75 Ohio Artists Receive Individual Excellence Awards May 3, 2016 COLUMBUS, Ohio—On April 20, 2016, the Ohio Arts Council board met publicly and approved Individual Excellence Award recommendations for state fiscal year 2016. Seventy-five (75) $5,000 Individual Excellence Awards were approved totaling $375,000. There were 392 applications received for a total request of $1,960,000. ABOUT INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 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/nonfiction, music composition, playwriting, and poetry categories were accepted. Individual Excellence Award winners are listed below by category with city and county. Click here to download the by-city breakdown. CHOREOGRAPHY Zelma Badu-Younge, Athens (Athens) Leslie Dworkin, Dayton (Montgomery) Holly Handman-Lopez , Oberlin (Lorain) Ani Javian, Athens (Athens) Megan Young, Cleveland (Cuyahoga) CRITICISM Ann Albright, Oberlin (Lorain) Tony Dallas, Yellow Springs (Greene) Jeremy Glazier, Columbus (Franklin) Anderson Turner, Garretsville (Portage) FICTION/NONFICTION Julian Anderson, Columbus (Franklin) Akhim Cabey, Columbus (Franklin) Lawrence Coates, Bowling Green (Wood) Michael Croley, Granville (Licking) Elizabeth Eshelman, Westerville (Franklin) D’Arcy Fallon, Springfield (Clark) Erin Flanagan, Kettering (Montgomery) Michael Garriga, Berea (Cuyahoga) David Giffels, Akron (Summit) Peter Grandbois, Granville (Licking) Amy Gustine, Ottawa Hills (Lucas) Stephanie Harrison, New Albany (Franklin) Michael Henson, Cincinnati (Hamilton) Rebe Huntman, Columbus (Franklin) Lee Martin, Columbus (Franklin) James Miranda, Athens (Athens) Caryl Pagel, Cleveland Heights (Cuyahoga) Memory Risinger, Columbus (Franklin) Sharon Short, Centerville (Montgomery) Joseph Squance, Oxford (Butler) Sarah Willis, Cleveland Heights (Cuyahoga) Meghan Wynne, New Concord (Muskingum) Nancy Zafris, Columbus (Franklin) Theresa Williams, Bradner (Wood) MUSIC COMPOSITION Marc Ainger, Columbus (Franklin) Jeremy Allen, Cleveland (Cuyahoga) Jack Gallagher, Wooster (Wayne) Brian Harnetty, Columbus (Franklin) Aaron Helgeson, Oberlin (Lorain) Mikel Kuehn, Sylvania (Lucas) Jeffrey Mumford, Oberlin (Lorain) Michael Torres, Columbus (Franklin) Lewis Nielson, La Grange (Lorain) Thomas Wells, Columbus (Franklin) PLAYWRITING Lisa Allen, Lyndhurst (Cuyahoga) George Brant, Cleveland Heights (Cuyahoga) Christine Howey, Cleveland Heights (Cuyahoga) Wendy MacLeod, Gambier (Knox) Eric Pfeffinger, Toledo (Lucas) Charles Smith, Athens (Athens) Louise Smith, Yellow Springs (Greene) Toni Thayer, Cleveland Heights (Cuyahoga) David Todd, University Heights (Cuyahoga) POETRY Philip Arnold, New Albany (Franklin) Ruth Awad, Columbus (Franklin) George Bilgere, Cleveland Heights (Cuyahoga) Philip Brady, Youngstown (Mahoning) Gabrielle Burton, Columbus (Franklin) Anthony Frame, Toledo (Lucas) Elton Glaser, Akron (Summit) Andrew Grace, Gambier (Knox) Kathy Fagan Grandinetti, Columbus (Franklin) Stephen Haven, Shaker Heights (Cuyahoga) Marcus Jackson, Columbus (Franklin) Benjamin Landry, Oberlin (Lorain) Philip Metres, University Heights (Cuyahoga) Aimee Noel, Dayton (Montgomery) Krystyna Orlowski, Shaker Heights (Cuyahoga) Frank Paino, Berea (Cuyahoga) Jody Rambo, Springfield (Clark) Doug Ramspeck, Lima (Allen) Nicole Robinson, Kent (Portage) Maggie Smith, Bexley (Franklin) Alison Stine, Athens (Athens) William Wells, Lima (Allen) David Winter, Columbus (Franklin) Khaty Xiong, Dublin (Franklin) 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. ###