Well Read
Books by the Banks returns this Saturday! This free, all-day festival features 90 writers, with panel discussions, book signings, and readings, plus activities for the whole family.
If You Go
Books by the Banks Festival
Saturday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Duke Energy Center, 525 Elm St.
Details at booksbythebanks.org.
As the weather gets chilly the urge to curl up with a good book gets stronger.
Start your new stack of must-read books this Saturday, as Books by the Banks returns to the Duke Energy Center. This free, day-long festival features national, regional, and local authors and illustrators, with book signings and panel discussions.
The “Kids Corner” has activities for the entire family to enjoy, with hourly story times, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s “Musical Zoo,” crafts, balloon animals, and a dance party.
Celebrate the joy of reading and writing together with other bibliophiles and meet your new-favorite-author.
Notable authors scheuduled to appeare are W. Bruce Cameron, Will Hillenbrand, Erin Keane, R.F. Kuang, Adam Rex, Justin A. Reynolds, Laura Trujillo, and 80 more incredible, local, regional & national authors.
Each author will have their newest book for sale at the tables. You are also allowed to bring your own books to be signed!
Most of the authors will be at festival for the entire day, many participating in discussions with other writers. This is a great opportunity to hear your favorite writer talk about their work in a fun and informative way.
In addition to the author discussions, panels on writing and publishing, teen fiction, and local history/interest will be held.
A special screening of Marching On: The Fight for School Integration in Hillsboro, Ohio will take place at 10 and 10:30 a.m., followed by a Q & A.
Forward Progress
After a nationwide search, the Contemporary Arts Center has named Christina Vassallo as the institution’s new Alice & Harris Weston Director.
The Contemporary Arts Center has named Christina Vassallo as the institution’s new Alice & Harris Weston Director. An accomplished and effective arts administrator and curator, Vassallo brings more than ten years of executive-level experience at forward-thinking contemporary arts institutions, currently serving as executive director of The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia.
Vassallo comes to the CAC with a history of successful leadership in fundraising, education and outreach initiatives, and artistic collaborations of varying scope and size, as well as a deep understanding of the cultural ecosystems of Ohio and the Midwest, having previously served as Executive + Artistic Director of SPACES in Cleveland from 2014 to 2019.
Looking Ahead
In 2023, the CAC will celebrate its 20th year in its current location, the seven-story Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art—the first U.S. project designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and the first US museum designed by a woman.
Hadid’s original design, an “urban carpet” that dynamically draws visitors from the sidewalks of one of the city’s busiest intersections into the building and up through the galleries, was visionary in establishing a critical connection to the center of urban life in Cincinnati. The building was instrumental in establishing downtown Cincinnati as a vibrant cultural hub with the CAC at its core and remains a local landmark.
She will begin her new role at the CAC in March.
“It was important to the Board that we select someone with an understanding of not just contemporary art, but the needs and interests of the region,” said CAC Board President Gale Beckett. “Christina is exceptionally qualified. She has experience collaborating with established and upcoming artists, passion and proven success in expanding outreach, and a strong track record of fundraising and fiscal stability. We are confident that she will help usher in an inspiring new era at the CAC.” Vassallo’s appointment is the result of a nationwide search led by Gale Beckett as Board President working with search firm Koya Partners and a Board subcommittee.
“Before moving to Philadelphia, I spent six years in Cleveland, so moving back to Ohio feels like a homecoming for me. There is such a rich network of artists and creatives in the Midwest that I can’t wait to tap back into through the CAC, an organization at the cutting edge of the region’s cultural scene,” said Vassallo. “I’m looking forward to joining the CAC team and working to chart a new path forward that builds upon the institution’s deep history of supporting artists at the vanguard and nurturing curiosity and creativity in us all.”
