Emergency funding saves COCC arts grant

Published 3:16 pm Sunday, May 18, 2025

: Central Oregon Community College

A $10,000 arts grant intended for Central Oregon Community College youth summer programs from the National Endowment for the Arts cancelled due to federal cuts, is being replaced by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.

COCC’s program is one of 80 nationwide to receive this support. The funding will be used to develop and expand art-focused summer youth camps at COCC’s branch campuses, including offering camps for free or at reduced cost for rural families. The grant will allow kids aged 10 to 15 from Jefferson and Crook counties to attend a multi-day nature journaling and sketching camp in August.

Families can view camp options and register at cocc.edu/youth. Space is limited.

The grant complements a three-year, $30,000 grant from the Roundhouse Foundation in Sisters, which was awarded in 2024 to support rural students.

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Helen Frankenthaler Foundation announced $800,000 in joint funding to fill in for canceled or delayed federal grants nationwide.

About Noemi Arellano-Summer

Noemi Arellano-Summer is schools, youth and families reporter at the Bulletin. She previously reported on homelessness and the 2020 eviction moratorium with the Howard Center of Investigative Journalism through Boston University. She was raised in Long Beach, California, where she started her journalism career reporting for her high school newspaper. In her free time, she can be found meandering through a bookstore or writing short stories.

She can be reached at noemi.arellano-summer@bendbulletin.com and 541-383-0325.