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OAC grants for Trumbull, Mahoning

Two Trumbull County and 10 Mahoning County organizations will receive money from the Ohio Arts Council as part of more than $12 million in grants announced Monday.

Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership received two grants totalling $7,978.

A $4,842 grant will finance a program called Warren Occupied, which will turn a vacant house in the city into a temporary gallery and performance space. TNP Executive Director Matt Martin said it is patterned after a similar program in Cleveland.

“What we’ll do there is take a vacant house, hopefully one we’re going to save, and do a temporary public art installation in the house or a series of installations,” he said. “Maybe different artists will each get a room. … Then we’ll have a party next spring or summer at the house that will have everything from live music to a focus on visual art.”

A second grant of $3,136 will expand on TNP art stops program, which has created public art installations that double as bicycle racks and bus shelters along transportation routes. TNP originally requested $5,000 to fund five projects. Martin said they will try to amend that to three projects, so the amount available for each one will remain around $1,000.

“We want to add to the aesthetics of the community and increase public exposure to art and strengthen the local artist economy,” Martin said.

The Warren Symphony Society / Warren Philharmonic Orchestra will receive $4,869 from the OAC, and the money primarily will be used to help fund its children’s concerts in November at Lakeview High School that are open to students throughout Trumbull County.

Barry Dunaway, executive director of the orchestra, said the grant was comparable to what the WPO received last year from the state.

“We clearly need it with the block grant decision the city (of Warren) has made,” Dunaway said.

A $12,000 Community Development Block Grant the orchestra was expecting was eliminated last month when the city reduced the number of employees in Community Development from five to four.

Grants were awarded in Mahoning County to:

• Butler Institute of American Art — $77,036

• Youngstown Symphony Society Inc. / Youngstown Symphony Orchestra — $28,452

• Ballet Western Reserve — $13,992

• McDonough Museum of Art/Youngstown State University — $11,736

• Altrusa International Foundation of Youngstown — $3,457

• Opera Western Reserve — $3,457

• Stambaugh Chorus — $3,250

• Etruscan Press — $2,611

• Lit Youngstown — $1,258

• Youngstown Cityscape Inc. — $746

OAC Executive Director Donna S. Collins said in a statement released with the grant information, “Thanks to the Ohio governor and legislature’s prioritization of arts funding in the state budget, the Ohio Arts Council continues to invest in Ohio’s creative economy. With these awards, Ohio’s arts sector will engage our citizens, undertake innovative projects and lead our state to a bright, shared future.”

agray@tribtoday.com

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