Thirteen arts and culture organizations are in line – pending the governor’s signature – to receive a total of $8.275 million in funding as the Oregon Legislature wrapped up its 2025 session last week. The grants range from $150,000 to Historic Jacksonville to $2 million to the High Desert Museum in Bend.

The allocations were supported by both the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon and the Legislature’s Arts & Culture Caucus, which is composed of members of both parties from both legislative chambers.

The money comes via House Bill 5006, an omnibus measure that appropriates General Fund money to the Emergency Board for allocations during the biennium. Designated recipients range from soil and water conservation districts to worker relief. The bill passed both chambers and is awaiting the governor’s signature.

Organizations to receive the grants, distributed through the Cultural Resources Economic Fund (CREF), the projects to be funded, and the amounts are:

• Columbia River Maritime Museum, for Mariners Hall Exhibition and Education building: $700,000
• World Forestry Center, Campus Transformation Project: $1 million
• Coos Art Museum, REFRESH Capital Campaign: $325,000
• Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre, Baker Orpheum Theatre Phase 5 Structural Upgrades: $600,000
• Museum at Warm Springs, Permanent Exhibition Renewal: $1.5 million
• B-17 Alliance Foundation, Campaign to Purchase Lacey Lady’s Home: $350,000
• Historic Jacksonville Inc., Jacksonville Museum Without Walls: $150,000
• Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum, Phase 1 Capital Expansion Project: $450,000
• Salem Art Association, Historic Bush House Museum Restoration and Accessibility: $175,000
• Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center, Maxville Historic Restoration Project: $300,000
• Oregon Shakespeare Festival Association, Black Swan Theatre Renovation for New Works Development: $375,000
• High Desert Museum, High Desert Museum: $2 million
• Historic Elsinore Theatre, Elsinore Theatre Facade Renovation and New Signage: $350,000

“These 13 CREF projects represent more than bricks and mortar — they’re investments in the heart of our communities,” Ginger Savage, leader of the CREF advocacy effort, said in a release. “From rural towns to urban centers, these cultural spaces bring people together, tell our stories, and drive local economies. I’m incredibly proud that, even in a tough budget year, the Legislature recognized the value of these projects and made a commitment to Oregon’s cultural future.”

Separately, HB 5006 also allocates $229,000 to Oregon Public Broadcasting, as well as one-time appropriations to two theater companies: $1.5 million to Portland Center Stage and $2.5 million to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Another measure championed by both the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon and the Arts Caucus, HB 3190, passed the House and the Senate, and was signed by the governor on May 28. It encourages investment in historic buildings by giving tax breaks to the owners while requiring regular progress reports to a state historic preservation officer. It also requires regular maintenance of the building.

Sponsor

Among five bills supported by the Arts Caucus, HB 3167, aimed at curbing ticket scalpers, passed both chambers and was signed by the governor on June 24. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, prohibits the use of software to mass-purchase tickets. It also establishes rules against ticket scamming, for example making it illegal to operate websites that look similar to official ticket-selling or venue websites with the intent to scam consumers.

HB 3048, which the Arts Caucus backed, was stuck in the joint Ways and Means Committee when the session ended and thus did not pass. The bill would have merged the Oregon Arts Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust. Its proponents, including Brian Rogers, former executive director of both the commission and the trust, argued that the merger would provide a “streamlined, focused direction with one strategic plan.”

“It is early days, as [the] session has just ended,” Subashini Ganesan-Forbes, chair of the Oregon Arts Commission board, said following the measure’s failure. Noting that both the commission and trust fall under the aegis of Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency, she added, “we are working collaboratively with Business Oregon to build next steps. Rest assured that the Arts Commission’s mission of ‘enhanc[ing] the quality of life for all Oregonians through the arts by stimulating creativity, leadership and economic vitality’ is not in any way disrupted by HB 3048 not passing.”

Another Arts Caucus-supported bill that failed to pass out of Ways and Means was HB 3189, which sought to appropriate $10 million from the general fund to the Oregon Business Development Department, earmarked for the Oregon Arts Commission.  The Oregon Arts Commission is entering its 18th consecutive year without a budget increase, Ganesan-Forbes noted.