Multicultural arts nights - artist open call

Call for Local Artists and Performers

Buckman SUN, in partnership with Buckman Elementary School, seeks local artists and performers from the Portland metropolitan area and SW Washington for paid performances in association with heritage months over the course of the school year 2023-2024. 

Performance Guidelines

We are committed to providing the Buckman community with access to arts and culture, building community, activating public spaces, and celebrating Portland.

Performances should be high-quality, reflect the diversity of our communities, and must be appropriate for spectators of all ages. We are specifically looking for:

• Multi-cultural performances that appeal to diverse visitors

• Family-friendly content (including lyrics), though not necessarily kid-focused

• Professionalism

• Flexibility to follow and adapt to changing health and safety guidelines as required

• Performers available during early evenings in addition to a 1-5 day artist residency at Buckman school during the daytime

Process and Timeline

We are seeking artists/performers who would like to participate in the following heritage month family engagement events hosted at the school or geographically close venues to Buckman school. Arts can include culinary arts, theater, music, dance, or visual arts. Events can be held any day of the week Monday through Friday within that month. Events would be held from 5:30/6pm to 7/7:30pm, with food provided for families and artists as well. We encourage artists to bring a guided activity for students to engage with - Buckman SUN can provide a small supply budget for activity materials. Artist stipends are set at $800 for a 2-hr event. 

September Latinx Heritage Month

November Native American Heritage Month

February Black Heritage Month

April Arab American Heritage Month

May (1 of 2) Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May (2 of 2) Jewish American Heritage Month

Residency details

If an artist would like to offer their services to the school as a short-term Artist in Residence, that would be highly encouraged! As an arts-focus school, Buckman encourages students to learn and grow through their artistic passions and this program is meant specifically to increase representation for our students of color to see that they too can be successful artists as they grow up in Portland. A residency could be one  day or it could be one week, and it could serve one grade level or six. Depending on the scale of the residency, an additional up to $1000 stipend can be provided to the artist. 

How to Apply

If interested in this opportunity, please email Katie Olson, Buckman SUN Site Manager, with the following information:

1. Your name and contact information

2. What heritage month event you would like to support

3. Your preferred dates/times within that heritage month

4. If you are interested in supplying a guided activity for students in addition to your performance

5. If you are interested in a residency project (if so: what grade levels and length of time)

6. What style of art / a description of your anticipated performance