Celebrating Oregon's Diverse Culture
More than 100 participants came together over the past 18 months to create one award-winning artist design that is a unique celebration of the culture and diversity of northwest peoples and recognizes the 20th anniversary of the Oregon Cultural Trust. A six by 12-inch version of the artwork is now available as an Oregon automobile license plate.
“When we thought about how we wanted to mark the 20th anniversary of the Oregon Cultural Trust, the license plate became a very natural opportunity,” says Carrie Kikel, communications manager for the Cultural Trust. “The idea was to create artwork that would reflect the diversity of Oregon’s culture.”
The lavish artwork by Eugene artist Liza Burns includes 127 symbols highlighting Oregon’s arts, heritage, humanities, people, and places. One of those symbols happens to be the GreenCars “leaf” logo.
“Anyone who has seen the artwork has to do a double-take,” says GreenCars Senior Manager Kevin Jennings. “They look at this art and start asking questions such as where did this come from, how did the artist even come up with this?” Culturally specific content experts were brought in to advise the artist on the 127 symbols that were chosen. The finished piece was so powerful that the Cultural Trust decided it needed to be more than just a commemorative license plate.
“When the artwork was finalized, we looked at it and realized it deserved much larger platforms than a license plate,” says Kikel. “It makes a beautiful license plate but we saw this as an opportunity to use this artwork as an introduction to Oregon. And where should a piece of art that introduces people to Oregon be? Airports!”
“That’s really why GreenCars decided to sponsor this project with the Cultural Trust – to broadcast the message of sustainability and culture to people who are staying here or have recently moved here to get that art and that message out to the public,” says Jennings.
Where Can I Find the New Oregon License Plate Design?
The new plate is available on the Oregon DMV website, at DMV field offices, and at Lithia Motors' 32 franchise dealerships throughout the state. There’s a $50.00 surcharge for the plate and a subsequent renewal surcharge every two years. It takes roughly three months to receive your plates after ordering.
The "Celebrate Oregon!" artwork is installed as full-scale murals at the Eugene, Medford, Portland, and Redmond airports through a sponsorship from GreenCars.com. A 38-foot outdoor banner was also installed at the Northwest Film Center in the Portland Art Museum.
To learn more visit: https://culturaltrust.org/celebrateoregon/
