CLEVELAND (December 12, 2018) – Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) will invest nearly $400,000 in grants to Cuyahoga County nonprofits that support and celebrate local artists in 2019. Seven CAC-funded projects will provide professional development, project-based and flexible monetary support, networking and collaboration opportunities, and access to physical spaces for hundreds of artists.
In November and December, CAC’s Board of Trustees approved grants for the following projects:
- Karamu House – a grant of $95,000 for eight visual artist and four performing artist residencies. Visual artists will be given studio space and participate in an exhibition of work created by all resident artists. Performing artists will also be given rehearsal space, access to Karamu’s production team, and will present their work to the public. Karamu will also provide shared office space to resident and community artists.
- Cleveland Public Theatre – a grant of $90,000 to support the Premiere Fellowship. Through this program, five Cuyahoga County-based theater artists (a playwright, a director, an actor and two designers) will each receive a cash award, fees for their work, mentorship, professional development and access to space, equipment and other CPT assets related to the development and implementation of their Fellowship.
- Hispanic Business Center – a grant of $50,000 for La Villa Hispana Artist Colectivo. With this grant, the Hispanic Business Center will host four bilingual Art Entrepreneur sessions. Artists attending these sessions and meeting with a business advisor, provided through this program, will be invited to participate in a pop-up market. Up to six project grants will also be available to artists who participate in the directory and attend all of the training sessions.
- LAND studio – a grant of $55,000 for a series of four, full-day workshops on public art hosted at various locations throughout the City of Cleveland. Artists attending and leading the sessions will be compensated and lunch will be provided.
- SPACES – a grant of $42,000 for an Urgent Art Fund. Five Cuyahoga County artists will be able to apply for awards and resources, including space, tools and professional development opportunities; to create new art that is socially, politically or culturally responsive. If necessary, SPACES will also help artist participants secure a location to display their work.
- Cleveland Arts Prize – a grant of up to $15,000 to expand its Verge fellowship for emerging artists and provide awards to at least five Verge artists.
“Cuyahoga Arts & Culture looks forward to investing in these nonprofits who will offer a range of programs to artists in Cuyahoga County next year,” said Jill M. Paulsen, interim CEO + executive director for CAC. “These CAC-supported projects are built on feedback from artists, who told us they need access to professional development, places to do their work, and help to build connections with community organizations, in addition to flexible and project-based funding. We look forward to seeing how artists respond to the programs and to seeing the creativity and positive change that comes as a result.”
In addition to these grants, CAC previously announced a $48,000 grant to support CPCP’s Learning Lab, a professional development and funding program for 12 artists and nonprofits, led by the Center for Performance and Civic Practice.
Learn more about the program and participants. Participants have the opportunity to partner to access additional funding to bring a civic practice project—based on the skills learned in the Learning Lab—to life in the community in 2019.
Since 2009, CAC has invested more than $4.5 million in programs that support hundreds of artists in Cuyahoga County. CAC invites local artists to visit
ClevelandArtsEvents.com to view or join our calendar and directory of artists, post an upcoming event, or to view current jobs and calls for artists.
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) is one of the largest public funders for arts and culture in the nation, helping hundreds of organizations in Cuyahoga County connect millions of people to cultural experiences each year. Since 2006, CAC has invested more than $181 million in 400 organizations both large and small, making our community a more vibrant place to live, work and play. For more information, visit
cacgrants.org.
# # # # #