ProMusica Chamber Orchestra giving a virtual performance as the conclusion to their 2019-2020 season. Screenshot from ProMusica Columbus.

Arts helped Ohioans endure the pandemic, and this article by The Ohio Capital Journal shares that advocates and members of the CreativeOhio (formerly) Ohio Citizens for the Arts board believe that the arts are a fundamental part of our economic prosperity. This is indicated by the $20 million in CARES Act dollars toward the arts that the state provided in November 2020.

“Arts are not just leisure activities, arts are fundamental parts of our society and our economic prosperity” the Ohio Capital Journal quotes Elizabeth Brown-Ellis of Lima Symphony Orchestra in their story. Brown-Ellis and Dr. Philathia Bolton of University of Akron joined the Ohio Citizens for the Arts Board during the pandemic.

In the article, which shares that the arts industry got a total of $1,065,000 from the National Endowment of the Arts in the form of 45 grants, Bolton shares that she’s heard from people in the financial and insurance sectors who are looking to connect with humanities students.

Read the full article, or learn how to become a member of CreativeOhio.