COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) announced today the recipients of the second round of its new Artist Projects grant. This is the first grant program at GCAC in which applications were reviewed and scored by community members. For the second round, 52 artists – 45 artists working in dance, fashion, literary arts, music, theater and visual arts, plus seven filmmakers – were awarded $613,734.
GCAC received 306 applications for the second round. To assist applicants, staff offered a virtual workshop, three in-person writing sessions and a virtual training session with GCAC Navigators. After staff reviewed them for initial eligibility and completeness, applications were narrowed down to 90 that were moved forward to Community Review Day.
GCAC held its latest Community Review Day on Sept. 28 at Columbus State Community College’s Mitchell Hall, with 157 community reviewers assessing and discussing applications in groups before submitting scores for each one. The public can learn more by consulting GCAC’s guide to the Community-Based Review Process or by watching the video on why GCAC is embracing community grantmaking.
“I had a great time with great conversation, and it was fascinating to see a concept and then visualize what it could ultimately become with the help of a grant from GCAC,” said one community reviewer. “I would encourage anyone who is interested in helping artists produce their work to get involved and participate as a community reviewer; you won’t regret it.”
“Being given a voice in determining what types of art projects are funded was empowering,” said another. “I am more motivated to support our arts community knowing I played a small role in the process.”
“Being a community reviewer gave me greater insight into how the process works and the opportunity to learn about different artistic mediums that I would never have known existed,” added another reviewer.
Applicants could apply for up to $10,000 in project funds; filmmakers could request up to $25,000 for their projects.
| Name | Award Amount |
| Azubuike Akunne | $10,000 |
| Orlay Alonso | $10,000 |
| Efua Amissah-Aggrey | $10,000 |
| Jim Bates | $9,800 |
| Utpola Borah | $10,000 |
| Gabrielle Burton | $25,000 |
| Schyler Butler | $9,690 |
| Diane Callahan | $9,957 |
| Joshua Clark | $25,000 |
| Katie Davis | $10,000 |
| Sayaka Saito Davis | $10,000 |
| Noah Dixon | $25,000 |
| Caeleigh Featherstone | $10,000 |
| Flavortown Saxophone Quartet | $9,475 |
| Suzanne Shea Gallagher | $9,000 |
| Jessie Scrimager Galloway | $10,000 |
| Antonio Gonzalez-Garcia | $10,000 |
| Nicholas Hill | $8,750 |
| Melissa Hinchman | $8,620 |
| Kim Garrison Hopcraft | $10,000 |
| Casey Immel-Brown | $10,000 |
| Josiah Jamison | $10,000 |
| Ryan Johnson | $10,000 |
| Daniel King | $10,000 |
| Brett Langolf | $25,000 |
| Amanda Love | $10,000 |
| The Mathues | $7,171 |
| Francine Marchelle | $10,000 |
| Amber Glendell McClendon | $10,000 |
| Andrea Myers | $10,000 |
| Kingsley Nyarko | $25,000 |
| Ademola Ogunyemi | $25,000 |
| Chineze Okpalaoka | $10,000 |
| Claudia Owusu | $25,000 |
| Alex Paat | $10,000 |
| Aaron Peters | $10,000 |
| Isa Pitetti & Lyra Purugganan | $8,771 |
| Sarah Ramey | $10,000 |
| Nia Richardson | $10,000 |
| Terence Robertson | $10,000 |
| Melinda Rosenberg | $10,000 |
| George Rush | $10,000 |
| Judith Rush | $10,000 |
| Benedict Scheuer | $10,000 |
| Dipanwita Sengupta | $10,000 |
| Aaron Sheldon | $10,000 |
| Dr. Alex Christmas Stapleton | $10,000 |
| Mery Steel | $10,000 |
| Paisha Thomas | $10,000 |
| Mary Jane Ward | $10,000 |
| Adam White | $7,500 |
| Corey Williams | $10,000 |
TOTAL: $613,734
The first round of Artist Projects grants was awarded in the spring, when 49 artists were awarded $562,005. Together with this latest round the program has funded 94 artists with a total of $1,175,739 this year. The Artist Projects program is now closed for 2024.
For more information on grant funding, including guidelines and upcoming deadlines, go to gcac.org or contact the Grants & Community Engagement team at grants@gcac.org or (614) 224-2606.
Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To champion and elevate the arts and cultural expression of Greater Columbus. www.gcac.org
The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners, the Ohio Arts Council and The Ohio State University.
For translations of this release and other pages, please see the dropdown menu at the top right corner of gcac.org.
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CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org