Vassallo has served as the executive director of The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) in Philadelphia, since January 2020. Taking the reins at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vassallo immediately executed a deft strategic vision that allowed her to keep her staff of 30 fully intact, cultivate six new board members, stabilize the museum’s finances, and continue an ambitious program calendar of residencies and exhibitions by Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Rose B. Simpson, Henry Taylor, and others. During her tenure at the FWM, she has also secured the Mellon Foundation’s Art Museum Futures Fund to develop a permanent collection care plan and support DEAI initiatives; created an earned revenue initiative to support artists through the sale of limited-edition works; laid the groundwork for a new strategic plan; and advocated for the region’s cultural sector when city and state funding were at risk.
Prior to her work at FWM, Vassallo served as executive and artistic director of SPACES in Cleveland for nearly six years, where she provided creative direction and oversaw operations for one of the longest-running alternative art organizations in the country. At SPACES, she launched a $3 million capital campaign and spearheaded a relocation project, expanded the organization’s outreach initiatives, developed grant opportunities for local artists, and curated several critically acclaimed group exhibitions examining contemporary ideas and issues. From 2011 to 2014, she was Executive Director of Flux Factory in New York City, where she set the course for a thriving institution comprising an international artist residency program, acclaimed exhibitions program, and unconventional education initiatives.
“Christina brings a wealth of experience from various institutions to the CAC,” said Chief Deputy Director and Interim Executive Director Marcus Margerum. “I look forward to working with her to continue to rebuild the CAC after a tumultuous two years, with a focus on the future.” Margerum has served as Interim Executive Director since the departure of Raphaela Platow in July of 2021. Upon Vassallo’s arrival, he will continue to play a vital role at the CAC as the Chief Deputy Director.
Vassallo is a founding member of the Philadelphia Collaborative Arts Consortium, a member of the national association of Contemporary Art Museum Directors (CAMD), a 2022 Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund, and she completed the National Arts Strategies’ Chief Executive Program in 2020. Additionally, she has curated exhibitions for the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Everson Museum of Art, Jersey City Museum, NURTUREart, Lafayette College, and New Haven University. She holds a B.A. in art history and M.A. in nonprofit visual arts management from NYU.
Two for the Show
The Art Academy of Cincinnati opens two exhibitions this Friday – a group show of work by artists from Visionaries + Voices and a solo exhibition from faculty member Thomas Osorio.
If You Go
Opening reception: Driven and Digital Realities
Friday, Nov. 4, 5 to 8 p.m.
The McClure and Pearlman Galleries
1212 Jackson St. in Over-the-Rhine
More information at www.artacademy.edu/exhibitions.
For more than 150 years, the Art Academy of Cincinnati has been at the center of bringing local artists and students together and showcasing their work.
This Friday, two new exhibitions open with work from community artists from Visionaries + Voices and AAC faculty member Thomas Osorio.
The artists working at Visionaries + Voices (V+V) studio often create artwork with a heavy reliance on repetition, process, and intuition. At times, the process of following one’s intuition is more important than the work being shown in traditional spaces. When repetition is viewed in its entirety, it can communicate something larger about the everyday, and offer a look at the shared human experience. Driven, curated by Geoffrey “Skip” Cullen, includes works by V+V artists Kenny Barger, Antonia Baxter, Rob Bolubasz, Danielle Boyd, Curtis Davis, Aaron Evans, and Adam Maloney.
Established in 2003, Visionaries + Voices is a non-profit organization that provides exhibition opportunities, studio space, supplies, and support to more than 125 visual artists with disabilities. V+V artists actively contribute to the greater arts community through creative, educational, and strategic partnerships with local and regional artists, schools, and business leaders.
Cullen is a conceptual artist working in Cincinnati. He is a member of the artist collective Slapface and a co-founder of Adobe Books and Arts Cooperative in San Francisco. He is a co-founder of WavePool, a Cincinnati-based non-profit, creating community fulfillment through artistic possibilities. He currently balances his own practice while working as the exhibitions director for Visionaries + Voices.
AAC adjunct professor Osorio works in the foundations department. He is a Cincinnati-based artist who works with glitch, collage, video, and digital painting. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018, and has exhibited work in galleries and DIY spaces in New York, Chicago, and Cincinnati, as well as online.
