Source: Barbara Curtin, Statesman Journal

Shannon Planchon formally took over Monday as interim director of both the Oregon Arts Commission and Oregon Cultural Trust.

She replaces Christine D’Arcy, the longtime director of both organizations, who said she was fired without advance notice last week.

Planchon was the Oregon Arts Commission’s assistant director from September 2004 to January 2013. She oversaw more than $2 million in grants management, helped establish the commission’s online grants management system, and worked on the individual artist career opportunity grant program, among other responsibilities.

Since leaving the state, she has been a consultant with Planchon Consulting, a Portland firm that she owns with her husband, Steve Planchon. It provides technical assistance to nonprofit organizations and public agencies.

“We are grateful that Shannon agreed to return,” said Julie Vigeland, board chairwoman of the arts commission, in a release. “She has over eight years experience with the arts commission and cultural trust and is the perfect person to lead during this transition.”

Planchon previously worked as assistant director of the Alaska State Council on the Arts, where she managed grants programs, the Percent for Art program and the Literary Arts program.

Planchon earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The Oregon Cultural Trust raises money for the arts, mostly through a state tax credit offered to people who donate to the trust and to cultural nonprofits. In its first 10 years, it has distributed more than $9 million in grants throughout the state and has built an endowment of nearly $15.5 million.

The Oregon Arts Commission provides grants, programs and leadership for the arts statewide. Its funds come from the cultural trust, the legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Online

To read past stories about the Oregon Arts Commission and Oregon Cultural Trust, go to StatesmanJournal.com.

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