Arts organizations in multiple local counties receive historic grant funding

The Winsupply Theatre of the Schuster Center. CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

The Winsupply Theatre of the Schuster Center. CONTRIBUTED

Dozens of organizations in Southwest Ohio are among the more than 900 grant recipients across the state that will receive historic funding from the Ohio Arts Council totaling $22.7 million.

The 935 grants will support Ohio artists, non-profits, arts and cultural organizations, students and educators, and public arts programming. This marks the largest single round of grant awards distributed to the Ohio Arts Council funding applicants in the agency’s history.

Grant funding was awarded in the following four areas:

1. Operating Support

Sustainability

Supports ongoing arts and cultural activities in all genres. Awards support the state’s arts and cultural ecosystem, providing stable and consistent funding to organizations regardless of budget size.

446 grants totaling $17,167,288

Statewide Arts Service Organizations (SASO)

Qualifying organizations that provide statewide professional services to arts and cultural organizations. These organizations often serve as critical partners to the OAC’s work as they, along with their members or constituents, support our mission to strengthen Ohio communities through the arts.

5 grants totaling $292,300

2. Project Support

ArtSTART

Provides flexible, accessible funding to help organizations complete short-term projects addressing a wide variety of goals and objectives. Most awards support the programming of new or emerging organizations, including first-time OAC applicants, as well as new or established organizations in areas not served by other arts providers.

181 grants totaling $625,979

ArtsNEXT

Provides competitive funding for innovative and experimental projects. Awards support big ideas that push boundaries, engage participants in unexpected ways, pilot new solutions to challenging problems, improve program design with calculated risk-taking, or result in the creation of new work.

66 grants totaling $974,891

Ohio Artists on Tour

Enables Ohio organizations to tap into the creative potential of artists to enrich their programming and the vitality of their communities.

31 grants totaling $162,071

The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company made history in February 2024 as the first African American company to perform Paul Taylor’s "Esplanade." TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Credit: Tom Gilliam

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Credit: Tom Gilliam

3. Arts Learning

Arts Partnership

Supports arts education projects that address the needs of individual learners and their communities. Grant recipients engage in collaborative planning with partners, emphasize in-depth study of the arts, and use arts learning outcomes and standards-based arts education practices.

88 grants totaling $1,002,171

TeachArtsOhio

Brings schools and community organizations together with teaching artists to share engaging, personal, high-quality arts learning experiences. Engagements can vary from short introductory exposures lasting as few as 10 days to in-depth immersive experiences spanning a full school year.

100 grants totaling $2,415,000

4. Artist Programs

Traditional Arts Apprenticeships

Provides support for master artists to work with apprentices to build understanding and proficiency in folk and traditional art forms.

18 grants totaling $65,002

Grant funding will be distributed to:

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Sustainability

Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, Inc.: $6,000

Bach Society of Dayton: $8,191

Culture Works: $44,586

Dayton Art Institute: $147,265

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company: $51,250

Dayton Performing Arts Alliance: $187,636

Downtown Dayton Partnership: $27,381

Friends of Levitt Pavilion Dayton: $35,389

Human Race, Inc.: $40,231

K12 Gallery: $31,179

Muse Machine, Inc.: $41,786

The Contemporary Dayton (formerly DVAC): $29,981

United Irish of Dayton, Inc.: $14,585

Victoria Theatre Association (dba Dayton Live): $368,978

Washington Township Recreation Center: $15,340

City of Kettering/Rosewood Arts Centre: $35,773

Kettering Children’s Choir: $7,127

We Care Arts: $28,716

Arts Partnership

Dayton Art Institute: $16,893

K12 Gallery: $8,625

Muse Machine, Inc.: $17,230

Muse Machine, Dayton's arts education organization, presented "9 to 5: The Musical" Jan. 11-14, 2024 at the Victoria Theatre.

Credit: MATTHEW SILVER

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Credit: MATTHEW SILVER

ArtSTART

Dayton Dance Initiative/Victoria Theatre Association (dba Dayton Live): $4,132

Dayton for the Arts: $3,106

Dayton Public Radio Inc (dba Discover Classical): $4,186

Greater Dayton Public Television, Inc.: $3,642

Magnolia Theatre Company: $3,642

Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra: $3,751

Puerto Rican, American and Caribbean Organization (PACO): $3,642

City of Germantown: $3,373

Dayton Dance Initiative is a collaboration of dancers from such local companies as Dayton Ballet and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. PHOTO BY PAULIO SOVARI

