Every year at this time, hundreds of arts organizations and communities across the country celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month. Although the arts and humanities play an important role in our lives year-round, this month we bring attention to the many contributions the arts bring to our community: they improve our quality of life; attract visitors and tourists to the Portland region; create employment for our artists which in turn supports local business and services and increases municipal revenues; improve our public spaces with innovative public art; increase property values in obsolete industrial areas; encourage understanding and awareness of other cultures through festivals and fairs; foster skills for success and unlock enormous potential for our students; and most of all entertain, challenge, inform and invigorate our spirit.

Some ways you can celebrate Arts & Culture in October:

* 10/2–29 The Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro will feature free concerts, talks on a variety of topics, prose reading, film, theater and free art workshops and exhibitions.

* 10/8 Day of Culture. The Oregon Cultural Trust will hold a public event (12–2pm) at PCPA celebrating their 6th anniversary and a statewide Day of Culture Speakers include Commissioners Nick Fish and Sam Adams; performances by leading arts groups; light refreshments and a cultural information fair.

* 10/11, 12, 18, 19 Portland Open Studios.
Watch artists at work in all media and styles at 98 art studios throughout metro Portland. Go behind the scenes to see where, how, and why art is made in an up close and personal view. Studios open on both sides of the river for the 4 days. Buy $15 Tour Guide with 2 tickets, maps, and pictures at Art Media, New Seasons, Powells and other stores listed on their website.

* 10/16–30 Free Theater Night in Portland. The Portland Area Theatre Alliance (PATA) presents Portland’s first-ever Free Night of Theater. Fifteen Portland area theater companies will join hundreds of art markets across the nation offering free tickets to new theatergoers. Tickets can be reserved at Free Night of Theater beginning at 8 a.m. on 10/1 for performances between 10/16–30. Free Night of Theater 2008 is presented by PATA in conjunction with Theatre Communications Group (TCG).

* Learn more about the new innovative arts education program The Right Brain Initiative and support or donate to this effort working to bring arts education to every student in the Portland metropolitan region.

* You can commit to building an even stronger creative community by participating in the Creative Capacity project and helping grow the collective force of artists, designers, architects, performers, and software developers who live and work in the region.

* Come to Art Spark on 10/16 at Rontoms, 600 E Burnside from 5–7pm to meet artists and art community supporters and participate in some creative conversations and fun networking.

* If you’d like to support more than 75 regional arts and culture organizations with a single gift, contribute to Work for Art.

* Whatever arts organizations you support, don’t forget to make an equivalent contribution to the Oregon Cultural Trust in order to receive a tax credit.

* If your company doesn’t already belong to Northwest Business for Culture & the Arts, please join.

To learn more about what’s happening this month, check out RACC‘s Cultural Calendar. Enjoy the arts!