3 May Ohio Artists Receive Individual Excellence Awards May 3, 2018 artists, For Artists, For the Public, News Ashland County, Athens County, Board, Butler County, Clark County, Cuyahoga County, Darke County, Defiance County, Erie County, Fairfield County, Franklin County, Geauga County, Greene County, Hamilton County, Harrison County, Individual Artists, Individual Excellence Awards, Knox County, Lake County, Lorain County, Lucas County, Madison County, Montgomery County, Ohio Arts Council, Portage County, Richland County, Summit County, Warren County, Wayne County, Wood County 0 Board members of the Ohio Arts Council (OAC) approved Individual Excellence Awards for state fiscal year 2018 during a public meeting on April 25. Individual Excellence Awards are peer recognition of creative artists for the exceptional merit of a body of their work that advances or exemplifies the discipline and the larger artistic community. These awards support artists' growth and development and recognize their work in Ohio and beyond. During this funding cycle, applications in choreography, criticism, fiction/non-fiction, music composition, playwriting/screenplays, and poetry were accepted. Each award is $5,000. “We are fortunate to have a creative abundance of outstanding artists in Ohio,” said OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins. “Frank Lloyd Wright was known to say, ‘I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things I want to see happen.’ The artists earning the Ohio Arts Council’s 2018 Individual Excellence Awards have indeed been tapped for their success.” For a complete, filterable list of grant recipients, download the Excel spreadsheet here. A list of Individual Excellence Award winners follows: ASHLAND Sarah Wells (Ashland) – Non-Fiction ATHENS Merri Biechler (Guysville) – Playwriting Sharon Hatfield (Athens) – Non-Fiction Mark Phillips (Athens) – Music Composition BUTLER TaraShea Nesbit (Oxford) – Non-Fiction CLARK Mimi Dixon (Springfield) – Non-Fiction CUYAHOGA Michael Credico (Lakewood) – Fiction Caitlin Dargue (Shaker Heights) – Playwriting Keith Fitch (Cleveland Heights) – Music Composition Mary Grimm (Cleveland) – Fiction Christopher Johnston (Shaker Heights) – Non-Fiction Bradley Ricca (University Heights) – Non-Fiction Pandora Robertson (Cleveland Heights) – Playwriting David Shimotakahara (Cleveland Heights) – Choreography Gregory Vovos (Rocky River) – Playwriting Megan Young (Cleveland) – Choreography DARKE Myrna Stone (Greenville) – Poetry DEFIANCE Mary Catherine Harper (Defiance) – Poetry ERIE Daniel Sapp (Berlin Heights) – Poetry FAIRFIELD Charles Salmons (Canal Winchester) – Poetry FRANKLIN Marc Ainger (Columbus) – Music Composition Jenny Deller (Columbus) – Playwriting Darren Demaree (Columbus) – Poetry Mya Frazier (Columbus) – Criticism Linda Fuller-Smith (Columbus) – Poetry Kevin Griffith (Columbus) – Poetry Samantha Tucker Iacovetto (Columbus) – Non-Fiction Jahir Johnson (Columbus) – Playwriting Kris Paulsen (Worthington) – Criticism Susan Petry (Columbus) – Choreography Rebecca Seum (Westerville) – Non-Fiction Maggie Smith (Bexley) – Poetry Michael Vander Does (Columbus) – Poetry Nick White (Columbus) – Fiction Carmen Winant (Columbus) – Criticism David Yee (Columbus) – Fiction GEAUGA Patrick Culliton (Chardon) – Poetry Brian Macaskill (Chardon) – Criticism GREENE Heather Christle (Yellow Springs) – Non-Fiction Will Clemens (Fairborn) – Poetry Rebecca Kuder (Yellow Springs) – Non-Fiction HAMILTON Michael Fiday (Cincinnati) – Music Composition Luke Geddes (Cincinnati) – Fiction Jennifer Habel (Cincinnati) – Poetry Ellen Harrison (Cincinnati) – Music Composition Kristen Iversen (Cincinnati) – Non-Fiction Matt Jones (Cincinnati) – Non-Fiction Douglas Knehans (Cincinnati) – Music Composition Julia Koets (Cincinnati) – Poetry Brian Roley (Montgomery) – Fiction Judith Turner-Yamamoto (Cincinnati) – Fiction HARRISON Sharon Mooney (Scio) – Poetry KNOX Jaquira Diaz (Gambier) - Non-Fiction Kora Radella Feller (Gambier) – Choreography Margaree Little (Mount Vernon) – Poetry LAKE Christopher Harris (Madison) – Non-Fiction LORAIN Elizabeth Ogonek (Oberlin) – Music Composition Marco Wilkinson (Oberlin) – Non-Fiction LUCAS Jim Ferris (Sylvania) – Music Composition Mikel Kuehn (Sylvania) – Music Composition Eric Pfeffinger (Toledo) – Playwriting Benjamin Stroud (Toledo) – Fiction MADISON Vicki Sairs (London) – Fiction MONTGOMERY Furaha Henry-Jones (Centerville) – Poetry Sharon Short (Centerville) – Fiction PORTAGE Lora Gray (Kent) – Fiction RICHLAND Mark Jordan (Lucas) – Criticism SUMMIT Mary Biddinger (Akron) – Poetry Robin Prichard (Akron) – Choreography Barbara Sabol (Cuyahoga Falls) – Poetry Stefanie Wass (Hudson) – Fiction WARREN Katrina Kittle (Springboro) – Fiction WAYNE Anthony Tognazzini (Wooster) – Fiction WOOD Sharona Muir (Perrysburg) – Fiction Frank Rzicznek (Bowling Green) – Poetry Daniel Williams (Perrysburg) – Playwriting For more information about the OAC’s grant programs, visit oac.ohio.gov/grants. 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 --- Updated May 3, 2018: This story has been revised to include an updated version of the spreadsheet that lists Sarah Wells' current city and county (Ashland, Ashland County) and Individual Excellence Award recipient Jaquira Diaz. Updated May 29, 2018: This story has been updated to include the correct spelling of Mya Frazier's name. Updated June 1, 2018: This story has been updated with Daniel Williams' correct discipline (playwriting). Comments are closed.