“Since 2013 I have been experimenting with creating digital pieces of art in Adobe Photoshop and later the iPad’s Procreate app,” Osorio says in his artist’s statement. “The creation of these works involves a search for imagery which is then copied, pasted, cut out, adjusted, and finally digitally painted on to create complex collage and painterly compositions. These works in many ways start as meditations and reactions to the increasingly complex physical/virtual worlds that are being built around us. They draw inspiration from dream-like worlds and a blurred distinction between what is real and imaginary.”
The AAC galleries are open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The galleries will be closed November 23 to 25 for Thanksgiving.
For more information visit www.artacademy.edu.
Can You Imagine?
The Contemporary Arts Center celebrates the opening of its Creativity Center, inviting the public to explore this dynamic new learning space.
With the new Creativity Center, the Contemporary Arts Center has transformed its sixth floor into a dynamic intergenerational learning space centered around creativity and exploration.
The Center, an environmentally conscious hub for creative learning, will amplify the CAC’s commitment to fostering innovation and curiosity in audiences of all ages
Creativity Center Grand Opening
Saturday, Oct. 29
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
FREE. Registration recommended.
Alongside interactive artwork found in the UnMuseum™, the Creativity Center offers a community gallery, sustainability-focused Art Lab, an innovation studio, and so much more.
Visitors of all ages are invited to explore, play, and create! Activities and entertainment will be plentiful. Guests will be able to meet the architects and artists who made the 6th floor an exciting space filled with wonder, interactive art, and opportunities for inventive making.
With 10,000 square feet of flexible space, the new Creativity Center will provide a vibrant spatial canvas for visitors to engage with art, connect with others, and use creative experimentation as a means to explore the increasingly complex issues of humanity, including environmental sustainability, global awareness, identity, health and wellbeing, and innovation. The Center will allow the CAC to further extend its mission of encouraging artists and visitors alike to tap into the boundless possibilities of their own creativity, placing an even greater emphasis on the creative process as a critical tool for learning, skill development, problem solving, and fostering empathy and understanding for all ages.
“As a non-collecting institution, the core of our work at the CAC revolves around the creative process of artists, performers, and makers around the globe and local artists from our region,” said Marcus Margerum, the CAC’s Interim Alice & Harris Weston Director. “The Creativity Center not only gives us more room to expand the work we’re currently doing with visual and performing arts programming, artist residencies, learning and community-based initiatives, and hands-on intergenerational engagement, but also to reinvent the notion of the contemporary arts institution as a robust resource for creativity.”
The CAC partnered with Chicago-based architecture firm Mir Collective to realize this bold new paradigm for learning within the museum space, which will merge interactive galleries, ample making spaces, and community-centric gathering and gallery areas—with a focus on environmental sustainability.
“We are excited to be partnering with Mir Collective on this groundbreaking project, as their creative approach to community engagement, sustainability, and inclusivity aligns closely with our own mission and values as an institution,” says Margerum.
Centering Cincinnati’s own creative communities, the inaugural exhibition in the revitalized UnMuseum® will feature new interactive installations by local artists Batres Gilvin (Karla Batres and Bradly Gilvin), Michelle D’Cruz and Christopher Glenn, Garrett Goben, Terence Hammonds, Pam Kravetz, Anissa Lewis, Abby Peitsmeyer, and Karen Saunders. Installations in the UnMuseum® will rotate every one to three years to showcase a new slate of work designed to inspire, educate, and engage visitors of all ages.
“Even throughout the pandemic-induced challenges of the past two years, the CAC has remained committed to championing creativity in our communities, offering virtual programs, distributing art-making kits for at-home use, and supporting local artists through grants and residencies,” said Gale Beckett, president of the CAC’s Board of Trustees. “Through the Creativity Center, the CAC hopes to instill in future generations the capacity to be hyper-creative and hyper-entrepreneurial, empathetic and curious, while remaining environmentally conscious.”