Credit: PAULIO SOVARI

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Credit: PAULIO SOVARI

Ohio Artists on Tour

Victoria Theatre Association (dba Dayton Live): $2,000

TeachArtsOhio

Dayton Early College Academy: $37,800

Dayton Leadership Academies: $17,500

Trotwood-Madison Early Learning Center/Trotwood-Madison City Schools: $37,800

Brantwood Elementary School/Mad River Local Schools: $37,800

Traditional Arts Apprenticeship

Anupriya Krishnan: $3,787

BUTLER COUNTY

Sustainability

City of Fairfield: $10,462

Fitton Center for Creative Arts: $43,963

Nritya Arapana School of Indian Classical Dance: $6,000

Art Central Foundation: $6,433

Middletown Fine Arts Center: $20,835

ArtsNEXT

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museuml $20,926

Nritya Arapana School of Indian Classical Dance: $7,171

Maketank, Inc. Oxford Butler $6,205

Oxford Community Arts Center: $20,852

Performing Arts Series/Miami University: $24,282

ArtSTART

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum: $4,022

INNOVAtheatre Middletown Butler $3,481

Traditional Arts Apprenticeship

Anupama Mirle: $3,305

Arts Partnership

Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum: $13,112

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY

Sustainability

Champaign County Arts Council Inc: $6,000

ArtSTART

The Gloria Theatre/Grandworks Foundation: $3,751

Students at Kuss Auditorium listen to the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 during the Link Up: The Orchestra Swings music program. The students, in grades 3-5, were treated to an interactive performance with the orchestra and the jazz ensemble while exploring elements that contribute to the moment when the orchestra starts to swing. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

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Credit: Bill Lackey

CLARK COUNTY

Sustainability

Friends of the Hartman Rock Garden: $5,204

Springfield Arts Council, Inc.: $32,925

Springfield Museum of Art: $37,097

Springfield Symphony Orchestra: $34,101

Westcott House Foundation: $26,072

Arts Partnership

Clark State Community College: $6,892

Springfield Museum of Art: $13,986

Springfield Symphony Orchestra: $9,135

Westcott House Foundation: $15,226

TeachArtsOhio

Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center: $4,900

DARKE COUNTY

Sustainability

Darke County Center for the Arts, Inc.: $11,682

ArtSTART

Illumination Festival, Inc.: 3,106

Ohio Artists on Tour

Darke County Center for the Arts, Inc.: $11,466

GREENE COUNTY

Sustainability

Chamber Music in Yellow Springs, Inc.: $6,000

Mad River Theater Works: $8,634

World House Choir: $6,164

ArtSTART

Beavercreek Music Parents Association, Inc.: $3,913

Yellow Brick Theater, Inc.: $4,132

University Art Galleries/Wright State University: $3,751

Caesar’s Ford Theatre: $18,197

Caesar’s Ford Theatre: $4,186

Arts Partnership

Mad River Theater Works: $8,550

Miami Valley Public Media Inc (dba WYSO Public Radio): $9,135

Traditional Arts Apprenticeship

Naysan Mcilhargey: $3,603

The World House Choir, under the direction of Dr. Cathy Roma, has been bringing together folks from all parts of the community for over twelve years. (CONTRIBUTED)

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MIAMI COUNTY

Sustainability

Piqua Arts Council: $24,885

ArtSTART

Main Street Piqua, Inc.: $3,859

Arbogast Performing Arts Center: $3,588

Overfield Early Childhood Program, Inc.: $3,913

PREBLE COUNTY

Sustainability

Preble County Art Association: $12,282

ArtSTART

Preble Players: $3,588

SHELBY COUNTY

Sustainability

Gateway Arts Council: $13,871

Arts Partnership

Raise the Roof for the Arts: $4,928

The Arbogast Performing Arts Center is located at 500 S. Dorset Rd. in Troy. The performance venue, made possible with a $2 million donation from Dave and Linda Arbogast seats 1,200 people for education, arts, community and business events. A grand opening celebration was held Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. TOM GILLIAM / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Credit: Tom Gilliam

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Credit: Tom Gilliam

WARREN COUNTY

Sustainability

Waynesville Area Arts Council: $2,930

ArtSTART

Wren Works: $3,373

Mason Symphony Orchestra: $3,913

Blue Feather Productions: $3,859

“On behalf of the board, the Ohio Arts Council thanks Governor Mike DeWine, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, and members of the Ohio General Assembly for their steadfast support of the arts,” said Ohio Arts Council Executive Director Donna S. Collins, in a press release. “We are proud to invest such a significant amount of funding in Ohio communities and contribute to our state’s cultural vitality and importance.”

For more information visit oac.ohio.gov.

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