KeyBank Foundation Supports Studio in a School Association With $100,000 Grant

The KeyBank Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to the Studio in a School Association to support Studio Institute Cleveland. Grant funds will serve to magnify their work in early learning, elementary school arts education and college internships in the arts.

Studio Institute has invested in arts education in Cleveland through three major programmatic partnerships: Head Start early learning in association with the Rainey Institute, elementary school arts programs in collaboration with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) and an Arts Intern program for college students in association with local universities and cultural organizations.

Funding from the KeyBank Foundation will provide support to expand Studio Institute’s partnership with Cleveland State University to provide scholarships for the Arts Interns program and to increase the number of internships offered. These efforts will afford greater opportunities for students from diverse cultural backgrounds to gain internships they otherwise would not have access to and experience growth in their workplace skills and exposure to potential career paths.

The grant will also be utilized to expand the number of school partnerships and early-grade residencies with CMSD and other early learning centers.

“As an organization whose founder was born and raised in Cleveland, we could not be prouder to join the family of organizations supported by the KeyBank Foundation,” Studio Institute’s President, Tom Cahill, said. “To work with the Cleveland arts and education community – its students, artists, teachers, and exceptional cultural institutions – is a privilege. We are grateful to the KeyBank Foundation for signaling their belief in the power of arts and culture to transform communities throughout Cleveland through supporting our work in the city.”

In 1977 Agnes Gund, a Cleveland native, founded Studio in a School to bring artists into the New York City public schools after budget cuts virtually eliminated arts from the curriculum.

"Cleveland is where I had my first arts experiences. The Cleveland Museum and the community remain dear to my heart,” said Gund. “This grant from KeyBank will make it possible for Studio Institute to recruit and hire more local artists, to expand our school and community partnership programs and to offer paid internships to more college students through our Arts Intern program, which also benefits local arts and culture organizations."

“KeyBank is excited to support the transformative work of Agnes Gund and the Studio Institute to provide visual arts education,” said Mattie Jones Hollowell, Corporate Responsibility Officer at KeyBank. “We are proud of the opportunities that Studio Institute is providing Cleveland’s youth , and look forward to what’s in store for the future.”