INDIVIDUAL CREATIVITY EXCELLENCE AWARDS PANELS TO MEET IN DECEMBER The Individual Creativity Excellence Awards Panels will be held at the Ohio Arts Council offices December 7-10 and 14-15, 2009. Choreography – December 7-8,  9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Music Composition – December 9-10, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Fiction/Non Fiction – December 14, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Playwriting – December 14, 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Poetry – December 15, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Criticism – December 15, 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. For more information or questions contact Kathy Signorino at kathy.signorino@oac.state.oh.us or 614/728-6140. An alternate year funding system was implemented beginning this year. Next year, on the September 1 deadline applications will be accepted in the following disciplines: crafts, design arts/illustration, interdisciplinary/performance art, media arts, photography and visual arts.

Free group tours are available Wednesday through Friday throughout the run of each exhibition. To schedule a group tour contact Riffe Gallery Director Mary Gray at mary.gray@oac.state.oh.us or 614/728-2239.

Governor’s Awards for the Arts—SAVE THE DATE!   The 2010 Governor’s Awards ceremony and luncheon will be held in conjunction with Arts Day, Wednesday, April 21, 2009. This daylong event demonstrating public value and support for the arts is sponsored by Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation. Arts Day will include an arts advocacy briefing, legislative visits, Statehouse tours and student exhibitions and performances. Look for the announcement of the 2010 Governor's Awards winners in mid-November.

Due to the extreme economic situation in the state and nation, there have been continued reductions to the OAC’s budget. As a result the OAC needed to stretch its limited state funding, maintain services to the field and manage program activities after a 47 percent reduction in the OAC grant budget and a 40 percent reduction in OAC staffing from the beginning of the 2008/2009 biennium. The short-term solution is to place some programs on hiatus during the current biennium.

Capacity Building and International Partnerships are on hiatus for the current fiscal year 2010 (which began July 1, 2009 and ends June 30, 2010).  Capacity Building applications will be accepted again in FY2011 (July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011) and the online application will re-open for this program on June 1, 2010. The Arts Innovation program and the International Partnership program will be on hiatus through FY2011.

The Arts Access program will continue providing both operating and project support funding for small and emerging organizations as specified in the program's guidelines, but will accept applications at only the March 1, 2010 deadline rather than at both a spring and fall deadline as in recent years.

For more information about this announcement visit the press release or visit the OAC staff directory at www.oac.state.oh.us/aboutOAC/staff.asp for the appropriate staff contact for questions.

In addition ArtsOhio will once again be a bi-monthly newsletter starting with this issue. The PIO office will continue to use e-notices to communicate information and news in a timely fashion and on an as-needed basis.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announces the next round of New Generations: Future Collaborations travel grants. Individual theatre practitioners and theatres may apply. Geographically unrestricted travel grants of up to $6,000 will be paid to theatres and individual theatre professionals to facilitate international collaboration by way of hosting or traveling abroad. Fall deadline is November 16.  Visit TCG’s Web site for Guidelines and Application.