COLUMBUS, Ohio—For its first major grant funding round of fiscal year 2017, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced more than $30 million will be awarded to nonprofit organizations and individuals across the country for grants in the following funding areas: Art Works; Art Works: Creativity Connects; Challenge America; and Creative Writing Fellowships. These grants cross all artistic disciplines, reach 48 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and also support partnerships between the arts and non-arts sectors.

 “The arts are for all of us, and by supporting these projects, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum, or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer.”

Twenty-eight grants will be awarded to Ohio organizations and individual artists, placing Ohio tenth in the nation for number of grants awarded by state. The total dollar amount of grants given across Ohio is $682,000 for this funding round. 

“We’re incredibly proud of the creative individuals and thriving arts organizations that call Ohio home,” said Donna S. Collins, Ohio Arts Council executive director. “It is especially exciting to see support for a wide variety of art forms and projects—from opera to creative writing, media arts to creative placemaking, and more.”

The NEA also released a new video on the importance of the arts nationwide.

Congratulations to Ohio’s first round of FY 2017 NEA grant funding! Read about their projects here.­

1.          Cincinnati Ballet

2.          Cincinnati Opera

3.          Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

4.          Cincinnati Shakespeare Company

5.          Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

6.          Contemporary Arts Center (CAC)

7.          Contemporary Dance Theater

8.          Corey Van Landingham

9.          Cleveland International Film Festival, Inc. (CIFF)

10.     DANCECleveland

11.     Cleveland Museum of Art

12.     Cleveland Play House

13.     Cleveland Public Theatre

14.     Cuyahoga Community College Foundation

15.     Cuyahoga Community College Foundation (on behalf of Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland)

16.     LAND studio*

17.     The Cleveland Orchestra

18.     Rainey Institute

19.     SPACES

20.     Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra

21.     BalletMet

22.     Bebe Miller Company

23.     Opera Columbus

24.     Kenyon Review

25.     Verb Ballets

26.     Toledo Museum of Art

27.     Otterbein University