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Franklin County Honored With the 2008 National Award for County Arts Leadership
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners recently received national recognition for dedication to the arts.
The Public Leadership in the Arts Awards were presented by Americans for the Arts and the National Association of Counties in July. Franklin County received the National Award for County Arts Leadership which goes to county officials who advocate making arts programs accessible.
“The work of the Franklin County Board of Commissioners on behalf of the arts has established Franklin County as a national advocate for arts education,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO for Americans for the Arts. “Their exemplary leadership in the state of Ohio has significantly increased funding in the arts and cultural sector, while notably impacting the lives of local residents.”
For 15 years, Franklin County has supported GCAC’s Community Arts Education Programs, including GCAC’s educational initiatives for kids and the Franklin County Neighborhood Arts Grants. In conjunction with the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, GCAC established the successful Artists-in-Schools program that reaches out to 100,000 students a year and helps generate over $200,000 in annual revenue for local teaching artists. Franklin County’s support for GCAC’s education department has contributed to the development of a strong partnership with Columbus City Schools, BalletMet Columbus, Opera Columbus and the Jazz Arts Group to provide professional development in arts integration for over 200 CCS teachers and local professional teaching artists, impacting over 14,000 Columbus City Schools students.
“Supporting our local arts community and arts education is a real priority in Franklin County,” said Commission President Marilyn Brown. “Offering our youth the opportunity to be engaged in and learn about the arts not only nourishes their soul. It also nurtures the development of creative ideas in our future leaders and strengthens our entire community.”
This year, Commissioners expanded their support of educational arts programming by funding a new, comprehensive network of educational arts-based opportunities for youth ages 5-19 and their families before or after school. The two primary programs, Art in the House, serving up to 500 students ages 5-12, and TRANSIT ARTS, serving up to 300 teens ages 13-19, are progressive initiatives that celebrate the exciting diversity of the surroundings while guiding youth as they discover and expand their creative minds and artistic talents.
Since the launch of GCAC’s Franklin County Neighborhood Arts small grants program in 2004, over 200 awards, ranging from $200 to $2,000, have been granted. The Franklin County Board of Commissioners provides $60,000 a year in funding to this program.
Photo: A performance by the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio, a 2008 Franklin County Neighborhood Arts grant recipient.
info@gcac.org © 2008 Greater Columbus Arts Council. All Rights Reserved.
GCAC appreciates and acknowledges support from: City of Columbus, Franklin County and the Ohio Arts Council
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