Agency Description

Ohio Arts Council 727 E. Main Street Columbus OH 43205-1796 614/466-2613 614/466-4494 FAX

Hours of operation: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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.

You may download these documents (in PDF format) using the links provided:


• 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 newly developed 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 2002/2003 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 Communications Manager, 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 2004/2005 Ohio Arts Council Biennial Report (Please note: This document requires version 4.0 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.)

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
• Kevin Cary, 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. FY2007 funding from the NEA totaled $842,300. The FY2008/2009 biennial appropriation is $24,976,322. This represents a 11.1 percent increase from the FY2006/2007 biennial budget of $22,476,322. The FY2008/2009 biennial appropriation represents an aggregate 23.7 percent reduction to the OAC's budget from the FY2000/2001 original appropriation ($32,736,291), the biennium in which the OAC received its largest ever appropriation from the legislature. The OAC budget is less than one twentieth of one percent (.05%) of the total state budget of $52.4 billion.

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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