National Endowment for the Arts Awards More Than $1.2M to Ohio Recipients June 14, 2017 Click to Tweet: .@NEAarts awards more than $1.2M to #Ohio recipients #NEASpring17 COLUMBUS, Ohio – June 14, 2017 A total of $1,275,500 will be awarded through 19 grants to various arts-related organizations in Ohio, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced Wednesday. Of the grants distributed during the NEA’s spring funding cycle, the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) will receive $965,500 to help support arts initiatives throughout the state. This is the eighth year in a row that the OAC has earned the second-highest partnership agreement grant, securing more NEA funding than larger states including Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. “Ohioans should be proud that the Ohio Arts Council has brought home the second-largest NEA grant for eight straight years,” said OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “The OAC puts every federal dollar it receives right to work in communities throughout our state, directly investing in our economy.” California is once again the only state that received a partnership agreement grant that exceeds Ohio’s. The NEA allocates grant money based on each state’s population and the merit of the work done by its state arts agency. In Ohio, all federal funding is reinvested as grants to help individuals and organizations pursue artistic endeavors. “The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Supporting projects like the ones in Ohio offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.” A complete list of Ohio NEA grant recipients follows: Statewide Ohio Arts Council: $965,500 Akron Northeast Ohio Center for Choreography: $10,000 Cincinnati Mam-Luft and Company Dance, Inc. (aka MamLuft&Co. Dance): $10,000 Mayerson Foundation: $25,000 Cleveland GroundWorks Dancetheater: $10,000 Professional Flair, Inc. (aka The Dancing Wheels Company & School): $10,000 The Sculpture Center: $15,000 Columbus ShadoArt Productions, Inc. (aka Shadowbox Live): $10,000 Wexner Center Foundation (aka Wexner Center for the Arts) – Presenting and Multidisciplinary Works: $35,000 Wexner Center Foundation (aka Wexner Center for the Arts) – Media Arts: $25,000 Dayton Dayton Performing Arts Alliance: $10,000 Oxford Shakespeare Theatre Association: $15,000 Shaker Heights City of Shaker Heights: $50,000 Tiffin Heidelberg University: $15,000 Toledo Toledo Opera Association (aka Toledo Opera): $10,000 University Heights ChamberFest Cleveland: $10,000 Willoughby Fine Arts Association Willoughby: $10,000 Yellow Springs Community Media Productions Group Inc.: $30,000 Zanesfield Mad River Theater Works: $10,000 For additional detail on NEA grants in Ohio in this funding round, click here. ABOUT THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. 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 Amanda Etchison, Communications Strategist