CINCINNATI (April 15, 2015) – ArtsWave announces three new Arts for Health grants to expand arts programs that improve health outcomes for Greater Cincinnati residents.  This initiative is funded through restricted grants as part of the ArtsWave Community Campaign. 

“Widespread research is revealing significant impacts that the arts can have on achieving health outcomes," said Alecia Kintner, President  & CEO of ArtsWave. “ArtsWave believes that investing in Arts for Health partnerships can help expand the benefits of the arts to more people in our community, helping everyone to lead a healthy and creatively expressive life.”

The arts can be a vital resource for drawing attention to disease prevention, nutrition and exercise, while providing social connectivity and reducing health and wellness disparities among different populations.  Eighteen organizations submitted applications to a competitive grant process to provide for the expansion of existing Arts for Health programs that have demonstrated positive clinical and/or general wellness outcomes through past performance in Greater Cincinnati.  
 
Arts organizations were encouraged to create proposals that could deliver programming to five Place Matters neighborhoods designated by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky. Over the past two years, ArtsWave has made strategic investments to use the arts to support community development goals in the five designated Place Matters communities – Avondale, Covington, Madisonville, Price Hill, and Walnut Hills.  

Three programs will expand with the support of Arts for Health grants:

• “B-FIT with Bi-Okoto,” piloted in 2014 at the Bi-Okoto Cultural Centre in Silverton, promotes healthy lifestyles through fun fitness routines, nutrition tips and affirming rewards. This grant will help the program expand its presence into  the five Place Matters  neighborhoods.  ($25,000)
  
• “Creative Aging Cincinnati” presents professional artists and arts organization programming adapted for seniors in nursing homes, retirement villages, assisted living facilities, day programs and senior centers. Through this expansion grant, Creative Aging will provide 12 in-facility programs to two such centers in each of  the five Place Matters neighborhoods, as well as two large group outreach programs where these centers, along with others, come together in a larger community setting.  ($14,000)

• “Dancing with Parkinson’s,” currently offered at the Wyoming Fine Arts Center, is based on the national Dance for PD® program. The fundamentals of dance – balance, movement sequencing, rhythm and coordination – address the physical challenges that confront people with Parkinson’s.  The expansion will include 24 master classes, which will be offered at twelve regional facilities, to 1,200 potential participants. It is estimated that about 14,000 people in the Greater Cincinnati region have been diagnosed with PD.    ($10,000)