Since its opening, the sixth floor of the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art has housed the Sara M. and Patricia A. Vance UnMuseum® and provided space for children, family programs, and tours. The redesigned sixth floor will continue to host the UnMuseum® and will also expand to incorporate a large studio and a network of pavilions for exploration and gathering. Mir Collective’s design opens up the floor to Hadid’s “urban carpet,” creating a brighter, more inviting space that is integrated physically and programmatically with the city and its communities.
New in the Creativity Center
A sustainable art lab where recycling, upcycling, and other forms of zero-waste and net-positive waste systems will be explored
A large studio hosting intergenerational creative programs that deploy a full suite of analog and digital tools for making and creative experimentation
The updated UnMuseum® interactive gallery, with projects by local and national artists that engage visitors in a hands-on exploration of the complexities of our world
An archipelago of pod-like pavilions, offering a series of work niches for welcoming creative exploration opportunities and small gathering or comfortable observation of the studio activities
An experimental “town square”-type space for art-inspired discourse with city skyline views through CAC- and community-curated programming
An ever-changing community gallery with increased visual connection to the urban carpet and galleries below, dedicated to celebrating the creativity of CAC visitors of all ages by inviting them to display their own work
The Creativity Center also makes possible new initiatives like a sensory-friendly program, a recurring open mic night, therapeutic workshops for artists and creatives, and the expansion of current initiatives, such as the CAC’s Co-LAB program, which supports selected local artists with financial, marketing, and mentoring support. The Co-LAB program was initially launched by the CAC in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, to create opportunities for local artists and organizations to work with the CAC to realize community-oriented projects. The Creativity Center will offer space to these artists to develop new projects and share their work with the community through programming and events. The CAC also expects to leverage the Creativity Center to extend the impact of other ongoing efforts to encourage creativity, learning, and engagement within the broader community, even beyond the CAC’s walls.
There Will Be Blood
With a new soundtrack from the Mighty Wurlitzer, you can experience all the shocks and shivers in Nosferatu from the safety of your own home.
Music Hall is well known to paranormal enthusiasts as one of the nation's most active sites, with occurrences dating back to the 1800s. Built on the grounds of an old potter's field and purported to be haunted, Travel Channel lists Music Hall as one of the most terrifying places in America. Additionally, the building was featured in the Halloween 2014 episode of the TV show, Ghost Hunters.
It’s fitting then, that the Friends of Music Hall have created a free and spooky treat, just in time for Halloween! With Silent Movies Made Musical with the Mighty Wurlitzer, you can experience Nosferatu, the legendary 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire horror film, with a new soundtrack played by organist Trent Sims.
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Nosferatu tells the story of a creepy count who is hunting for a new home and takes an unwelcome fancy to his real estate agent’s wife.
Scary Movie: Watch Nosferatu
The film is available for online Halloween streaming now through Nov. 13. (So if you get scared you can try to watch it a few times!)
Sims, a native of Dayton, Ohio, has played classical and theater organ concerts across the United States, England, and Germany. He has been associated with Music Hall’s Mighty Wurlitzer, having made the inaugural recording on that instrument in 2010.
Ghost Tours of Music Hall
Tours include:
Knowledgeable guides from Friends of Music Hall and CR&PS relate the history of Music Hall's founding and evolution with additional stories about the firsthand experiences of visitors and staff past and present
Tours will see public and private and areas of the building not open to the typical concert-goer.
Participants are welcome to bring their own ghost hunting equipment (none is required)*
Each tour is approximately 1 hour long
Current tours are sold out, but check for more at CAA’s website.
If you’re fascinated by the history of this unique venue, the Friends of Music Hall and Cincinnati Arts Association host special after-hours tours in partnership with a local group dedicated to investigating, documenting, and researching such claims. The Cincinnati Research & Paranormal Studies team will show you a side of Music Hall not often seen by patrons attending performances.
