PNC Financial Services : Local Arts Organizations Share $250,000 From PNC Arts Alive

COLUMBUS, Ohio - May 23, 2018 - Sensory-friendly concerts, creative Thursday night gatherings and the 125th birthday celebration of a hometown cartoonist are among the highlights of nine central Ohio arts organizations receiving a total of $250,000 in grants from the PNC Foundation through PNC Arts Alive.

For the ninth consecutive year, PNC is contributing $250,000 to arts organizations across central Ohio as part of its 10-year commitment to visual and performing arts. The 2018 grant recipients cover a wide range of disciplines, audiences and participatory experiences from art groups large and small, encompassing the city and suburban areas. Three arts organizations - Columbus Children's Theatre, Glass Axis and Thurber House - are receiving PNC Arts Alive grants for the first time. [See below for list of grant recipients]

'We believe that a thriving arts community brings significant value to our economy and to all of us who live, work and play in central Ohio,' said Michael Gonsiorowski, PNC regional president for Columbus. 'The programs we are able to fund through PNC Arts Alive strengthen our visual and performing arts community and create unique experiences that reach hundreds of thousands of people. We are excited about this year's grant recipients and the new opportunities that will be created by their programs.'

First launched in 2010, PNC Arts Alive has now provided 90 grants to local, non-profit arts groups. The program has earned local and national commendation from the Ohio Arts Awards and Americans for the Arts in New York City. In 2016, PNC announced it would grant another $1 million and extend PNC Arts Alive four years, through 2020.

Family Fun, Free Events
Programs supported through PNC Arts Alive include the New Albany Symphony's sensory-friendly community kindness concerts that will be held at pop-up throughout central Ohio, a series of American Sign Language and adaptive plays designed for the visually impaired and performed by the Columbus Children's Theatre and session concerts by ProMusica Chamber Orchestra that will offer connections between the classical and contemporary by including classical music variations on rock, hip-hop, tango or cinematic pieces presented in non-traditional venues including restaurants, breweries and bars.

PNC Arts Alive is a multi-year grant initiative of the PNC Foundation that challenges visual and performing arts organizations to put forth their best, most original thinking in expanding audience participation and engagement. To date, this award-winning program has provided $3 million in grants to cultural organizations across the central Ohio region. For more information, visit www.pncartsalive.com.

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a $350 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. To learn more about PNC Grow Up Great, please go to www.pncgrowupgreat.com.

PNC ARTS ALIVE - 2018 GRANT RECIPIENTS

BalletMet - $25,000
BalletMet's 'Dance2U' program will innovate access to ballet by expanding community performances through BalletMet 2, the organization's second company of ambassadors. Ballet performances will be offered in five to seven non-traditional community sites and in three underserved school settings. www.balletmet.org / @BalletMet
Central Ohio Symphony - $35,000
Local Focus is a new work by the Central Ohio Symphony that will feature elements of film photography and new music composition. The project also will include a series of pre-concert events to engage audiences. In addition to these outreach events, the concert itself will include four world premiere commissions, three in music and one in film. www.centralohiosymphony.org / @centralohiosym

Columbus Children's Theatre - $35,000
Columbus Children's Theatre will offer performances specifically to help underserved audiences experience the magic of theater. CCT will offer six Mainstage performances and one Theatre for the Very Young show under the all access pass. Special programming elements include sensory-friendly performances, which provide a welcoming performing arts experience to children with autism or other sensory sensitivities. www.ColumbusChildrensTheatre.org / @CCTColumbus

Columbus Museum of Art - $25,000
Think Like an Artist days will take be held at the Museum on the first Thursday evening of every month throughout 2019. Each TLaA Thursday will include a local creative partner, a local beverage partner and a local music partner to help engage new and more diverse audiences looking for more of an enhanced and hand-on Museum experience. www.columbusmuseum.org / @columbusmuseum
Glass Axis - $20,000
Fantastical Creatures combines the creativity of children with the skills of professional artists. Glass Axis will partner with several local schools during the year, working with students to draw imaginary creatures and to write stories about these fantasy beasts. Glass Axis will pick several drawings and stories and 'bring the fantasy to life' by creating 3-D glass models of the creatures. www.glassaxis.org / @glassaxis

McConnell Arts Center - $25,000
This program will provide music fans with the opportunity to see the latest live music in Columbus without having to stay out late. The series will be offered free of charge, encouraging attendance from a variety of socio-economic levels and introducing a way to stay connected to the music scene that better fits within busy lifestyles. www.mcconnellarts.org / @worthingtonarts
New Albany Symphony Orchestra - $35,000
New Albany Symphony Orchestra will perform 12 on-location chamber concerts within the New Albany Community in addition to in-theatre performances that will be sensory-friendly. Patrons will be able to catch NASO musicians performing at several community-based pop-up locations throughout New Albany as well as at locations such as the James Cancer Hospital. www.newalbanysymphony.com / @NASymphony

ProMusica Chamber Orchestra - $25,000
The ProMusica Sessions series will include six performances in restaurants, breweries and bars throughout the city of Columbus. Each concert will consist of two components: a half-hour of traditional classical music, followed by a half-hour of classical variations on either rock, hip-hop, tango, or cinematic pieces. www.promusicacolumbus.org / @ProMusica_Ohio

Thurber House - $25,000
Thurber House will celebrate its 35th anniversary and James Thurber's 125th birthday in a community-wide celebration: The Year of Thurber. Programming will expand promote Thurber's work and feature numerous community engagement activities as well as a star-studded community-wide affair to celebrate the Thurber Prize for American Humor awards ceremony along with the annual Thurber Birthday gala. www.thurberhouse.org / @thurberhouse

CONTACT:
Craig Friedman
(614) 463-6647 office
(614) 558-1567 mobile
craig.friedman@pnc.com
@Craig_PNC