Oregon launches arts caucus in Legislature

Being geographically diverse, the caucus will meet by Zoom for 30 minutes every three weeks.

One of the caucus' priorities is helping venues and organizations that survive by ticket sales. One proposal, House Bill 2459, would extend emergency funding for venues across the state, funding that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and is still needed. Nosse said the measure wouldn't cover sellout events such as a Bruce Springsteen concert, but would cover venues such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, which is still at 50% of prepandemic ticket sales and is shedding staff to save money, and the Portland Art Museum.

If Nosse’s House Bill 2459 passes by June 30, any money will be disbursed to venues and arts organizations by the end of 2023.

Florence-based Harlen Springer, a retired corporate executive and vice chairman of the Oregon Arts Commission, said one goal of the caucus is to serve as a clearinghouse of sorts for lawmakers about arts and culture throughout the state.

Springer said caucus supporters had studied arts caucuses in other states, such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont.

“We have a trove of research and data from them that says it works," he said. "We modeled our caucus after those successful ones.”

He explained the two-pronged approach to the arts in politics: soft and hard values.

“The soft values are that art adds beauty and it adds a sense of togetherness in communities. These arts and culture events tend to be community gathering places," he said. "There’s a sense of belonging, particularly after the pandemic, a sense of communication. The hard values are the economic impact. Arts and culture in Oregon represent about 3.3% of GDP, and about 60,000 jobs. It's about an $8 billion industry.”

But Oregon ranks in the bottom half of states across the country for per capita funding for the arts.

“There’s a gap here between the value and the impact that arts and culture bring, and the current public funding mechanism to support it. Long term, we're hopeful this can lead to a more sustainable and robust funding mechanism for the arts and culture,” Springer said.

The Arts Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust provide information to the Legislature, but leave the lobbying to the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon.

Springer collaborated with members of the Arts Commission Advancement Committee, including Chair Jenny Green, as well as Cultural Trust Chair Niki Price and Sue Hildick, senior adviser to the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon, to support formation of the Arts and Culture Caucus.

“If we could do one thing, it’s raising awareness," Springer said. "If we can make more Oregonians and legislators aware of the variety of the arts and vision of the institutions, that would be a huge step for us.”

Springer added that the Oregon Cultural Trust has funded 1,500 different arts groups around the state.

“They vary from the Portland Art Museum and the High Desert Museum all the way down to your rural art association, staffed completely by volunteers," he said. "And the impact that those groups have in rural areas is dramatic, because they tend to be the one big gathering place for the arts and culture.” 

Portland Rep. Nosse and other members of the caucus were instrumental in designating more than $100 million in coronavirus relief funds and American Rescue Plan funds to sustain Oregon arts, heritage and humanities organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey by Business Oregon, Travel Oregon and the Small Business Development Center Network said many large cultural organizations report ticket sales remain only at about 50% of prepandemic levels.