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Cultural Groups Awarded $12M By Cuyahoga Arts And Culture

File photo of Night Market Cleveland in AsiaTown. [Breanna Kulkin / Night Market Cleveland]
File photo of Night Market Cleveland in AsiaTown.

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.

David C. Barnett was a senior arts & culture reporter for Ideastream Public Media. He retired in October 2022.