A still from the State of the Arts Report CD-ROM. The Ohio Arts Council's State of the Arts Report will be made public in the fall.

In the fall of 2001, the Ohio Arts Council will unveil the results of the State of the Arts Report (SOAR), a three-year study addressing how people participate in the arts and what arts and cultural opportunities exist for Ohioans. The groundbreaking study is the most extensive research effort ever conducted by the OAC. SOAR was launched in April 1998 in an effort to refocus the OAC's mission toward strengthening the cultural life of Ohio's communities by increasing public participation in the arts. SOAR will provide realistic and user-friendly information about the arts and cultural environment in Ohio. An interactive CD-ROM, with links to an accompanying website, will provide easy access to the SOAR findings.
 
The second phase of SOAR, made possible by a multi-year grant from the Wallace-Readeršs Digest Funds, will use the findings to place the arts at the heart of Ohio's communities. The grant is part of a new State Arts Partnerships for Cultural Participation (START) initiative. The OAC is one of 13 state arts councils selected for the program and will receive one of the two largest grants, $1.1 million over three years. This funding will enable the OAC to (CONT'D PAGE 3)

REGISTER NOW FOR THE MIDWEST ARTS CONFERENCE

The 14th annual Midwest Arts Conference will be held September 20-22 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with pre-conference seminars on Wednesday, September 19. The conference brings the performing arts marketplace together to facilitate booking and touring plans, and to provide educational and performance opportunities.
   
Sponsored by Arts Midwest with assistance from the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Midwest Arts Conference is one of the largest performing arts trade shows in the country. It convenes sponsors of performing arts events with touring performing artists and their managements for the purpose of planning future performance seasons. Deadline to register is August 22.
   
Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United States, Arts Midwest's history spans more than 25 years. For more information on the conference, visit www.artsmidwest.org.