Wick Poetry Center Outreach Coordinator Nicole Robinson
is surrounded by children participating in the center’s Giving
Voice performance. The Wick Poetry Center, along with the
Kent State University Museum and Porthouse Theatre,
received more than $65,000 in grants from the Ohio Arts
Council.

The Ohio Arts Council (OAC) has awarded the Kent State University Museum, Porthouse Theatre and the Wick Poetry Center more than $65,000 in grants as part of the council’s initiative that supports the creative efforts of art and cultural organizations.

The Kent State University Museum was awarded $20,477, Porthouse Theatre received $15,795, and the Wick Poetry Center received $13,063 in sustainability and $15,935 in arts partnership.

Director of the Kent State University Museum Jean Druesedow says that the sustainability grant to the museum will be used for basic operating expenses related to exhibitions.

“The Kent State University Museum has received Ohio Arts Council sustainability grants since 1999, and I am excited that the council has again selected us to receive its sustainability grant this year,” says Druesedow. “The Ohio Arts Council grant makes a huge difference in our programming and outreach to the community.”

Cynthia Stillings, producing director of Kent State’s Porthouse Theatre and director for the School of Theatre and Dance, considers it an honor to receive the grant from the council especially in challenging economic times.

“It is a credit to our state legislators that they recognize the importance of the arts to growing a healthy economy. It was through their support that the Ohio Arts Council was able to increase funding to state arts organizations such as Porthouse Theatre, and we appreciate it very much,” Stillings says.

Porthouse Theatre will use its sustainability grant for operational staff and support, including for outreach activities such as community programs and the Porthouse Theatre Academy.

The Ohio Arts Council’s sustainability and art partnership grant to the Wick Poetry Center is the largest ever in the center’s history.

“The Ohio Arts Council has consistently and actively helped the Wick Poetry Center in fulfilling our mission, and we are absolutely thrilled to receive these grants, which will help us to continue to encourage new voices in our community and beyond,” says Jessica Jewell, program coordinator for the Wick Poetry Center. “The grants will be used to support the Wick Poetry Center’s programming and outreach, as well as our Traveling Stanzas Community Arts Project, a collaborative, multidisciplinary project that will serve communities in Northeast Ohio.”

Jewell says that Wick Poetry Center staff, with pending partnerships with the Cuyahoga County Public Library System and WVIZ Ideastream, will conduct poetry workshops in area libraries, schools, hospitals and businesses. The content produced in these workshops will be turned into animated poetry posters by community members enrolled in workforce development training, as well as by graphic design students at Kent State.

The Wick Poetry Center is ranked second out of 263 art centers in Ohio by the Ohio Arts Council for its Traveling Stanzas Project.

For more information about the Kent State University Museum, visit www.kent.edu/museum.

For more information about Kent State University’s Porthouse Theatre, visit http://dept.kent.edu/theatre/porthouse.

For more information about the Wick Poetry Center, visit www.kent.edu/wick.

For more information about the Ohio Arts Council, visit www.oac.state.oh.us.