MXO ‘The Arts Unplugged’: Cultural Groups Awarded $12M By Cuyahoga Arts And Culture!
Ideastream.org, By David C. Barnett, Posted December 8th 2020
Local museums, theaters and other area arts non-profits will be sharing a little over $12 million in grant funding from cigarette-tax revenues distributed annually by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC). The awards were announced at a virtual meeting of the CAC board Tuesday.
Sixty-five organizations will receive general operation support during 2021, from nearly $32,000 for Chagrin Valley Little Theater to $1.2 million for Playhouse Square. ideastream also receives operating support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Another 230 groups are receiving funding for special projects, in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $25,000.
Out of the nearly 300 recipients this year, there are 16 first-time awardees, including Night Market Cleveland in AsiaTown, the East Cleveland Farmers’ Market Preservation Society and the RASHAD Center, devoted to studying religion and spirituality in the African diaspora.
Soon after the pandemic forced shutdowns across the region earlier this year, CAC acted to free-up funding for its recipients, by allowing for those funds to be distributed more quickly. Executive director Jill Paulsen said CAC is looking to keep such flexibility in the coming year’s funding cycle, also providing leeway for rescheduled events.
“We’re all living through this pandemic and we know it’s not going away tomorrow,” she said. “So, some groups may not be able to complete their grants next year. And that’s okay, because we’re most worried about how to keep people safe while doing arts and culture.”
In addition to awarding cigarette-tax funds for next year, the CAC board will also distribute $2,664,000 in federal CARES Act funds to arts and cultural non-profits before the end of this year from a special pool of money set aside by the county for COVID relief.
2021 Grants
The following organizations will receive funding through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture’s 2021 grant programs.
| Grant Recipient | Grant Amount |
| Achievement Centers for Children | $5,000 |
| America Asian Pacific Islander Organization | $4,000 |
| America SCORES Cleveland | $15,960 |
| American Hungarian Friends of Scouting | $8,883 |
| Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra | $104,031 |
| Aradhana Committee | $22,500 |
| Art House | $19,641 |
| Art Song Festival | $4,000 |
| Art Therapy Studio | $45,545 |
| Artists Archives of the Western Reserve | $23,401 |
| Arts Cleveland | $54,131 |
| Arts in Strongsville | $5,000 |
| Arts Renaissance Tremont (ART) | $4,000 |
| Arts Without Borders* | $4,000 |
| ATNSC: Center for Healing & Creative Leadership | $4,000 |
| Baldwin Wallace University | $21,000 |
| Baseball Heritage Museum | $5,000 |
| Bay Village Community Band | $2,800 |
| BAYarts | $57,017 |
| Beck Center for the Arts | $129,016 |
| Bedford Downtown Alliance | $5,000 |
| Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging | $5,000 |
| Berea Arts Fest | $5,000 |
| Big Creek Connects | $2,000 |
| Blazing River Freedom Band | $1,050 |
| Blue Streak Ensemble | $4,000 |
| BlueWater Chamber Orchestra | $13,958 |
| Bodwin Theatre Company | $5,000 |
| BorderLight | $4,000 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland | $21,400 |
| Brite Cleveland | $23,000 |
| Broadway School of Music and the Arts | $19,553 |
| Brooklyn Heights Service Clubs | $4,000 |
| Buck Out Foundation* | $5,000 |
| Burten, Bell, Carr Development | $4,000 |
| Campus District Inc. | $4,000 |
| Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation | $12,995 |
| Case Western Reserve University | $5,000 |
| Cassidy Theatre | $18,407 |
| Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland | $4,000 |
| Cavani String Quartet | $10,682 |
| Cedar Fairmount Special Improvement District | $5,000 |
| Center for Arts-Inspired Learning | $95,371 |
| Cesear’s Forum | $4,000 |
| Chagrin Documentary Film Festival | $22,333 |
| Chagrin Valley Little Theater | $31,854 |
| ChamberFest Cleveland | $20,550 |
| Children’s Museum of Cleveland | $69,804 |
| Choral Arts Cleveland | $5,000 |
| City Ballet of Cleveland | $4,000 |
| CityMusic Cleveland | $19,333 |
| Cleveland Arts Prize | $19,333 |
| Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers | $4,000 |
| Cleveland Ballet | $20,083 |
| Cleveland Botanical Garden | $193,947 |
| Cleveland Chamber Choir | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Chamber Collective | $4,000 |
| Cleveland Chamber Music Society | $14,280 |
| Cleveland Chamber Symphony | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Classical Guitar Society | $23,083 |
