ArtsWave awards its second set of grants in support of arts initiatives funded in part by ArtsWave’s Circle of African American Leaders for the Arts. Eleven organizations will be funded through this latest round of grants with $150,000 in total funding. To date, 29 organizations have benefited from this grant program, amounting to $405,000. Grant selections were made through a community-based volunteer panel of 10 individuals; 18 applications were received in total.
The Circle’s African American arts grants program is designed to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of arts organizations led by or predominantly serving Black Cincinnatians. These grants, along with other ArtsWave initiatives, are also meant to increase audience demand and appreciation for Black arts. While the Black arts ecosystem grows in both supply and demand, the Circle’s African American arts grants program is growing in philanthropic support too, with this pool funded in part through donations by the Circle of African American Leaders for the Arts to the 2021 ArtsWave Campaign. This set of grants will allow the following projects to happen:
- Revolution Dance Theatre: “First, Full and For”
- Elementz: “Elementz Presents…The Amplify Performance Series”
- Professional Artistic Research (PAR) Projects: Expanding programming and staff on Hoffner Street
- Robert O’Neal Multicultural Art Center: Staff Support and Capital Campaign Launch
- Juneteenth Cincinnati, Inc.: 35th Annual Cincinnati Juneteenth Festival
- It’s Commonly Jazz: “It’s Commonly Jazz Feels Good to Be Back”
- National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Inc.: “Unmasking the Realities”
- Black Art Speaks: “We Want What You Want”
- Music Resource Center – Cincinnati: Music Resource Center Outreach and Inreach
- Jazz Alive: Jazz Alive Performance Initiative and Educational Outreach
- Hear Us, Hear Them Ensemble: “Action Over Stillness”