Greater Cincy wins millions in grants from Ohio Arts Council

Greater Cincinnati and Dayton-area creatives, organizations and local governments are set to receive more than $5.56 million in state funding to support arts-minded programming across Ohio.

In total, the region received 172 grants during this round of funding from the Ohio Arts Council, a state agency that provides funds to support quality arts experiences across the state’s 88 counties. Brown, Butler, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery and Warren counties all received funding. Hamilton County and Cincinnati are home to the most award recipients in Southwest Ohio by far.

Grants were awarded in five major areas, each with its own subcategories. They range in value from $750,000 to help sustain the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to a few thousand dollars to provide support to local master artists working with apprentices in folk and traditional art forms.

Across the state, OAC approved 935 total grants across the state totaling $22,704,702. This marks the largest single round of grant awards distributed to OAC funding applicants in the agency’s history.

Details about specific grants are below. You can read more about the grant program on the OAC website.

These grants stem from the state’s 2024-2025 operating budget, which included a record-high state appropriation of nearly $51.1 million for the OAC over the two-year period.

“On behalf of the board, the Ohio Arts Council thanks Governor Mike DeWine, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, and members of the Ohio General Assembly for their steadfast support of the arts,” Donna S. Collins, OAC’s executive director, wrote in a statement. “We are proud to invest such a significant amount of funding in Ohio communities and contribute to our state’s cultural vitality and importance.”

