PNCA just received a major gift that will provide the final push in transforming it from a small, struggling school to a major force in the art world. Hallie E. Ford and the Ford Foundation will donate $15 million, twice the school's annual budget and the largest single donation to an Oregon arts institution ever. $10 million will go to building a new artist residency program, which will not only allow PNCA students to work closely with internationally renowned visual artists, it will also bring a network of innovators into Portland. The Portland art scene stands to benefit immensely both from the establishment of PNCA as an important arts institution within and beyond the region, and from the influx of artists and ideas that the residency program will contribute to the community. Read more about the donation, as well as all the recent improvements at PNCA, on OregonLive.

Just what PNCA needed... kudos to Tom Manley. Portland is growing up and yes the major hurdl is people writing checks as a leap of faith. PNCA Im certain will be good stewards of the gift and use it to raise PNCA and Portland's visibility/viability as the arty city on the west coast.

PNCA is a the anchor and only high visibility non-profit visual arts institution with a constant presence in the the Pearl District... hopefully they can find a way to stay there?

This is fantastic news that this all came through. I heard about the possibility of it occuring, but I never imagined it would actually happen. I'm doing dinner with Tom Manley in a few days, so I'll have to get some more information out of him on this.