| Cleveland Composers Guild | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Contemporary Chinese Culture Association | $14,006 |
| Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation | $11,144 |
| Cleveland Grays Armory Museum | $4,000 |
| Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Inner City Ballet | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Institute of Art | $548,585 |
| Cleveland Institute of Music | $547,099 |
| Cleveland International Film Festival | $151,398 |
| Cleveland Jazz Orchestra | $27,492 |
| Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank | $3,000 |
| Cleveland Leadership Center | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Museum of Art | $936,686 |
| Cleveland Museum of Natural History | $492,147 |
| Cleveland Opera Theater | $22,333 |
| Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Play House | $313,809 |
| Cleveland POPS Orchestra | $62,803 |
| Cleveland Print Room | $23,083 |
| Cleveland Public Theatre | $104,107 |
| Cleveland Rape Crisis Center | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Restoration Society | $71,797 |
| Cleveland School of the Arts Board of Trustees | $23,500 |
| Cleveland Seed Bank | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Shakespeare Festival | $4,000 |
| Cleveland TOPS Swingband | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Treatment Center | $18,918 |
| Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project | $5,000 |
| Cleveland Women’s Orchestra | $4,000 |
| Collective Arts Network | $16,501 |
| CollectivExpress | $4,000 |
| Comité Mexicano* | $4,000 |
| Community Cup Classic Foundation* | $5,000 |
| Connecting for Kids of Westlake OH | $5,000 |
| Contemporary Youth Orchestra | $29,216 |
| convergence-continuum | $7,849 |
| Coventry Village Special Improvement District | $5,000 |
| Cudell Improvement | $5,000 |
| Cuyahoga River Restoration | $5,000 |
| DANCECleveland | $48,961 |
| DANCEVERT | $3,000 |
| Dancing Wheels | $37,315 |
| Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization | $9,849 |
| Djapo Cultural Arts Institute | $5,000 |
| Dobama Theatre | $45,877 |
| Downtown Cleveland Alliance | $22,188 |
| DuffyLit | $11,889 |
| Dunham Tavern Museum | $20,370 |
| Earth and Air: String Orchestra | $4,000 |
| East Cleveland Farmers’ Market Preservation Society* | $3,000 |
| Edward E. Parker Museum of Art | $5,000 |
| Eliza Bryant Village | $5,000 |
| ENCORE Chamber Music | $22,583 |
| Ensemble Theatre | $14,201 |
| Environmental Health Watch | $19,366 |
| Esperanza | $5,000 |
| Euclid Beach Park Now | $4,000 |
| Far West Center | $5,000 |
| Focus On Education | $5,000 |
| Folknet | $3,200 |
| Foluke Cultural Arts | $7,993 |
| Food Strong | $5,000 |
| Friends of the East Cleveland Public Library | $4,000 |
| Friends of the McGaffin Carillon | $5,000 |
| From Me 2 U | $5,000 |
| FRONT International* | $5,000 |
| Front Steps Housing and Services | $5,000 |
| FrontLine Service | $4,980 |
| FutureHeights | $5,000 |
| German Music Society | $1,800 |
| Golden Ciphers | $5,000 |
| Good Company: A Vocal Ensemble | $5,000 |
| Graffiti HeArt | $4,000 |
| Great Lakes Science Center | $250,265 |
| Great Lakes Theater | $181,437 |
| Greater Cleveland Film Commission | $5,000 |
| Greater Cleveland Neighborhood Centers Association | $19,688 |
| Greater Cleveland Urban Film Foundation | $13,751 |
| Greater Collinwood Development Corporation* | $5,000 |
| GroundWorks DanceTheater | $44,633 |
| Harvard Community Services Center | $5,000 |
| Hasani Management Inc | $5,000 |
| Heights Arts | $25,111 |
| Heights Youth Theatre | $18,060 |
| Hispanic Business Center | $4,000 |
| Hispanic Police Officers Association | $5,000 |
| Historic Gateway Neighborhood Corporation | $5,000 |
| Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation | $7,380 |
| Hospice of the Western Reserve | $23,418 |
| ICA – Art Conservation | $80,198 |
| ideastream | $618,996 |
| In Education | $4,000 |
| India Fest USA | $4,000 |
| Ingenuity | $37,379 |
| Inlet Dance Theatre | $25,634 |
| International Community Council | $5,000 |
| International Women’s Air & Space Museum | $5,000 |
| Italian Cultural Garden | $4,000 |
| Jennings Center for Older Adults | $9,694 |
| Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland Ohio | $5,000 |
| Jewish Federation of Cleveland | $20,350 |
| Jones Road Family Development Corporation | $13,225 |
| Joyful Noise Neighborhood Music School | $5,000 |
| Judson | $21,400 |
| Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center | $12,461 |
| Karamu House | $90,349 |
| Kulture Kids | $5,000 |
| Lake Erie Ink | $24,076 |
| Lake Erie Institute* | $5,000 |
| Lake Erie Native American Council | $5,000 |
| Lake Erie Nature & Science Center | $77,226 |
| Lake View Cemetery Foundation | $4,000 |
| Lakewood Historical Society | $12,674 |
