Ohio Arts Council Grants Impact Economy, Employ Artists
by Stephanie Dawson
In fiscal year 2011, the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) will award $4.3 million in grants to individual artists, arts organizations and educational programs throughout the Buckeye state. These 550 grants will have a tremendous impact on the Ohio economy, creating employment opportunities for more than 27,000 Ohio artists.
“It is a well-known fact that the creative industries play a major role in building and sustaining economically and culturally vibrant communities,” said OAC Executive Director Julie S. Henahan. “We at the Ohio Arts Council are proud to support Ohio’s creative workers. In the coming year alone, these grants will allow more than 27,000 Ohio artists to continue restoring the vitality of their communities, boosting our state’s economy and enhancing our quality of life.”
The OAC grants demonstrate a great return on a limited investment from state and federal resources. Organizations that receive OAC funds are required to match state tax dollars with additional public and private funds. In general, for every state tax dollar invested, $52 is raised in matching funds by recipient organizations.
Grants for FY2011 range in size from $196,241 to the Cleveland Museum of Art for general operating support to $500 to support the performances of the Muskingum Valley Symphonic Winds in New Concord. In total, the OAC received 608 grant applications from artists, organizations and schools throughout the state, with requests totaling $14.5 million.
Sustainability Program
The Sustainability Program provides two-year grants to organizations for annual arts programming or a recurring project or activity. The program supports organizations that offer broad-based arts programming in any discipline (e.g., multiarts, performing arts, literature, traditional arts, visual arts) that is produced and presented by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, other nonprofit or government entities, and colleges or universities.
A total of $2.3 million in Sustainability grants will be awarded to 42 of Ohio’s major arts institutions with budgets of more than $1.5 million.
The OAC Board approved 245 Sustainability grants for a total of $1.4 million for organizations with budgets of less than $1.5 million.
Arts Access
The Arts Access program provides funds for first-time applicants to the OAC, startup organizations, community-driven one-time projects and organizations with budgets below $25,000. The OAC Board approved 122 Arts Access grants totaling $151,303.
Arts Learning: Arts Partnerships
The Arts Partnerships program provides one- and two-year grants to support activities that enhance the quality of and access to learning in the arts for people of all ages, backgrounds, experience levels and abilities. The OAC Board approved 41 Arts Partnerships grants totaling $266,862.
Arts Learning: Artist in Residence
The Artist in Residence Program (AIR) awarded 34 grants for a total of $73,600. AIR places accomplished, professional artists in a variety of educational and community settings.
Individual Creativity: Traditional Arts Apprenticeships
Seven Traditional Arts Apprenticeships were approved totaling $18,000. This program provides support for a master artist and one or more apprentices to work together in an intensive individual study program that preserves traditional art forms of Ohio residents. Examples of traditional arts include (but are not limited to): Polish paper cutting, blues music, stone carving, Appalachian fiddling, embroidery, Laotian khene playing, icon painting, Irish step dancing, woodcarving, Chicano corridor singing, quilting, tamburitza music and polka.
Project Support
Fifty-five Project Support grants were awarded totaling $91,763. This program is deisgned to provide a flexible funding category that helps a broad range of organizations that present arts programming respond to unforeseen opportunities, one-time special events or intitiatives and changing community conditions.
Grant Award Ratifications
Ratifications are the board’s final approval of funds allocated in various program areas since its March 31, 2010 meeting. The OAC board ratified 72 grants from FY2009-11 totaling $216,996. These awards were not announced previously.
The ratifications included:
- Four FY2009 Special Project (for Organizations) grants for $56,500
- Five FY2010 Artists with Disabilities Access grants totaling $2,200
- Fourty-three FY2010 Arts Acess grants for $49,999
- Fifteen FY2010 Special Project (for Organizations) grants for $95,364
- Four FY2011 Special Project (for Organizations- fee support) grants for $9,433
- One Ohio Heritage Fellowship award for $3,500
PLEASE NOTE: A list of grants awarded for FY2011 is attached. The awards are listed by city; suburbs are listed separately. Ratification reports are included separately.
About the Ohio Arts Council:
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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