Nearly twice as many arts organizations and schools in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties received grants from the Ohio Arts Council for fiscal year 2024 compared to this year.
The OAC board approved $21,814,824 statewide in grants this week for artists, arts / cultural organizations, students, educators and public arts programming. The awards follow the recent passage of the state’s 2024-25 operating budget, which includes a record-setting $51.1 million for the Ohio Arts Council over the next two years.
In the three-county area, the board awarded $256,545 combined to 25 organizations and schools. Last year 13 organizations received about $175,000 in funding.
A big reason for the increase is that nine schools in the Youngstown City School District received TeachArtOhio grants, which fund in-school residencies for teaching artists.
Chaney High School, East Middle School and Rayen Early College Middle School each will get $4,900. Harding, Kirkmere, Martin Luther King Jr., Paul C. Bunn, Taft and Volney Rogers elementary schools each will get $4,200.
Including the schools, Mahoning County organizations will receive a total of $233,228.
Stambaugh and SMARTS received ArtsSTART grants, which funds newer arts and cultural projects. The rest received sustainability grants, which can be used for operating expenses.
Four Trumbull County organizations will receive at total of $12,529:
BRITE Energy Innovators — $4,444
• Foundation Medici (Medici Museum of Art) — $3,526
• Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership — $1,134
• Warren Symphony Society (Warren Philharmonic Orchestra) — $3,425
TNP’s grant is for sustainability. The other three are ArtSTART grants. Only TNP and Medici received OAC grants last year.
According to OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins, “Ohio’s arts and culture sector is poised for a strong future as we continue to work together for a full recovery of in-person arts programming, an expansion of arts education to combat pandemic-related learning loss and restoration and growth of career opportunities for arts professionals.”
Source: https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2023/07/oac-awards-grants-to-area-groups-schools/
