AssemblyCle.org: Announcing Winners of the 2025 Creative Impact Fund

Announcing Winners of the 2025 Creative Impact Fund
Flexible funding and business development support will elevate artists’ creative practice and regional impact, with support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture

|In Press Release, Press
|By Deidre McPherson

Read the article on AssemblyCLE.org

CLEVELAND, December 12, 2025  — Assembly for the Arts is excited to announce 29 artists have been awarded 2025 Creative Impact Fund grants.

In its third year, the Creative Impact Fund (CIF) is one of the largest unrestricted grant funds available to Cuyahoga County artists. CIF supports the growth of an artist’s creative practice and advances their impact on the region. The award provides flexible, unrestricted funding; professional and business development opportunities; mentorship and networking; and membership in Assembly for the Arts.

This year’s Creative Impact Fund honors 15 Early Career artists at $5,000 each (professionally practicing 5 years or less) and 14 Mid-Late Career artists at $10,000 each (professionally practicing for 6 years or more). Twenty-nine awards are being made in 2025, up from 17 in 2024.

The selected artists represent dance, theatre, design, film, craft, music, visual arts, writing/literature, and interdisciplinary fields and are based across Cuyahoga County.
Early Career ($5,000) awardees:

1. Joy David – Writing / Literary Art
2. Julia Fisher – Theatre
3. Anthony Ford – Visual Art
4. Wil Frierson – Film
5. Felicia Harris – Dance
6. Dontae Hill – Film
7. Elliot Jarrous – Theatre
8. Tanya Kaiser – Visual Art
9. Christina Lindhout – Dance
10. Alyssa Lizzini – Visual Art
11. Tanya Long – Craft
12. Elizabeth Pollert – Dance/Theatre
13. Susan Snipes – Media Interdisciplinary
14. Eric Tuck-Macalla – Visual Art
15. Antoinette Wiley – Writing / Literary Art

Mid to Late Career ($10,000) awardees:

1. Ali Black – Writing / Literary Art
2. Amy Casey – Visual Art
3. Christa Ebert – Interdisciplinary and Music
4. Elijah Gilmore – Music and Writing / Literary Art
5. olula negre – Music and Interdisciplinary Art
6. Quartez Harris – Writing /Literary Art
7. Thomas Hudson – Visual Art
8. Lori Kella – Visual Art
9. Jacob Koestler – Film and Visual Art
10. Adam Lucas – Design Interdisciplinary
11. Laura Camila Medina – Visual Art
12. Philip Metres – Writing / Literary Art
13. Daniel Roth – Visual Art and Design
14. Deontae Trundle – Film and Design

“Cuyahoga County is home to exceptionally talented artists working across many disciplines. The work of these incredible individuals enriches our communities and keeps this region a powerhouse of creativity. Congratulations to this year’s grantees,” said Jeremy V. Johnson, Assembly for the Arts’ President and CEO.

Awardees were selected through a semi-anonymous review process by a panel of 12 accomplished artistic practitioners from across the country, representing 12 states, 10 cities and 11 creative disciplines. Read about the selection panel.

Learn about the 2025 Creative Impact Fund grantees.
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Assembly for the Arts Assembly for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that unifies Greater Cleveland’s creative sector by coordinating information, partnerships, and opportunities and advocating for strong public and private investment in arts and culture. It supports nonprofits, artists, and creative businesses through research, policy, and sector-wide services, working closely with Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and Assembly for Action (a 501(c)(4) advocacy affiliate). Learn more at www.assemblycle.org.


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Malissa Bodmann
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