April 3, 2024
Page 7
Art Exhibitions and
ENTERTAINMENT
Musical Performances
Represent a Non-Profit?
Open to All
Arts &
Learn About This Program!
A Community Livability Grant in the Central Eastside TIF District helped to fund improvements in
Kickstand Comedy’s new building.
The Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAx) at
OUS will host an open house on Saturday, April 6 starting at noon.
Photos by Blake Brown
Oregon State’s
New Creative
Arts Center
PRAx Invites
Public for
Grand Opening
Oregon State University’s new
Patricia Valian Reser Center for
the Creative Arts will host an open
house from noon to 7 p.m. on Sat-
urday, April 6, to celebrate the
center’s inaugural season.
Art exhibitions and musical per-
formances will fill every corner of
the 49,000-square-foot space for
the family-friendly event, which
is free and open to all.
“The goal of PRAx is to be a
big tent and reflect a wide variety
of artistic experiences and styles,
so I hope people experience that,”
said Peter Betjemann, Patricia
Valian Reser executive director of
PRAx. “And it’s such a cool build-
ing. It’s not like anything else on
campus, and it’s not like anything
else in Corvallis.”
“PRAx” stands for Patricia
Reser Arts, with the “x” signi-
fying the center’s intersections
between the arts and other aca-
demic disciplines. The center is
named for Patricia Valian Reser,
OSU alumna and volunteer lead-
er, who has given $36 million to
the OSU Foundation for the arts
at Oregon State, including $25
million for PRAx.
“The arts are not an add-on to
OSU’s mission as an international
research university; the arts drive
the culture of creativity and inno-
vation that sparks breakthroughs,”
Reser said. “A dedicated arts cen-
ter has been a dream for the OSU
community for over a century, and
today our need for the arts — and
for interdisciplinary collaboration
with the arts — is more urgent
than ever. I am thrilled for the
opportunities and change-making
energy PRAx will set in motion.”
Construction on the $75 mil-
lion center began in August 2021.
PRAx boasts six venues suited
for a range of indoor and outdoor
shows: the 490-seat Lynne Hall-
strom Detrick Concert Hall, the
Edward J. Ray black box theater,
the Kate and John Stirek Gallery,
Continued on Page 11
Funds Available
Through the
Community
Livability Grant
The Community Livability
Grant (CLG) provides grants
to community-based organiza-
tions for projects that promote
healthy, complete, and resilient
neighborhoods and respond to
and respect the diversity of its
residents. Eligible applicants
include nonprofit organizations,
neighborhood and business as-
sociations, and neighborhood
groups. Property owners may
also be eligible.
The CLG is for Nonprof-
it organizations, neighborhood
and business associations, and
neighborhood groups locat-
ed within the Central Eastside,
Gateway Regional Center, Inter-
state Corridor, Lents Town Cen-
ter and North Macadam Tax In-
crement Finance (TIF) Districts
are eligible. The total maximum
grant award is $300,000; awards
typically range from $10,000 to
$50,000. You may reapply each
year, but any organization that
has previously been awarded a
cumulative total of $300,000 has
reached the maximum and will
no longer be eligible.
The CLG focuses on projects
that benefit historically under-
served communities and promote
widely shared prosperity. For
example, such projects would
improve access to jobs and work-
force development services, sup-
port wealth creation opportunities
for small business owners.
You can apply once you have
a concept plan, projected bud-
get, and schedule. You should be
ready to start your project if your
application is approved. Project
bids must be submitted within 3
months and the project must be
completed within one year of the
grant award. If you’re not ready
to proceed with your project
and cannot meet these timelines,
please wait to apply when this
timeframe can be met. For more
information please contact: clg@
prosperportland.us
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