Ontario County Arts Council provides diverse opportunities for arts participation, understanding and appreciation.
ABOUT US
Our community commitment to art is based on a strong belief that engaging in the arts plays a pivotal role in improving overall mental and physical health, as well as the well-being of our communities. Art offers meaning, elevates our mood, improves our ability to problem solve, broadens our attention span, opens our minds to new ideas, and unlocks solutions to creative problems. Art benefits everyone in our community.
The Ontario County Arts Council is a non-profit organization with a membership of over 200 visual and performing artists and other members of our local communities who appreciate and support culture, art, music, and architecture. Established in 1989 to enhance the creative arts in Ontario County, we sponsor and co-sponsor numerous events, exhibits, and workshops, as well as support the arts with grants and scholarships. These include:
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Annual series of four juried exhibits are held from January to December in the North Gallery of the Ontario County Historical Society, and is sponsored in partnership with the Museum. Occasional workshops and lectures at the museum are held in conjunction with these exhibits.
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Gallery 32 is a community arts partnership with FLCC which offers additional gallery space and arts events in downtown Canandaigua.
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One non-juried member exhibit at the Wood Library, Canandaigua.
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A Rotating Art Exhibit program at local offices and businesses that pay an annual $150 participation fee, which goes towards our grants and scholarship funds. Presently there are 19 contributing member artists at 14 locations in Ontario County
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A $2,000 Mariner Family Scholarship is awarded each fall to a deserving visual or performing arts student at Finger Lakes Community College. Liam Houle, Finger Lakes Community College theater arts and business major, was the recipient for the 2024-25 academic year.
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An annual Community Grants Program is made available to other non-profit groups in Ontario County in support of the arts
Grants for 2025 were awarded to:
2025 $1,000 grants to each of the following:
Geneva Rising Arts Foundation (GRAF), Inc. for a mural in downtown Geneva. The project is a collaboration with a Hobart William Smith (HWS ) student artist and intern, an indigenous artist, an HWS faculty member, GRAF members, and the Finger Lakes Works Youth Employment Program.
Paints and Rec for a mural painting project on the Kershaw Park bathhouse, similar to the highly successful fire department mural project the arts council funded in 2024.
Friends of the Bristol Valley Playhouse Foundation Inc. for a production of "The Cayuga Canal Girls,” a story of love, loss, and friendship set in Seneca Falls, NY.
Cobblestone Arts Center for a new series celebrating cultural diversity through performances, featuring local artists rooted in global traditions- Chinese pipa, Middle Eastern Belly Dance, African Movement and Native American Song and Storytelling.
2025 $500 grants to the following:
Chamberfest Canandaigua, which has a strong program of offering free classical performances for children and seniors. The lower amount recognizes that this would be the fourth grant for this organization since the program began in 2020.
The Dove Block Project for Fifth Sundays Open Mic program, a series of four literary arts happenings with space on the microphone for songs, music, short stories and poems.
Our Board of Directors
We have an active, working Board of Directors, all volunteers, who works closely with other local organizations in support of the arts, including the Ontario County Historical Society, Fort Hill Performing Arts Center, Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion, Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce and B.I.D., Arts in Canandaigua Galleries, the City of Canandaigua, Cobblestone Arts Center and The Dove Block in Geneva.
Front Row from left: Joyce Kowba (President), Ellen Horovitz (VP), Susan Besaw, Tina Blackwood, Judi Cermak (Past President)
Rear Row from left: Jim Kowba (Treasurer), Diane Olivet (VP), Regina Morse, Jennifer Yerden, Harry Patrick, David Hefling, Neal Allen, (Secretary)
Not pictured Andrew Bolton