Reduced Number of Disciplines Available For 2010 Individual Excellence Awards
by Jaclyn Reynolds
The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) will limit the number of disciplines funded in the Individual Excellence (IE) Awards program each year. Only applications in choreography, criticism, fiction/non-fiction, music composition, poetry and playwriting/screenplays will be accepted at the September 1, 2009 deadline.
Due to the dire economic situation in the state and nation, there have been continued reductions to the OAC’s budget. As a result the Individual Artist Grant Programs and Services office needed to find ways to stretch limited state funding, maintain services for artists and manage program activities after a 22 percent reduction in OAC staffing. The best solution was determined to be to limit the number of disciplines funded each year. Beginning this fiscal year the agency will review the IE Awards program’s 13 disciplines over a two-year period with alternating deadlines for two sets of disciplines This year at the September 1 deadline, applications for the following disciplines will be accepted: choreography, criticism, fiction/non fiction, music composition, poetry and playwriting/screen plays. In 2010 at the September 1 deadline applications will be accepted for: crafts, design, interdisciplinary/performance art, media, photography, visual arts 2D and visual arts 3D. Unfortunately this change could not be made quickly enough to be implemented in the OAC OnLine Grants Administration (OLGA) system. The IE Award application on OLGA will not reflect the reduced number of disciplines available at the September 1, 2009 deadline. Only applications in choreography, music composition, criticism, fiction/non fiction, poetry and playwriting/screenplays will be accepted for the September 1, 2009 deadline. To access the new Individual Excellence Award Guidelines please use the following link: www.oac.state.oh.us/grantsprogs/IndividualCreativity.asp The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.[top]