There is a lot that the Northeast Ohio community takes pride in: Lake Erie and its beaches, a comprehensive and extensive network of trails and recreation areas, great food representing countries from all over the world, and loyal sports fans are just some of the reasons residents are proud to call the region home.

Northeast Ohio’s vibrant, diverse arts and culture network ranks as one of the top attractions to both residents and visitors to the region.

In June, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) released its 2023-2024 Annual Report to the Community, showing its community impact on securing a strong arts and culture presence in Northeast Ohio and its support of 275 nonprofit organizations in Cuyahoga County with more than $12 million in grants in 2023.

Since 2007, CAC has remained steadfast in ensuring Cuyahoga County continues to earn its reputation as a lively location for individual artists, small cultural organizations, and the larger arts institutions alike.

“To date, CAC has granted more than $247 million to more than 480 nonprofit organizations bringing arts and cultural programming to life in our communities,” says Jill M. Paulsen, CAC’s executive director.

Paulsen says the grants and the resulting creative work enable everyone to connect to arts and culture in Northeast Ohio.

“The energy of our nonprofit creative sector is astounding,” says Paulsen. “Together, these groups provided more than six million experiences last year that were attended by 4.8 million people in person and 1.3 million digitally. Nearly 55% [of those events] were free of charge.”

The hundreds of nonprofit organizations funded annually by CAC creates:

• More than 10,200 jobs
• 47,000 classes and workshops
• 158,000 hours of arts education and 4,500 field trips in schools
• 2,350 internships and apprenticeships

FreshWater looks at two organizations that particularly benefitted from CAC funding last year. These grants were announced in November 2022 to support programs, events, and organizations throughout 2023. A current 2024 project and a planned 2025 partnership—both funded through CAC grant money—are also worth noting.

2023 Towpath Trail Commissioned ArtistsIlluminating history

The more than 2.5 million outdoor enthusiasts who each year visit Northeast Ohio’s portion of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail each come for a variety of reasons.

Some come to bike, hike, or bird-watch. Others opt to simply embrace the flora and fauna on the 98-mile path where mules once pulled boats filled with passengers and goods along the waterway connecting Lake Erie to the Ohio River.

“The Ohio & Erie Canal was so important to the growth not only of Cleveland as a city, but to the growth of the nation,” says Meghan Tinker Paynter, communications director for nonprofit  Canalway Partners, an organization that hosts events and programs celebrating the Canal’s National Heritage Area in Cuyahoga County.

In March 2023 Canalway Partners and 300 participants commemorated the trail with its second annual Towpath Trail Lantern Parade—a celebration of light, creativity and sustainability along the Cuyahoga River.

For three years now, participants have gathered at an overlook on University Avenue and West 13th Street to walk the 1.5-mile round trip route to the historic Scranton Flats.

The route provides sweeping, picture-perfect views of the downtown Cleveland skyline as parade participants carry homemade lanterns they’ve crafted from recycled materials—ranging from plastic bottles to cardboard boxes and glass jars. Local artists line the way with their lighted installations symbolizing the theme of sustainability.

“Two years ago, approximately 100 people braved the bitter cold to be with us,” says Paynter. “That number grew to 300 in 2023 and this year, more than 600 people participated.”

Paynter credits CAC and a 2023 $4,000 project support grant for the increased participation in the Lantern Parade. For the 2024 parade, Canalway received $3,410

“We’re able to employ more artists and attract a variety of participants who are interested in art or recycling, but perhaps have never visited the Towpath Trail before,” she says. “The event is a great way to introduce new visitors to the natural wonders that are so close to home.”

LMM exhibit, “A PLACE meant” at moCaOutreach through art

The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa Cleveland) has never wavered from its 55-year-old mission of presenting exhibitions and programs that unite people through art.

One of the ways the museum brings people together is through its Institutional & Artist Residency programs, which allows artists and arts organizations to embark on collaborative projects. CAC’s $140,402 general operating support grant allows moCa Cleveland to initiate these types of programs.

“The grant support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture is for general operating support, but we channel those funds into service to our Cleveland community,” says moCa executive director Megan Lykins Reich, adding that MoCa uses the CAC support to serve both the artistic community and the public.

“Our institutional residencies are prime examples of that objective,” she says. “They express our commitment to partnership and creating relevant experiences and connections through art among a variety of topics, themes and partners.”

Last year, Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center, which received $30,000 in cultural heritage funding from CAC, partnered with moCa Cleveland on an 18-month Institutional & Artist Residency at the museum. 

The two organizations designed programming to advance the work of Latino artists and artists of color to provide new professional development opportunities.

In 2023 Julia de Burgos occupied moCa’s first and third floors with two cohorts of early career artists who worked with mentor artists and arts leaders. The resulting exhibitions were then hosted by moCa.

moCa’s partnered with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry for a 2024 partner exhibit with Birthing Beautiful Communities in 2025 for a third residency programBuilding momentum

The successful collaboration with Julia de Burgos influenced moCa’s decision to partner with Cleveland nonprofit Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM) for a 2024 partner exhibit and with Birthing Beautiful Communities (BBC) in 2025 for a third residency program.

Late last month, on June 28, The LMM exhibit, “A PLACE meant” opened at moCa.  

LMM partnered with Sai Sinbondit, founder of I_You Design Lab, a nonprofit architectural collective dedicated to designing and building shelters for displaced populations, on the exhibit that illustrates innovations in creative affordable housing through material and image-based examples of accessible housing approaches taking shape across the globe.

“A PLACE meant” celebrates not only LMM’s 55th anniversary, it celebrates with the organization’s commitment to housing as the solution to homelessness through projects such as its Breaking New Ground initiative, modular housing, solar-powered homes, and, most recently, 3D printed homes that can be completed in a month.

On exhibit through Dec. 29, “A PLACE meant” is accompanied by a series of free public events and intergenerational education programs designed to inspire a commitment to creating housing throughout Greater Cleveland that meets every budget.

"Affordable housing is a huge problem across the globe, and also in Cleveland,” moCa’s Reich says. “[Hosting the exhibit] provides us with an opportunity to be a convener and work with other partners to explore this topic from various vantage points over many months.

“The exhibition showcases how to merge dignity, design and environmental sustainability into affordable housing,” Reich continues.

After “A PLACE meant,” moCa in February 2025 will partner with Birthing Beautiful Communities, which works with the community and organizations to address and improve the social, structural, and economic determinants of health.

The yet-to-be-named BBC exhibit will focus on BBC’s commitment to maternal and infant health, especially among Black and Brown women in Cleveland.

Community fabric

Although these projects are just a sampling of the projects funded with CAC grant money, those involved in the efforts acknowledge the help of both the community and CAC help the region's creative community shine brighter.

“Cuyahoga Arts & Culture funding is critical to helping us deliver quality programming that Cleveland deserves,” Reich says. “We are so fortunate to have incredible arts and culture [organizations] that give texture to our city.”

CAC executive director Paulsen agrees.

“Canalway Partners and moCa are two great examples of how nonprofits of all sizes are taking investment from CAC and maximizing the benefit for Cuyahoga County residents,” she says. “Arts and culture have the power to bring people together, inspire us, challenge us and unite us.

“We are proud,” Paulsen adds, “to support their work and the work of hundreds of other groups who use creativity to make Cuyahoga County such a wonderful place to be.”

Learn more about CAC’s impact in its 2023-2024 Report to the Community.