GREENVILLE — The Darke County Center for the Arts (DCCA) has been awarded $38,900 in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act distributed by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC).
This $20 million infusion of funding will both offset reopening costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as provide some economic relief for past expenses incurred since the pandemic began. This grant is the largest ever expended by the OAC, and will aid nearly 300 grantees of all sizes and all genres, all across Ohio.
The funding will be used by Darke County Center for the Arts to offset incurred costs caused by cancelled programming associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reopening measures that include costs associated with offering virtual programming.
In a statement released to The Daily Advocate, DCCA noted, “We are extremely thankful to be awarded this funding and we are very grateful to Governor Mike DeWine and members of the Ohio General Assembly for acknowledging the importance of the arts in Ohio by allocating significant CARES Act funds to counteract the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic facing arts providers across the state.”
The DCCA concluded the statement by reaffirming their mission to the Darke County community.
“This grant allows DCCA to continue our mission of promoting cultural enrichment in Darke County including presenting professional performing artists for every Darke County public school student,” the statement read. “Working with Darke County school administrators and the artists we contracted back in February, we will present an adaptive form of our traditional Arts In Education programming available virtually, at no cost to students or schools. Participating artists include Moxie Strings (High School), Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience (Grades 7-8), along with Ohio Artists Robert Post (Grades 4-6), and Zak Morgan (Grades K-3). In addition, we will be presenting a Never-Before-Seen Holiday Virtual Event featuring the Emmy Award winning Tonic Sol-fa and the Shaun Johnson Big Band Experience on December 3rd.”
A special thanks to the Darke County Center for the Arts for all the work they do to make sure the arts are alive and well in Darke County.
