Summit County’s arts advocacy agency, ArtsNow, on Thursday announced $402,322 in arts and culture grants. ArtsNow Executive Director Nicole Mullet said the 29 projects were chosen based on how they fulfill the Akron/Summit Cultural Plan.
“The beautiful thing about the cultural plan... that is unique nationally is that it was really driven by the community,” she said. “There isn't a municipality or an organization that owns this. We've seen artists, for-profits, not-for-profits, city governments, everyone come together."
The list of grantees includes long-established arts groups such as Tuesday Musical, Ohio Shakespeare Festival, Art x Love and the Akron Pops Orchestra. Yet Mullet said they also considered less conventional projects.
“The cultural plan encompasses arts, culture and environment,” she said. “We're very aware that our public spaces are vitally important to the health of our communities, and we believe that creative and thoughtful design is a key part of that. So, the city of Barberton is receiving $10,000 to advance their arts master plan, and that's going to be taking a strategic look at how they're investing in public spaces.”
The cities of Stow and Green are receiving funds for similar projects. In Hudson, a grant will go toward construction of an inclusive playground for people of all abilities.
ArtsNow is also supporting a series of workshops on self-care for writers from the University of Akron Press and a kids’ fashion show and international music workshop at Akron’s Himalayan Arts Language and Cultural Academy.
“It's really looking at how fashion crosses culture and diverse communities and becomes a platform for cultural change,” she said.
The Black Excellence Arts Collective launched the BE (Black Excellence) Arts Festival in 2023. Founders Stephanie Stewart and Randi Mull plan to use their $10,000 grant for marketing and also to take the pressure of their own pocketbooks.
“The grant will allow us to offer some of our vending spaces at a lower rate,” Mull said. “There's a community of people who have expressed interest in the festival but may not have been able to pay for the space. We've sponsored a lot of spaces for the past two years, but this will also help us sponsor those spaces and not necessarily lose any funds.”
Stewart said most artists were from Akron and Cleveland in 2023, but there were also a number of participants from Columbus. In 2025, she hopes extra marketing will get the word out even further.
“I think we do not celebrate enough for the artists and the talent that's within our Black community, because we have some gems out there,” she said.
Carrying out a plan
The region's 15-year cultural plan has 10 points, including a focus on K-12 arts programing and greater investment in public art. This year, Mullet and the ArtsNow team fielded more than $1.46 million in applications, and the finalists were chosen by a panel of artists and community members. The 2025 slate is the second year for the ArtsForward grants, and the fifth year for the cultural plan. Mullet calls the evolution “beautifully messy.”
“Ownership really belongs to the community, so there's projects that are moving forward at a micro level - a neighborhood or a block,” she said. “And there are really big initiatives… at a really strategic countywide level.”
Mullet said that matching funds from the Knight Foundation have allowed ArtsNow to award more than $850,000 in grants over the past two years.
Akron Honey, $15,000
Food Cluster Activation
Akron Pops Orchestra, $4,673
Harmony Through the Ages
Art x Love, $19,875
Akron Stories
Asian Services in Action, $12,000
“Dreams of My Homeland" Pilot Project
Autumn Bland, $15,778
Pandemic Postscripts
City of Barberton Art Master Plan, $9,999
Ballet in the City, $12,500
Silver Steps: Ballet for Seniors
Black Excellence Arts Collective, $10,000
BE Arts Festival
City of Green Art & Culture Plan, $25,000
City of Stow Public Arts Master Plan, $25,000
Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, $10,000
Complex Chords
Curated Storefront Artist Residency Program at The I Promise School, $25,000
Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, $25,000
Pantone of the Cuyahoga River Project
Global Ties Akron, $14,000
Global Threads Women Artrepreneurs
Hearts for Music Inc., $4,691
Special Needs Orchestra Technology Investment
Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival/City of Akron, $14,999
Pilobolus at Play - Reaching out in Akron
Himalayan Arts Language and Cultural Academy, $10,000
World on Stage
Hudson Inclusive Playground, $10,000
MooreDunson Co., $14,000
A Day To Remember
Music at Bath Concert Series, $5,000
To diversify and grow the Music at Bath Concert Series
Northside Marketplace, $24,500
Maker Sessions at Northside Marketplace
Ohio Shakespeare Festival, $8,000
Free Student Matinee performances of “Romeo & Juliet”
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens JazzFest, $12,000
The Movement Project, $13,000
Akron Concert Series 2025
Theresa Göttl Brightman, $8,617
40 over 40 A Poetry Anthology
Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners, $9,999
Art for Conservation: Student Rain Barrel Design and Community Space Beautification
Tuesday Musical, $25,000
The Concert Truck Rolls Into Town: Redefining the Concert Experience for All
University of Akron Press, $4,691
Finding a Shell: How to Care for Yourself as a Writer
White Rabbit Galleries, $14,000
Creative Connections Courses
