The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lakeland gets $10K
Grant from National Endowment for the Arts supports development of tools, showcases celebrating women’s suffrage milestone
Lakeland Community College recently announced it has received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the college’s annual, women-focused art exhibit.
The show will open February 2021 and feature the theme of women’s right to vote.
Women’s suffrage marks 100 years Aug. 18, the day that the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1920.
According to Lakeland, the funds will allow for the development of an online calendar guide and interactive map of all Northeast Ohio gallery and studio art exhibitions that will celebrate the milestone during National Women’s History Month, recognized annually every March.
In addition, the project will bring Lakeland’s art gallery and geography and geospatial technology departments together to create an interactive, online guide aiming to provide a one-stop, online resource to exhibits with the theme of women’s suffrage.
The plan calls for a web application map directory to be developed using a geographic information system to design a spatial data layer that will collect and geocode data.
Once completed, the map will be embedded on the college’s website for anyone to access publicly and share with others.
“We are excited for this project to bridge the arts and sciences, to provide teaching moments using art created by and about women,” said Adam Cloutier, dean for arts and sciences at Lakeland.
“We hope to unite the Northeast Ohio art community around this central theme while also providing an educational opportunity about a landmark event in our nation’s history,” he added. “We are extremely grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for this award.”
Lakeland held its first gallery exhibition celebrating Women’s History Month in 2008. Gallery coordinator and exhibit curator Mary Urbas recognized there were numerous other galleries in neighboring communities that also had important exhibits celebrating women and developed the first exhibit directory in 2014.
“History has shown that women artists have not been promoted or represented as much as male artists,” Urbas said. “So, when I saw others also promoting female artists, it made sense to create something bigger so that art enthusiasts could do a type of ‘exhibit crawl’ but on a larger scale. This will provide the roadmap of mustsee places that are promoting women’s artwork.”
When completed, the project will connect Northeast Ohio residents to approximately 100 art exhibitions celebrating Women’s History Month, college officials confirmed.
“We celebrate organizations like Lakeland for providing opportunities for learning and engagement through the arts in these times,” said Mary Anne Carter, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts.
“These awards demonstrate the resilience of the arts in America, showcasing not only the creativity of their arts projects but the organizations’ agility in the face of a national health crisis.”
According to the independent agency, Carter recently approved more than $84 million in grants as part of the second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2020.
Lakeland was one of 17 Ohio organizations that received an award.
“We celebrate organizations like Lakeland for providing opportunities for learning and engagement through the arts in these times.”
— Mary Anne Carter, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts