Affiliations

The American Association of Museums

The American Association of Museums (AAM) has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience in the past, present, and future.

AAM is the only organization comprehensively representing museums and the staff who work for and with them. AAM currently represents more than 15,000 individual museum professional and volunteer staff members, 3,000 institutions, and 300 corporate members. Individual members span the entire range of museum occupations, including directors, curators, registrars, educators, exhibition designers, public relations officers, development officers, security managers, trustees, and volunteers.

Regional Arts & Culture Council / Work For Art

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) works to integrate arts and culture in all aspects of community life. RACC has served the Portland tri-county area since its inception in 1995, when the city’s Metropolitan Arts Commission transitioned into a separate not-for-profit organization based upon the recommendation of ArtsPlan 2000+. RACC is the steward of several public and private investments in arts and culture, and works to create an environment in which the arts and culture of the region can flourish and prosper. RACC is a major funder of the Portland Art Museum and is funded in part by local, regional, state and federal governments to provide grants to artists and operating support to art organizations in the tri-county region.

Oregon Arts Commission

The Oregon Arts Commission was established in 1967 to foster the arts in Oregon and ensure their excellence. Nine Commissioners, appointed by the Governor, determine policies, establish long-range plans, and review applications to grants programs to determine funding levels. Funding for the Commission and its programs is provided by the state of Oregon, the National Endowment for the Arts , a federal agency, which believes a great nation deserves great art and with a cultural partner grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust. The Portland Art Museum is a major annual beneficiary of multiple OAC grants.

FRAME: The French Regional American Museum Exchange

Created in 1999 to foster exchange among 18 regional museums in France and the United States, FRAME (The French Regional American Museum Exchange) has become a beacon of bilateral cultural diplomacy. FRAME has mounted several major exhibitions and created the conditions for hundreds of similar projects by bringing museum professionals in 18 cities and towns throughout France and the United States into collaboration. Not restricting its programs to museum directors and curators, who tend to be the best-traveled museum employees, FRAME has brought registrars, educators and computer wizards from both countries together to share ideas and mount joint projects.

Through its exhibition programs, FRAME has brought American art to France and Italian Renaissance drawings to both countries. The Triumph of French Painting: 17th-Century Masterpieces from the Museums of FRAME made its international premiere in Portland in the fall of 2003. Organized by the Portland Art Museum, the exhibition was the first exhibition project to involve all 18 of the FRAME museums.

Museums of FRAME

Cultural Advocacy Coalition

The Cultural Advocacy Coalition is a 501(c)4 non-partisan advocacy group formed to lobby policymakers in Salem to ensure that all Oregonians have the opportunity to access arts and culture in their communities.

The primary mission of the Cultural Advocacy Coalition is to increase ongoing public investment in arts, heritage and the humanities. Volunteers serve on the Board of Directors and include representatives from a broad number of interests to best represent the diverse mix of Oregon’s cultural community.

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

As the only national membership organization in the United States dedicated to the preservation of cultural material, the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) plays a crucial role in establishing and upholding professional standards, promoting research and publications, providing educational opportunities, and fostering the exchange of knowledge among conservators, allied professionals, and the public.

Oregon Cultural Trust

Oregon is the only state to have such a program as the Oregon Cultural Trust, which partners with over 1,300 cultural nonprofits throughout the state. A gift to one or more of these qualifying nonprofit organizations such as the Portland Art Museum followed by a matching gift to the Oregon Cultural Trust allows a donor to claim a tax credit. The tax deductible portion of memberships to many Oregon cultural organizations also qualifies toward the matching gift.

Oregon Community Foundation

The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds, OCF awards more than $60 million annually in grants and scholarships. Thousands of citizens have created a permanent endowment for Oregon through OCF – an endowment that will help Oregonians today and for generations to come. Many donors make gifts annually to the Portland Art Museum through OCF.

International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) is an independent international organization that promotes the knowledge, methods, and working standards needed to protect and preserve historic and artistic works throughout the world.

IIC members, from conservators and restorers, to conservation scientists, collection managers, curators, and art historians, aim to provide the highest possible level of care for the world’s cultural heritage.

The National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Through grant making, policy development, and research, IMLS helps communities and individuals thrive through broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning.

Partners in Diversity

In 2005, major employers in Oregon and SW Washington joined forces as Partners in Diversity (PiD) to cooperatively support diversity in the workplace and our community.

Now, PiD is an affiliate of the Portland Business Alliance Charitable Institute, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. The mission of Partners in Diversity is to partner with Oregon and SW Washington member employers to attract and retain professionals of color.PiD works to bridge the networking gap many new professionals of color experience and to facilitate the relationships oftentimes required to advance professionally in the region. We also help professionals of color connect with the multicultural community through networking events, social media, our own website and personal relationships.

PiD accomplishes these goals through educational programs for practitioners and CEOs, job postings and dissemination, major networking events such as Say Hey, and Breakfast for Champions.