
tening to Black community leaders and
organizations will undoubtedly yield a
very positive outcome for the historic
Albina community.
This highly collaborative process now
begins to pave the way for generations
both today and for decades to come.”
For six decades, the Albina Arts Center
has been an important hub for arts, com-
munity events and social gatherings for
Portland’s Black community. Located
in the historic Albina neighborhood, the
center was created to provide space for
the development of cultural and intellec-
tual resources. “There is much hope and
expectation for the future of this land and
building,” said Ms. Joyce Harris, com-
munity leader and educator. Ms. Harris
is among dozens of key leaders that have
been engaging in the visioning process
for the Albina Arts Center. “This build-
ing can both honor a legacy while push-
ing for a future at the intersection of the
arts and Black culture.”
With extensive input acquired through
a comprehensive, community-centered
visioning process, the Albina Arts Cen-
ter Visioning Committee developed a set
of criteria that they would like to see re-
flected in the future center: • Black-led •
Serves the Black Community • Centers
Black arts (various branches of creative
activity, such as painting, sculpture, mu-
sic, literature, and dance, etc.) • Commit-
ted to creating a safe and healing space •
Committed to revitalizing, activating and
potentially expanding the building Albina
Art Center RFP – Key Dates Public no-
tice of RFP May 9 Virtual Q & A May
18, 9:30 a.m. PST Deadline for submis-
sion June 23, 4:00 p.m. PST Announce-
ment of award August 7 The RFP phase
of this process is expected to conclude in
Summer 2023 with the announcement of a
new nonprofit owner. A selection commit-
tee comprised of local Portland represen-
tatives - business and nonprofit leaders,
artists, civic and cultural leaders, elders
from the Black community – will review
applicants and submit a recommenda-
tion to Oregon Community Foundation.
Background Located at the corner of N
Williams and NE Killingsworth in Port-
land, Oregon, the Albina Arts Center has
been an important symbol of Portland’s
Black community for over six decades. A
community hub, arts center, and meeting
place, the Albina Arts Center was formed
to provide space for the development of
cultural and intellectual resources for the
historic Albina community.
For More Information Questions or
comments from the public about the Albina
Arts Center during the visioning and RFP
processes should be emailed to:
AlbinaArtsCenterConversation@oregoncf.org.