28 June Meet Luca Mundaca: Ohio Arts Professionals Network’s 2022 EDIA Emerging Artist June 28, 2022 For the Public Bossa Nova, Cain Park, Cuyahoga County, EDIA Emerging Artist, Guitar, Jazz, Lakewood, Luca Mundaca, Midwest Regional Booking Conference, Musician, Ohio Arts Professionals Network 0 “When I was 15 years old, I was at a friend’s house, and someone started to play Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven,’” said Luca Mundaca. “I knew right at that moment that I wanted to play the guitar.” Mundaca, the Ohio Arts Professionals Network’s (OAPN) 2022 EDIA Emerging Artist, is a musician who blends her Brazilian roots with a slice of downtown New York City. She grew up in Valinos, Brazil, a town south of São Paulo, and later came to the United States. Her first stop was New York in 1999 before coming to the Cleveland area in 2006. Today, she's based in Lakewood where she lives with her partner Alexis Antes. Her music is influenced by jazz and bossa nova—a fusion of samba and cool jazz that emerged in Brazil during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Fans of Mundaca’s music connect with her melodies and lyrics. “I always just try to be my authentic self,” she said. “This is what I love about music...[it] has the ability to create a space where everyone can just be.” Thanks to the EDIA Emerging Artist program, Mundaca will be able to share her artistry with attendees of the organization’s 2022 Midwest Regional Booking Conference in Toledo. The program supports Ohio-based musicians who are self- or unrepresented and self-identify as being BIPOC, LGBTQ+, or an artist with a disability. Mundaca will receive a scholarship covering all costs of attending and showcasing at the conference. She’ll also receive a one-year membership to OAPN. This year’s EDIA Emerging Artist program sponsor is Cain Park, a municipally owned and operated summer arts park in Cleveland Heights. Erin Cameron Miller, the performing arts venue’s general manager, expressed his excitement about Cain Park’s sponsorship of the program. “We have been so pleased to sponsor these amazing emerging artists, allowing them to present their talent to professionals who have the ability and resources to aid in their performance journey,” he said. “Supporting and sponsoring EDIA Emerging Artists is just one of the ways that OAPN can show that we are an ally.” “I am really grateful for this sponsorship opportunity,” said Mundaca. She hopes it will help her expand to new audiences and share her music more widely. “I believe [the scholarship] will help me to gain exposure in new markets,” she said. “My goal is to tour nationally and internationally to touch as many people as possible through my music. I believe now, more than ever, that music and art can aid in healing hearts and minds and lifting people up with messages of love and hope.” Learn more about Mundaca and hear her music at www.lucamundaca.com. ABOUT OHIO ARTS PROFESSIONALS NETWORK The Ohio Arts Professionals Network (OAPN) is a 501(c)3 member-based organization whose mission is to support & grow the touring Arts & Culture industry in Ohio. Learn more at oapn.org. 2022 Conference Sponsors: Arts Midwest, Ohio Arts Council, and Destination Toledo. ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. Connect with the OAC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or visit our website at oac.ohio.gov. ### Article by Andrew Paa, OAC Communications Strategist, and Jessica Rosenblatt, OAPN Executive Director. Featured photo courtesy of OAPN Comments are closed.