Ohio Arts Council Fiscal Year 2025 Grant Awards

Hamilton County

• Arts Partnership: American Legacy Theatre, $12,955
• Arts Partnership: Art Opportunities, Inc., $15,556
• Arts Partnership: Children’s Choir of Greater Cincinnati, $6,222
• Arts Partnership: Cincinnati Ballet Company, Inc., $12,320
• Arts Partnership: Cincinnati Music & Wellness Coalition, $4,435
• Arts Partnership: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, $6,089
• Arts Partnership: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, $10,136
• Arts Partnership: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, $14,569
• Arts Partnership: Contemporary Arts Center,$3,535
• Arts Partnership: Educational Theatre Association, $12,955
• Arts Partnership: Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, $15,226
• Arts Partnership: Kennedy Heights Arts Center, Inc., $12,977
• Arts Partnership: Learning Through Art, Inc., $16,893
• Arts Partnership: Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers (formerly Mam- Luft Dance), $3,604
• Arts Partnership: My Nose Turns Red Theatre Company, $6,487
• Arts Partnership: Robert O’Neal Multicultural Arts Center, $7,479
• Arts Partnership: Taft Museum of Art, $9,167
• ArtsNEXT: Activities Beyond the Classroom, $17,927
• ArtsNEXT: African Professionals Network (APNET), $3,477
• ArtsNEXT: Art Opportunities, Inc., $19,284
• ArtsNEXT: ish Festival, $15,427
• ArtsNEXT: Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center, $17,038
• ArtsNEXT: Sweet Sistah Splash, $14,992
• ArtsNEXT: Vulcans Forge Performing Arts Collaborative, $20,652
• ArtSTART: Activities Beyond the Classroom, $4,022
• ArtSTART: Anderson Township Park District, $3,057
• ArtSTART: Art Academy of Cincinnati, $3,751
• ArtSTART: Band In A Bus, Inc., $3,859
• ArtSTART: Basketshop Gallery, $3,050
• ArtSTART: Cincinnati Center for Autism, $4,022
• ArtSTART: Cincinnati Conservatory of Music/University of Cincinnati, $3,913
• ArtSTART: Cincinnati Song Initiative, $4,022
• ArtSTART: Cindependent Film Festival, $4,296
• ArtSTART: Fotofocus Cincinnati, $4,467
• ArtSTART: Greater Cincinnati Lapidary and Faceting Society, $3,859
• ArtSTART: Indigo Hippo, Inc., $4,022
• ArtSTART: Jazz Alive, Inc., $4,186
• ArtSTART: Jewish Community Center, $3,642
• ArtSTART: Jhankar, Inc., $4,022
• ArtSTART: Music Resource Center-Cincinnati, $3,520
• ArtSTART: National Commission for Black Arts andEntertainment, $4,467
• ArtSTART: Rhythm X Performance Ensemble, $3,154
• ArtSTART: Springfield Township Arts and Enrichment Council, $3,481
• ArtSTART: Visionaries and Voices, $3,751
• ArtSTART: Women Writing for (a) Change Foundation, $3,320
• Sustainability: A Mindful Moment, $18,114
• Sustainability: American Legacy Theatre, $14,668
• Sustainability: Art Opportunities, Inc., $51,295
• Sustainability: Arts and Humanities Resource Center for Older Adults, $8,869
• Sustainability: Bi-Okoto Drum & Dance Theatre, $16,383
• Sustainability: Blue Ash-Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, $9,539
• Sustainability: Chamber Music Network of Greater, $2,714
• Sustainability: Children’s Choir of Greater Cincinnati, $25,492
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Arts Association, $308,708
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Ballet Company, Inc., $236,940
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Boychoir, $18,811
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, $26,647
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz, $8,732
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Landmark Productions, $49,670
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Museum Association, $324,214
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Musical Festival Association, $47,690
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Opera Association, $183,704
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, $235,005
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, $111,058
• Sustainability: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, $750,000
• Sustainability: Clifton Cultural Arts Center, $29,630
• Sustainability: Community Matters Cincinnati, Inc., $6,000
• Sustainability: Contemporary Arts Center, $117,907
• Sustainability: Elementz, $22,962
• Sustainability: Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, $88,708
• Sustainability: Greater Cincinnati Arts & Education Center (dba The SCPA Fund), $24,672
• Sustainability: Greater Cincinnati Blues Society, Inc., $6,000
• Sustainability: ish Festival, $29,883
• Sustainability: Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, Inc., $13,460
• Sustainability: Kennedy Heights Arts Center, Inc., $34,511
• Sustainability: Know Theatre Tribe, Inc., $29,386
• Sustainability: Linton Incorporated, $19,954
• Sustainability: Lyrica, Inc., $6,000
• Sustainability: Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center, $29,095
• Sustainability: Media Working Group, $27,908
• Sustainability: Muse Cincinnati Women’s Choir, $7,280
• Sustainability: Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers (formerly Mam- Luft Dance), $19,352
• Sustainability: My Nose Turns Red Theatre Company,  $11,494
• Sustainability: Price Hill Will, $37,906
• Sustainability: Professional Artistic Research Projects, $11,468
• Sustainability: Queen City Chamber Opera, $10,078
• Sustainability: Robert O’Neal Multicultural Arts Center, $9,893
• Sustainability: Taft Museum of Art, $152,530
• Sustainability: The Children’s Theatre, $116,493
• Sustainability: Vidas Unidas: Musica, Artes y Comunidad (Lives United: Music, Arts & Community)/La Iglesia de
• Nuestro Salvador (Church of Our Saviour), $3,865
• Sustainability: Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, $22,579
• Sustainability: Wave Pool Corporation, $26,528
• Sustainability: Wordplay, $23,441
• Sustainability: Young Professionals Choral Collective, $8,993
• TeachArtsOhio: C.O. Harrison Elementary School/Oak Hills Local School District, $7,350
• TeachArtsOhio: Deer Park Community City School District, $31,500
• TeachArtsOhio: Frederick Douglass Elementary School/Cincinnati Public Schools, $7,000
• TeachArtsOhio: James N. Gamble Montessori High School/Cincinnati Public Schools, $21,700
• TeachArtsOhio: Nativity School,  $3,500
• TeachArtsOhio: Oyler Community Learning Center/Cincinnati Public Schools, $7,000
• TeachArtsOhio: School for Creative and Performing Arts/Cincinnati Public Schools, $42,000
• TeachArtsOhio: Spencer Center for Gifted and ExceptionalStudents/Cincinnati Public Schools, $6,300
• TeachArtsOhio: Woodford Academy/Cincinnati Public Schools, $37,800
• Traditional Arts Apprenticeship: Marta Cook, $3,971
• Arts Partnership: Undergroundzone Ministries, Inc. (Madeira), $12,955
• Sustainability: Undergroundzone Ministries, Inc. (Madeira), $8,974
• ArtSTART: Woman’s Art Club of Cincinnati Foundation (Mariemont) $3,642