| Lakewood Young Filmmakers Academy* | $3,993 |
| LAND studio | $157,993 |
| Larchmere PorchFest | $5,000 |
| LatinUs Theater Company | $5,000 |
| Les Délices | $22,250 |
| Lexington-Bell Community Center | $15,160 |
| LGBT Community Center Greater Cleveland | $5,000 |
| Literary Cleveland | $15,016 |
| Little Italy Redevelopment Corporation | $3,600 |
| Little Lumpy’s Center for Educational Initiatives | $5,000 |
| LYLESART | $4,000 |
| M.U.S.i.C. | $8,833 |
| Maelstrom Collaborative Arts | $9,205 |
| Malachi Center | $4,500 |
| Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage | $132,993 |
| Mandel JCC | $22,333 |
| May Dugan Center | $5,000 |
| Mercury Theatre Company | $22,400 |
| Merrick House | $4,000 |
| Metro West Community Development Organization* | $5,000 |
| MidTown Cleveland | $7,075 |
| Mojuba! Dance Collective | $5,000 |
| Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation | $24,830 |
| Mt. Pleasant NOW Development Corporation | $5,000 |
| Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland | $139,190 |
| Music and Art at Trinity | $12,810 |
| Naach Di Cleveland | $5,000 |
| NAMI Greater Cleveland | $5,000 |
| Nature Center at Shaker Lakes | $73,567 |
| Near West Theatre | $60,049 |
| Negative Space Gallery | $5,000 |
| New Avenues to Independence | $4,354 |
| NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology | $22,750 |
| Night Market Cleveland* | $5,000 |
| No Exit | $4,000 |
| North Union Farmers Market | $5,000 |
| Northcoast Men’s Chorus | $25,341 |
| Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope (NOAH) | $4,000 |
| Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless | $5,000 |
| Notes for Notes | $5,000 |
| Notre Dame College | $14,615 |
| Ohio City Incorporated | $4,000 |
| Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation | $5,000 |
| Open Doors Academy | $22,833 |
| PALS for Healing | $5,000 |
| Parma Area Fine Arts Council | $2,000 |
| Parma Heights Historical Society | $4,000 |
| Piano Cleveland | $56,170 |
| Playhouse Square | $1,164,989 |
| Playwrights Local | $6,727 |
| Polish Village Parma | $5,000 |
| Praxis Fiber Workshop | $18,996 |
| Progressive Arts Alliance | $49,127 |
| Quire Cleveland | $5,000 |
| Rainey Institute | $79,915 |
| Reaching Heights | $5,000 |
| Refresh Collective | $5,000 |
| Restore Cleveland Hope | $2,500 |
| Roberto Ocasio Foundation | $4,000 |
| Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum | $748,681 |
| Rollin’ Buckeyez | $5,000 |
| Roots of American Music | $20,873 |
| Sankofa | $5,000 |
| Schmooze Ohio* | $2,000 |
| Shaker Arts Council | $5,000 |
| Shaker Historical Society | $13,475 |
| Shore Cultural Centre | $7,264 |
| Slavic Village Development | $11,497 |
| Slovenian Museum and Archives | $5,000 |
| SOS: Strengthening Our Students | $5,000 |
| SPACES | $34,197 |
| StandUP! For Change | $5,000 |
| Stellar Acrobatic Dance Academy | $5,000 |
| STV Bavaria | $4,000 |
| Suburban Symphony Orchestra | $4,000 |
| Symphony West Orchestra | $4,000 |
| Talespinner Children’s Theatre | $17,459 |
| Tender Hearts Crusades | $5,000 |
| The City Club of Cleveland | $21,765 |
| The Cleveland Opera | $16,693 |
| The Cleveland Orchestra | $1,045,644 |
| The Gathering Place | $5,000 |
| The German Central* | $4,000 |
| The Harvard Square Center | $4,000 |
| The Movement Project | $4,000 |
| The Music Settlement | $180,052 |
| The Musical Theater Project | $43,848 |
| The RASHAD Center* | $5,000 |
| The Sculpture Center | $16,624 |
| The Singing Angels | $29,610 |
| The Trust for Public Land* | $5,000 |
| Thea Bowman Center | $5,000 |
| Transformer Station | $19,418 |
| Tremont West Development Corporation | $6,519 |
| Twelve Literary Arts | $5,000 |
| UCI | $18,998 |
| Ukrainian Museum-Archives | $15,280 |
| Underground Classical | $5,000 |
| University Hospitals (UH) | $20,800 |
| UpStage Players | $5,000 |
| Ursuline College | $5,000 |
| Valley Art Center | $33,940 |
| Verb Ballets | $39,864 |
| VIVA Bavaria* | $5,000 |
| Wake Up and Live’s Actor’s Studio | $4,000 |
| Waterloo Arts | $20,910 |
| West Creek Conservancy | $4,000 |
| West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development | $4,500 |
| West Shore Chorale | $5,000 |
| West Side Catholic Center | $5,000 |
| West Side Community House | $21,918 |
| Western Reserve Fire Museum & Education Center | $4,000 |
| Western Reserve Historical Society | $216,835 |
| Western Reserve Land Conservancy | $4,000 |
| Westlake Chinese School | $5,000 |
| Westlake-Westshore Arts Council | $2,230 |
| Westown Community Development Corporation | $5,000 |
| Windsong, Cleveland’s Feminist Chorus | $2,500 |
| Women in History | $5,000 |
| Woodland Cemetery Foundation of Cleveland | $4,000 |
| Youth Challenge | $5,000 |
| Zygote Press | $29,743 |
*Denotes first time CAC grant recipient.
