Ohio Arts Council Awards Stimulus Money to Preserve 25 Jobs in the Arts
by Jami Goldstein
With funds from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) awarded a total of $395,000 in federal stimulus money to 21 organizations in Ohio and saved 25 jobs, impacting more than 1.2 million Ohioans. The OAC funded $305,000 in awards and Arts Midwest, Ohio’s regional arts organization, contributed $90,000 towards the grant awards.
Organizations to be awarded the stimulus money through the Ohio Arts Jobs Preservation Grants program include (in alpha order, see Ohio Arts Job Preservation Grant List for by-city listing and descriptions of positions funded):
Akron Art Museum, $25,000; Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, $10,000; Cleveland Public Art, $25,000; Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, $15,000; Dublin Arts Council, $10,000; Great Lakes Theatre Festival (Cleveland), $15,000; Mansfield Fine Arts Guild, $15,000; Masterworks Chorale (Toledo), $10,000; Muse Machine (Dayton), $15,000; The Human Race Theatre Company (Dayton), $25,000; Lyrica (Cincinnati), $15,000; ProMusica Chamber Orchestra (Columbus), $25,000; Renaissance Performing Arts Association (Mansfield), $25,000; Sankofa Fine Art Plus (Cleveland), $25,000; Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center (Portsmouth), $15,000; Summit Choral Society (Akron), $15,000; Taft Museum of Art (Cincinnati), $25,000; Toledo Orchestra, $25,000; Worthington Arts Council, $10,000; Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio (Cleveland), $25,000; Zanesville Museum of Art, $25,000.
"We are very pleased that this money from the NEA will be directly reinvested in Ohio's nonprofit arts sector," said Julie Henahan, executive director of the Ohio Arts Council. "One of the OAC's main priorities has always been to help sustain Ohio's arts and cultural organizations. This funding will be used where it most needed right now—for job preservation in the arts at this critical point, in Ohio and the nation's efforts, to rebuild our economy."
“The Ohio arts sector is confronted with sobering challenges in this time of economic downturn. Arts Midwest is grateful for the opportunity to continue our long-standing partnership with the Ohio Arts Council to preserve vital jobs and support Ohio arts organizations,” said David Fraher, executive director of Arts Midwest.
The Ohio Arts Council’s Recovery Act grant program, the Ohio Arts Jobs Preservation Grants program, requires grantees to use the funds for salary support, full or partial for one or more positions that are critical to an organization’s artistic mission, and/or fees for previously engaged artists and/or contractual personnel.
Organizations were reviewed by a panel comprised of members of the OAC Board Executive Committee and panelists from outside Ohio with extensive arts management experience. Criteria established by the NEA required that the funding be provided to organizations that serve a broad geographic range of constituents, as well as underserved populations, and represent a wide range of organizational budget sizes and disciplines. Final funding decisions were based on these requirements as well as the strength of the applications.
The OAC received a total of $353,400 from the NEA from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). A portion of the award ($48,400) will used by the OAC for administering the grant program and the remaining will be regranted to Ohio nonprofit arts organizations. The Recovery Act provided $50 million to the NEA to be distributed in direct grants to organizations to preserve jobs in the nonprofit sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support in the recent economic downturn. Twelve additional Ohio organzations received Recovery Act funding directly from the NEA.
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.
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