ArtsWave Grants by the #s

By Jackie Reau, Publisher

Over the past year, ArtsWave, the engine for the arts in our region, has been a major catalyst for grant making to support the regional artistic community, including Black and Brown artists, LGBTQIA-focused projects and young professional programming. All in all, ArtsWave and its community partners have distributed $834,638 in grants to 338 artists during the COVID-19 crisis.

This weekend, ArtsWave begins its 2021 annual community campaign, to support hundreds of arts organizations and artists from some 40,000 donors. To learn more about ArtsWave or make a donation, visit ArtsWave.org.

Here is a breakdown of ArtsWave grants made during the pandemic to support the regional arts community:

ArtsWave awards $15,000 in Pride grants

ArtsWave has awarded its annual set of grants for arts projects of interest to LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies. A total of $15,000 from the 2020 ArtsWave Campaign were allocated to four different nonprofit arts organizations representing a wide variety of arts, including choral, theater, dance, visual arts and classes. 

Here is the list:

In total, $43,000 in grant requests were made by nine different nonprofit organizations. ArtsWave Pride Grant Panel Chair, Ford Clark mentions, “this was a very competitive grant process, and the committee selected the highest impact programs which we believe will be executed effectively, given the state of the pandemic.” ArtsWave President & CEO Alecia Kintner is pleased that the Pride networking and affinity group continues to grow, adding “Cincinnati’s arts organizations shine even more brightly when they innovate with new programming that intentionally includes and celebrates diverse audiences.”

ArtsWave Pride is ArtsWave’s networking and communications group that welcomes and connects LGBTQIA individuals and allies that support the arts through donations to ArtsWave. This networking and communications group has been the fastest-forming networking and communications group that ArtsWave has ever created, with over 1,700 sign-ups during the 2020 ArtsWave Community Campaign. Thanks to PNC Bank, ArtsWave Pride members who make a gift of $75+ receive invitations to ArtsWave Pride events as well as opportunities to become involved in various arts performances that accompany these events.

ArtsWave announces 27 winning projects proposed by Black and Brown artists on the theme of truth and reconciliation

In a series of grants meant to uplift the artistry and experiences of people of color, ArtsWave announced last month a cohort of 27 Black and Brown artists who will receive a total of $271,638 for their projects on the theme of “truth and reconciliation.” Funding for these grants, which average $10,000 each, comes from the City of Cincinnati, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Duke Energy Fifth Third Bank, and ArtsWave’s Arts Vibrancy Recovery Fund.

Twenty-two grant recipients were selected from a competitive applicant pool of 49 artists from across the region. In addition, five master artists, whose work has been supported by ArtsWave over the last decade or longer, were awarded funding for their projects on the same theme. The collection of 27 funded projects reflect a variety of artistic disciplines and approaches to the complexities of ”truth” and “reconciliation” after a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and stark displays of systemic racism, racial injustice and inequities that confront Black and Brown individuals.

Each of the projects has an aspect of public performance, display or showcase, with plans for an exhibition in partnership with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in summer 2021. Many artists are planning for both live and digital dissemination of the work, a reflection of both the potential for wider reach through technology and the ongoing health risks of the pandemic.

Artists are also asked to involve some aspect of collaboration with community members and other partners in their projects, so that the larger public can participate in reconciling the moment and imagining a more just and equitable future for the Cincinnati region through the arts. As a group, the projects advance ArtsWave’s Blueprint for Collective Action and the powerful goals of bridging cultural divides, promoting understanding and empathy, deepening the roots of residents, and improving neighborhoods.

Building on the momentum created by Cincinnati’s Black Lives Matter mural and Cincinnati Music Festival’s Outdoor Museum, ArtsWave announced the Black & Brown Artist Project Grants in fall 2020. A review panel of 16 individuals representing a cross-section of cultural organizations, civic organizations, and businesses was chaired by Toilynn O’Neal, founder of the Robert O’Neal Multi Cultural Arts Center (“The ROMAC”).

“The arts are one of our most effective tools for illuminating even the most challenging moments and encouraging dialogue that can lead to positive change and greater understanding,” says ArtsWave President & CEO Alecia Kintner. “Knowing that we have much to learn from the artists in our community, ArtsWave is pleased to support the creation of 27 thoughtful and provocative works by local Black and Brown visionaries this spring.”

City of Cincinnati Council Member Greg Landsman, who championed the city’s funding of this grants program with ArtsWave, notes, “Cincinnati has incredible artists, though too many of them – especially many local Black and Brown artists – don’t get the support they need to be successful. This happens, despite the fact that the art they create brings real beauty and meaning to our lives. They enrich our communities, and I was honored to help lead what I hope will be an annual effort to invest, alongside our amazing private-sector partners, in these very talented local artists.”

