Oregon offers new license plate that celebrates diversity

(SEPTEMBER 24, 2021) Drivers in Oregon can now choose a new license plate that was designed by an artist to celebrate diversity. The license plate is called "Celebrate Oregon!" It features 127 cultural symbols. Money from sales of the special license plate support the Oregon Cultural Trust. The OCT is an organization that promotes and funds arts, culture, and heritage throughout the state.

The design was created by Liza Burns of Eugene. Her artwork will also become murals in the Eugene, Medford, Portland, and Redmond airports. In addition, a 38-foot outdoor banner will be installed at the Northwest Film Center at the Portland Art Museum.

“The new design, built on a panorama of Oregon geography, reflects and respects the diversity of our culture at a time we need it most,” said Niki Price. She is one of the leaders of the Oregon Cultural Trust. “Cultural expression is how our communities define themselves – how they live their everyday lives, their traditions, their heritage, their creativity, their celebrations, their values and how they connect with one another. Our culture is the glue that can bind us together as Oregonians.”

An interactive visual key explains each of the symbols and how they connect to Oregon culture.

The new license plate is available October 1, 2021.

Artist Statement

Capturing “Oregon Culture” in a single piece is an extraordinary challenge as Oregon is a diverse and beautiful arrangement of many cultures, each with their own subcultures and nuances. This abundance became the foundation of the piece. I focused on selecting imagery from sources big and small, obvious and obscure, to create a patchwork of symbols in which every Oregonian can see themselves.

I began with the Oregon landscape. To me, Oregon culture starts with the land, the sea, the mountains, the forests, the plains, the river valleys and the high deserts. The diversity and richness of the Oregon geography mirrors its people, which worked well as the foundation of the piece.

Once the landscape was in place, I built a concept of a “symbol overlay” to accommodate two things: First, the concept of an ever-evolving cultural group identity needed multiples, not singulars; Second, this project had a lot of stakeholders, and the design needed to serve both my vision and withstand/be improved by more cooks in the kitchen. I did initial research to find symbols and imagery that covered a wide swath of Oregon culture, and was careful to seek out pieces that were new to me. But with the help of a diverse group of content experts, the list of symbols and images swelled to include facets of the Oregon experience that I could have never found on my own.