At contentious board meeting, Cuyahoga County Arts & Culture faced criticisms for secrecy, unspent funds allocated for individual artists
Local artists have for four years now volleyed complaints at Cuyahoga County Arts & Culture, the organization that distributes revenues from the county cigarette tax, for disbursing only a portion of its allocated commitments to individual artists and for being less than forthcoming with information on how it decides to do so.
One of the artists, Liz Maugans, an arts advocate and Director of the YARDS Projects, expressed frustration over access to CAC information, saying the agency was not transparent with its funding programs. “CAC used our terminology without adopting our recommendations,” she said. “They have rewritten history to favor the narrative of their agency.”
Jake Sinatra, the director of Grant Making Strategy and Communication, reported on the 2023 budget of $60,500 for Resident Grants through Neighborhood Connections, which funds projects through small grants to residents of Cleveland and East Cleveland up to $5,000. Grant recipients must secure a dollar-for-dollar match equal to the amount requested from Neighborhood Connections.
Cuyahoga County residents approved the creation of CAC in 2006. A levy extension appeared in 2015, which renewed an existing excise tax for ten additional years. The current levy expires in January 2027. CAC used to receive proposals from the community but not since 2018, according to Sinatra and CAC Executive Director Jill Paulsen. Not all groups and organizations function as intermediaries and can distribute grants, Paulse said. The reason has to do with their ability to run the program.At the meeting, Sherman asked about the annual shortfall – $140,000 of the $400,000 – in distributions that have taken place each of the last four years.
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