A recent study
by Swedish researchers claims frequent attendance at live cultural events is associated
with lower mortality. Researchers found that for every 100 deaths from all causes for
those who attend frequently, there were 157 deaths fir those who rarely or never attended
cultural events.
STRATEGIC PLAN (CON'T)
the arts, cultivate learning and artistic development, establish a communications network, improve constituent capacity building, guide constituents into technology and impact the future of the arts.
Arts Council staff members are pursuing the goals and objectives of the plan in all they do, and some significant changes have been made already. To invest public funds wisely, the OAC has revised its grants making process to support non-profit arts organizations that further the Arts Council's mission. This year many grant review panels have been made cross-disciplinary, and organizations' requests for operating and project support are being considered separately. "We hope to make the grants system more consistent and equitable for all applicants," says Sue Neumann, deputy director of the Ohio Arts Council.
A recent grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, funding an arts education assessment project (see page 4), will help meet the objective of strengthening arts education statewide. This newsletter, which will be mailed quarterly to key decision makers in the public sector, is just one example of how two-way communication between the Arts Council and its constituency is being improved. ArtsOhio, the OAC's general newsletter, is mailed monthly to 9,000 people with news of what the Arts Council and Ohio's arts community are accomplishing on behalf of citizens and taxpayers. The Arts Council's web site continues to develop as an effective medium for outreach and feedback. It is accessible at www.oac.ohio.gov.
