All We Are Saying, Is Give Art a Chance
Catherine Boyle, Executive Director of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture

“Give us a chance.” That’s the quick answer Catherine Boyle, Executive Director of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC), gives to critics of the 10-year cigarette tax that provides the revenue stream for the CAC’s grant programs. The CAC was created as a result of the passage of Issue 18 in November 2006, which approved a cigarette tax earmarked for arts and culture support. As the only regional arts and culture district in the state with a dedicated revenue stream, the CAC was established to make matching grants to not-for-profit organizations in Cuyahoga County that have a primary mission of arts and culture and that have a proven history of arts and culture program.

Critics of the cigarette tax question whether public money should be used to support the arts. In response, Boyle makes the argument that the arts and culture are a public good. She notes that in the focus groups that were part of the campaign for Issue 18, respondents, regardless of where they lived, said, “We’re proud to have world-class institutions.” Even if people don’t go to the orchestra or the art museum, they’re proud to have it. When they go on vacation, they like being able to say, “This is what we have in Cleveland.” That civic pride polled higher than any other factor. It [exposure to arts and culture] also helps children’s education. And what happens to Cleveland if the orchestra doesn’t exist? What happens if the art museum doesn’t exist or starts charging admission?”

While the CAC will eventually have three grant programs—general operating support, special project support, and an individual artist grant program—it only awarded its first round of grants last year. Boyle believes that these grants are “very much needed, and I believe it’s very much appreciated in the community.” She adds that the CAC is just beginning to get data back from grantees: “We’ve only given out one half of the first year’s money [for the three-year operating grants]. Give us a chance. Give us a chance to get the data from the first grants and report back on how the money is being spent. We haven’t even given out the special project grants.” (Those grantees will be determined at the CAC board meeting on June 10).

The first round of operating support grants, awarded in 2007, provide three years of funding to established arts and culture organizations but also require stringent documentation and reporting on the part of the grantees. A total of 65 organizations received operating support grants, ranging from the Cleveland Orchestra, which received $1.8 million, to Joyful Noise Music School, which received $6,000. All of the organizations that applied for operating support went through the same application and review process and have the same compliance requirements. Boyle (pictured here) states, “the smaller organizations that received operational support were incredibly pleased they got that recognition. The orchestra didn’t have the highest ranking and it didn’t receive special treatment. It was the same process for all applications. The smaller organizations were validated—their worth and value to the community was validated through those grants.”

On April 23 and 24 of this year, the grant panel met to review and discuss applications for the special project support grants. The application was open to any organization for a project with an arts and culture focus. Thus you had civic groups like the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Cleveland, ParkWorks, and Ohio City Near West putting up grant applications alongside organizations like The Lit, Cavani String Quartet, and Zygote Press, whose missions revolve around the arts and culture. Project proposals ranged from sculpture classes for middle schoolers to free classical music performances in public libraries to a literary showcase of area writers to a school band concert and workshop featuring a guest artist from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

As a public entity, all of the CAC’s meetings are open to the public. Applicants and the general public were especially encouraged to attend the review panel, in which the panelists went through each of the 75 applications one by one and discussed how well the project application met the grant criteria. In order to provide some measure of objectivity, panelists (with the exception of the chair) weren’t from Cleveland, but many were from cities nearby or similar to Cleveland, including Chicago (3), Detroit, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Pinellas County, FL, and Pittsburgh (2). The panelists gave thoughtful, insightful commentary on each application, including suggestions on how weaker applications could be improved. Fifty-eight of the applications were passed on to the CAC board, which will make the final funding determination on Tue 6/10.

The 2009 grant process will once again be for special project support, then in 2010, there will be funding for another round of general operating support grants. The CAC is still working out the details of the individual artist grant program. Boyle states emphatically that the board is committed to providing an individual artist program and has already allocated funds for it. “We want to do it,” Boyle says, but adds that they are working to develop the right program. “Such grants are the most staff-intensive types of grants. Our intention is not to stonewall, but to develop a good program. Cuyahoga County artists helped to pass Issue 18. We want to establish a process in which the public will have confidence, and we want to establish a program that can be a genuine help to artists.” Boyle says the CAC is “going in the direction of fellowships. We want to make the awards as unrestrictive as possible.”

Boyle emphasizes is that the CAC is accessible and is concerned by perceptions that they aren’t. Board meetings are open to the public. “Staff is accessible by email, phone or letter,” she says, and adds that meeting minutes and budgets are available online to those who can’t attend a CAC board meeting. She is well aware that the CAC’s existence is in the voters’ hands, saying “We want to be perceived as being in the best interest of the public. In ten years, we’ll have to ask the [County] Commissioners if they’ll put the cigarette tax back on the ballot and then run a campaign again. We want to gain the public’s trust and confidence.”

Although it’s just over one year old, the CAC is already one of the top five local public sector funders of arts and culture in the country. Boyle also acknowledges that the public can’t be the only source of support. “We need the match—we need the corporate and foundations to support us—and they are,” she adds.

Ultimately, the broad community of arts and culture organizations in Cuyahoga County enrich the life of the entire region, and 55.5 percent of Cuyahoga County voters agreed on that fact. “People make the sports analogy all the time,” Boyle says. “The thing is, people don’t relocate to Cleveland because of the Browns. They relocate because of the orchestra and the art museum and the rock hall, etc.”

In looking at the applicants for the special project grants, the most striking thing is the realization that each of these projects is worthy and each one could enhance the lives of some segment of the county’s population. Taken as a whole, each cohort of grantees adds another layer to our collective quality of life. The public funds the CAC, but the public also directly benefits from the grants it makes. So if you want your grandmother to have a musical performance come to her nursing home, or if you think it’s important for you child to learn traditional ethnic dance, or if you want your nephew to be able to channel some of his energy into an art class, then the CAC’s existence matters. Give it a chance.

Visit Cuyahoga Arts and Culture online at http://www.cuyahogaartsandculture.org.

Interview and Photo by Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Petrone susanATtheinkcasino.com

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