Romare Bearden, Hometime, 1970, Collage and mixed media on board. Collection of the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio

Agency Description

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Ohio Arts Council
727 E. Main Street
Columbus OH 43205-1796
1-866-2-GET-OAC
614/466-2613
614/466-4494 FAX Hours of operation:
Monday-Friday
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

You may direct-dial staff members by using the numbers on the staff directory page.

The OAC Information Packet is a group of three documents providing information about the OAC's budget and programs, and the importance of public support for the arts.

Facts About the Ohio Arts Council
Building a Case for the Arts
Highlights of OAC Programs

The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically. With funds from the Ohio Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, the OAC provides financial assistance to artists and arts organizations.

View the Ohio Arts Council's 2006-2009 Strategic Plan (PDF) and 2006-2009 Strategic Plan Executive Summary (PDF).

Every biennium the OAC publishes a report of grants awarded in the previous two fiscal years. The 2006/2007 Biennial Report is now available as a PDF. The report is organized by OAC program area and lists only organization name, project title and amount. Due to budget reductions the OAC will not be printing a hard copy version of this report. If you are unable to download or print this report, please contact the Public Information Office at the Ohio Arts Council at 614/466-2613 or email Public Information Office Director, Jami Goldstein, at jami.goldstein@oac.state.oh.us. You may also search past OAC grants using the OAC Funding History database (containing grants from 1998-present).

Download the 2006/2007 Ohio Arts Council Biennial Report (Please note: This document requires version 7.0 or higher of Adobe Acrobat Reader. It is free and available for Windows, Macintosh and other operating systems. Other PDF readers are not supported and may not read this document properly.) If you would like to see previous biennial reports please e-mail the public information office at oac.publicinformationoffice@oac.state.oh.us.

The OAC Board is composed of 15 voting members appointed by the governor and four non-voting members, two each from the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives. The Council Board is responsible for final approval of funding requests. All Council Board meetings are open to the public.

The executive director and OAC staff assist artists and art organizations by guiding them through the application process and by working with panel consultants to arrive at the funding recommendations presented to the Council Board.

KEY PERSONNEL

Susan Saxbe, Chairperson
Barbara S. Robinson, Chair Emeritus
Julie S. Henahan, Executive Director
Mary Campbell-Zopf, Deputy Director
Dia Foley, Grants Office Director
Carolyn McClaskey, Fiscal Director

For a full list of staff and email addresses please use our Staff Directory.

The Ohio Arts Council receives biennial appropriations from the Ohio General Assembly and annual funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). FY2008 funding from the NEA totaled $817,000. The FY2008/2009 biennial appropriation was $24,976,322 as passed in June 2007. This represented an 11.1 percent increase from the FY2006/2007 biennial budget of $22,476,322. However, the Ohio Arts Council's 2008/2009 biennium budget was reduced by 10 percent in April 2008 due to state budget reductions. The original appropriation of $24,976,322 was reduced by a total of $2,497,632 for a new appropriation of $22,478,690 for the biennium. In September, the OAC was instructed to apply an additional 4.75 percent reduction to the FY2009 budget. This reduced the FY2009 budget appropriation of $11,213,161 by a total of $532,625 for a new appropriation of $10,680,566. The adjusted FY2008/2009 biennial budget of $21,946,065 represents funding near FY1994/1995 budget levels.

The OAC offers support through a wide range of programs for organizations and individuals, including Arts Access, Arts Learning, Capacity Building, Individual Creativity, Arts Innovation and the International Partnership program. The OAC also provides essential operating support for Ohio arts institutions through its Sustainability program. The OAC operates the Riffe Gallery in Columbus and sponsors the annual Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio. The OAC also administers Ohio's Percent for Art program and the ArtsinOhio.com statewide arts and cultural events calendar.

The Ohio Arts Council is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Due to the implementation of cost savings days (furloughs) by the State of Ohio, the OAC office will be closed on the following days: Friday, November 27; Thursday, December 24; and Thursday, December 31.

In each case the office will reopen at 8 a.m. the following Monday. Thank you for your cooperation during these periods.