Wallowa County arts organizations receive $10,000 to support community programs

WALLOWA COUNTY — The Oregon Arts Commission recently announced the 2026 recipients of the annual Arts Build Communities grant program. This year, 52 arts and cultural organizations in Oregon will receive $5,000 dollar grants, for a total of $260,000 dollars distributed across the state.

These grants, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, are intended to address community issues or needs through various art projects. According to Oregon Arts Commission director Amy Lewin, requests for grants “have surged 160% over the past five years,” with only one third of applicants making the cut this year.

Among them, two Wallowa County organizations, the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture in Joseph and Fishtrap inc. in Enterprise, made the list yet again. The specific projects the grants will support, as written by the Oregon Arts Commission, are as follows:

• Josephy Center for Arts and Culture: To support the 2026 Nez Perce Artists Exhibition in Joseph, Oregon, summer through fall of 2026. Presented in partnership with the ˀItam’yanáawit Small Business Program, the exhibit will feature approximately 20 artists.

• Fishtrap Inc.: To support the Fishtrap Reads program, designed to engage every person in Wallowa County. Funds will be used to purchase 400 books for area schools and libraries and provide a mix of in-person and online events and school activities.

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Elkhorn Media Group