COLUMBUS, Ohio — In its continuing commitment to supporting individual artists in the community, the Greater Columbus Arts Council (Arts Council) is pleased to announce the launch of Artists Elevated, an endowment campaign designed to uplift individual artists through investment. The Arts Council currently has a modest endowment, the GCAC Community Fund, at the Columbus Foundation, and has set a goal of growing the endowment to at least $5 million over the next five years.
For 2021, the Arts Council will give two artists unrestricted awards of $20,000 each. The awards are focused on providing substantial funds to Columbus-based artists who have been working professionally for at least three years, and are intended to provide a more meaningful investment in moving an artist forward in their career.
A nomination process involving community members and arts organization representatives will identify and invite Columbus-based artists to apply for the awards. A national jury with representation across disciplines will choose the recipients. Winners will be announced in November.
“The Arts Council is among a small number of local arts councils nationwide that provides noncompetitive grants to individual artists,” said Tom Katzenmeyer, president and CEO of the Arts Council. “Our Support for Professional Artists grants have long been a point of pride for us. Through private sector support, the endowment will allow us to deepen our funding to individual artists. I firmly believe that investing in their careers is also an investment in our community. It is time for the Arts Council to build a robust, diverse revenue stream and raise our level of investment in individual artists.”
The Arts Council’s new giving site highlights options for donors, including donating to existing grant programs that support individual artists and unrestricted gifts. The site can be viewed at givetogcac.org.
Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To support and advance the arts and cultural fabric of Columbus. www.gcac.org
The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners and the Ohio Arts Council.
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