$100,000+ in Artist Relief Available for 100 Artists in 15 Cincinnati Counties

Last month ArtsWave announced that $100,000+ was made available in new relief funds for artists whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Regional Artist Relief Fund will provide grants of $1,000 each to as many as 100 performing and visual artists who live within the 15-county Greater Cincinnati MSA.

This funding opportunity mirrors the December distribution of $200,000 in CARES Act dollars by ArtsWave on behalf of the City of Cincinnati, to 107 city-based artists. Thanks to new private sources, including ArtsWave’s Arts Vibrancy Recovery Fund, this next relief program expands assistance to artists who live beyond the city limits.

“We can’t expect our region to restore its cultural vibrancy if our resident artists don’t survive the prolonged loss of work due to COVID-19,” said Alecia Kintner, ArtsWave President & CEO. “Whether they are musicians who perform in clubs or pit orchestras, actors or crew in our regional theaters, visual artists who depend on galleries and art fairs to sell their work, or arts educators whose contracts with schools have been suspended, these highly skilled creative workers are under grave threat as the pandemic wears on.”

Grant awards will be based on clear demonstration of lost work and financial hardship due to the coronavirus. Awards will reflect the broadest possible range of diversity based on the applicant pool. To be eligible, artists must earn 25% or more of their income through their art and must not have received funding in the prior round.

The 2021 Regional Artist Relief Fund includes $50,000 from the Kent and Martha Savage Family Charitable Fund at Greater Cincinnati Foundation, matched by ArtsWave’s Arts Vibrancy Recovery Fund. In addition, proceeds from Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park’s last day (January 3) of Journey BOREALIS was donated, as are exhibition revenues from Cincinnati Art Museum’s community engagement days in December 2020 and January 2021.

ArtsWave Announces $48,000 in YP Grants

In December, ArtsWave’s announced $48,000 in grant awards from the 2020 ArtsWave Campaign to support programming from seven arts organizations that will attract and engage Young Professionals (YPs) to the arts. 

The projects were chosen to reinforce “Arts Deepen Roots,” one of ArtsWave’s five objectives for the region’s arts sector framed in its Blueprint for Collective Action. “Involvement in the arts is a great way to become more connected to the community,” explains ArtsWave President & CEO Alecia Kintner. “Keeping talented young people in our region and actively engaged in civic life is important to the success and vibrancy of our businesses and institutions.”

Below is a list of the organizations and projects selected:

Funding for the YP grant program is made possible by donations from the 2020 ArtsWave Campaign, given by ArtsWave Young Professionals. Ten percent of all donations given by these YPs are designated for these grants. Projects were chosen through a cross-section of YPs throughout the region who evaluated the submissions and made recommendations.

$400,000 in Artist Relief, Grants and Commissions Announced by ArtsWave, City of Cincinnati and Duke Energy

In November, ArtsWave, working in partnership with the City of Cincinnati and Duke Energy, announced two opportunities which provided $400,000 in total to local artists in the form of pandemic relief and creative project support.

The Cincinnati Arts Access Fund (CAAF) was established by the City of Cincinnati with $200,000 in CARES Act funding. Two-hundred eligible artists of all types (visual artists, performers, actors, musicians, singers, etc.), who are city residents and who earn 25% or more of their income through their art, can receive COVID-related relief grants of $1,000 each.

“The coronavirus pandemic is causing extreme hardship for large numbers of out-of-work artists in Cincinnati,” said City Council member Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, who proposed the CAAF. “These grants can be used to reimburse living expenses or to find new ways to generate income.”

A second, separate $200,000 program for projects addressing the theme of “truth and reconciliation” was announced by Cincinnati Council member Greg Landsman. Black and Brown artists are eligible to apply for up to $10,000 to create a work, in any artistic discipline, that helps re-imagine a more just and equitable future.

“Cincinnati’s Black and Brown artists have long been chronicling our uneven progress to overcome racism and division,” City Council member Landsman said. “These grants are another way for us to lift up their voices and bring our community together.” The City of Cincinnati is contributing $75,000 toward this program.

To extend the program to artists throughout the Cincinnati metro and Northern Kentucky region, Duke Energy provided $25,000 in additional funding. Rhonda Whitaker Hurtt, Vice President, Community Relations & Economic Development for Duke Energy, added, “Artists and their works have the ability to lead us to greater empathy and compassion. This is especially true of Black and Latino artists. Their talents, creations and perspectives can help us make sense of recent challenges and prompt us to take further action toward greater equality for all.”

ArtsWave matched both investments with $100,000 from its Arts Vibrancy Recovery Fund, resulting in a funding pool that will enable a total of 20-25 projects that explore the program’s strategic focus on truth and reconciliation.

“ArtsWave is honored to be partnering with the City of Cincinnati and Duke Energy to create these two important funding opportunities for artists,” said Alecia Kintner, president and CEO of ArtsWave. “We have a chance to provide much-needed financial relief for 200 vital contributors to our creative community, and we are investing in the continued work and impact of Black and Brown artists across our region.”