Brown County

• ArtSTART: Chatfield Edge (formerly Chatfield College) (St. Martin), $1,740

Butler County

• Sustainability: City of Fairfield, $10,462
• Arts Partnership: Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum (Hamilton), $13,112
• ArtsNEXT: Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum (Hamilton) $20,926
• ArtSTART: Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum (Hamilton), $4,022
• Sustainability: Fitton Center for Creative Arts (Hamilton), $43,963
• ArtsNEXT: Nritya Arapana School of Indian Classical Dance (Liberty Township), $7,171
• Sustainability: Nritya Arapana School of Indian Classical Dance (Liberty Township), $6,000
• Traditional Arts Apprenticeship: Anupama Mirle (Liberty Township), $3,305
• ArtSTART: INNOVAtheatre (Middletown), $3,481
• Sustainability: Art Central Foundation (Middletown) $6,433
• Sustainability: Middletown Fine Arts Center (Middletown), $20,835
• ArtsNEXT: Maketank, Inc. (Oxford), $6,205
• Sustainability: Oxford Community Arts Center (Oxford), $20,852
• Sustainability: Performing Arts Series/Miami University (Oxford) $24,282

Greene County

• ArtSTART: Beavercreek Music Parents Association, Inc., $3,913
• ArtSTART: Yellow Brick Theater, Inc. (Beavercreek), $4,132
• ArtSTART: University Art Galleries/Wright State University Dayton, $3,751
• ArtsNEXT: Caesar’s Ford Theatre (Xenia), $18,197
• ArtSTART: Caesar’s Ford Theatre (Xenia), $4,186
• Arts Partnership: Mad River Theater Works (Yellow Springs), $8,550
• Arts Partnership: Miami Valley Public Media Inc (dba WYSO Public Radio) (Yellow Springs),$9,135
• Sustainability: Chamber Music in Yellow Springs, Inc, $6,000
• Sustainability: Mad River Theater Works (Yellow Springs), $8,634
• Sustainability: World House Choir (Yellow Springs), $6,164
• Traditional Arts Apprenticeship: Naysan Mcilhargey (Yellow Springs), $3,603

Montgomery County

• Sustainability: Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, Inc. (Centerville), $6,000
• Arts Partnership: Dayton Art Institute, $16,893
• Arts Partnership: K12 Gallery (Dayton), $8,625
• Arts Partnership: Muse Machine, Inc. (Dayton), $17,230
• ArtSTART: Dayton Dance Initiative/Victoria Theatre Association (dba Dayton Live), $4,132
• ArtSTART: Dayton for the Arts, $3,106
• ArtSTART: Dayton Public Radio Inc (dba Discover Classical), $4,186
• ArtSTART: Greater Dayton Public Television, Inc. (Dayton), $3,642
• ArtSTART: Magnolia Theatre Company (Dayton), $3,642
• ArtSTART: Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra (Dayton), $3,751
• ArtSTART: Puerto Rican, American and Caribbean Organization(PACO) (Dayton), $3,642
• Ohio Artists on Tour: Victoria Theatre Association (dba Dayton Live), $2,000
• Sustainability: Bach Society of Dayton, $8,191
• Sustainability: Culture Works (Dayton), $44,586
• Sustainability: Dayton Art Institute, $147,265
• Sustainability: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, $51,250
• Sustainability: Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, $187,636
• Sustainability: Downtown Dayton Partnership, $27,381
• Sustainability: Friends of Levitt Pavilion (Dayton), $35,389
• Sustainability: Human Race, Inc. (Dayton), $40,231
• Sustainability: K12 Gallery (Dayton), $31,179
• Sustainability: Muse Machine, Inc. (Dayton), $41,786
• Sustainability: The Contemporary Dayton (formerly DVAC), $29,981
• Sustainability: United Irish of Dayton, Inc., $14,585
• Sustainability: Victoria Theatre Association (dba Dayton Live), $368,978
• Sustainability: Washington Township Recreation Center (Dayton), $15,340
• TeachArtsOhio: Dayton Early College Academy Dayton Montgomery $37,800
• TeachArtsOhio: Dayton Leadership Academies Dayton Montgomery $17,500
• TeachArtsOhio: Trotwood-Madison Early Learning Center/Trotwood-Madison City Schools Dayton Montgomery $37,800
• Traditional Arts Apprenticeship: Anupriya Krishnan (Dayton) $3,787
• ArtSTART: City of Germantown, $3,373
• Sustainability: City of Kettering/Rosewood Arts Centre, $35,773
• Sustainability: Kettering Children’s Choir, $7,127
• Sustainability: We Care Arts (Kettering), $28,716
• TeachArtsOhio: Brantwood Elementary School/Mad River Local Schools (Riverside), $37,800

Warren County

• ArtSTART: Wren Works (Lebanon), $3,373
• ArtSTART: Mason Symphony Orchestra (Mason), $3,913
• ArtSTART: Blue Feather Productions (Springboro), $3,859
• Sustainability: Waynesville Area Arts Council (Waynesville), $2,930