Ghost of a Chance
Friends of Music Hall invite you to take a ghost tour, if you dare! (Insert sinister laugh.)
Ghost Tours of Music Hall
Tours include
Knowledgeable guides from Friends of Music Hall and CR&PS relate the history of Music Hall's founding and evolution with additional stories about the firsthand experiences of visitors and staff past and present
Tours will see public and private and areas of the building not open to the typical concert-goer.
Participants are welcome to bring their own ghost hunting equipment (none is required)*
Each tour is approximately 1 hour long
Current tours are sold out, but check for more at CAA’s website.
Ghost Hunters but make it local.
Friends of Music Hall once again is offering a spooky look at Music Hall, one of Cincinnati's most iconic buildings and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
Music Hall is well known to paranormal enthusiasts as one of the nation's most active sites, with occurrences dating back to the 1800s. Built on the grounds of an old potter's field and purported to be haunted, Travel Channel lists Music Hall as one of the most terrifying places in America. Additionally, the building was featured in the Halloween 2014 episode of the TV show, Ghost Hunters.
For those fascinated by the history of this unique venue, the Friends of Music Hall and Cincinnati Arts Association host special after-hours tours in partnership with a local group dedicated to investigating, documenting, and researching such claims. The Cincinnati Research & Paranormal Studies team will show you a side of Music Hall not often seen by patrons attending performances.
Out of This World
Is there a more romantic way to spend the evening than under the stars? The Cincinnati Observatory is perfect for date night.
Looking for a cool spot to take a date? Check this out.
The Cincinnati Observatory is hosting “Late Night Date ight” Saturday, Oct. 22 and Friday, Oct. 28.
On you date, you'll get to use telescopes to view astronomical objects that are not visible until late at night (weather permitting).
You’ll also get a sneak preview of the next season's planets and stars a month or two ahead of everyone else, and expreriene the observatory after hours.
The program runs rain or shine but space is limited! To make it a date, click here.
Wall to Wall
In Hanna Park, the northernmost point of this weekend's BLINK, artists Matt Dayler and Danny Gamble have created a mural to transform the park into an urban oasis for the whole neighborhood.
“This wall’s kind of got a bit of history in Cincinnati, says BLINK artist, Matthew Dayler. “It’s been painted by a lot of graffiti and street artists over the years. So it has a rich history in this part of town.”
“We wanted to bring a fresh approach, a community approach to this wall,” say Dayler and Gamble.
Less than half a mile from the hustle and bustle of the BLINK fun at Findlay Market, you’ll find this magnificent mural. Yyou don’t wanna miss it.
It sits in and around Hanna Park. Even the community pool was painted as part of the installation.)
“Most of the people in the park have been like ‘Oh, what’s this for?’ and we’re like, BLINK! And they’re like ‘No way, I can’t believe it’s coming up here!”
Dayler and three other artists collaborated on the project which he says took about two weeks to complete. The planning took around six months.
Dayler, alongside artist Danny Gamble, painted the mural and basketball court. It’s branded by Powerhouse Factories and Bunk News will create animations for the mural during BLINK.
There’s a lot to look at in the mural! Dayler explains there are four layers to this piece.
“The letters, keeping it authentic to the street and graffiti vibe with the playground graffiti coming through the piece,” he says. “Plus the portraits and the branded tropical shapes.”
“It’s family oriented, we want everyone to come but as it gets later, there’s a party vibe.”
“We just want to bring people together and celebrate the diversity of the area. The leave-behind is really important for us and always has been with our BLINK projects,” says Dayler “Not so much like, lighting it up but what happens after the lights go away.”
Watch the full interview below!
Tour de Force
Download the BLINK audio tour from ArtsWave with exclusive content.
ArtsWave’s Guided BLINK Tours
Download at artswave.org/tours for a $10 donation.
BLINK is A LOT to see, but if you’re curious about the stories behind some of the murals, installations, and projects just listen.
ArtsWave, the nonprofit engine for the Cincinnati region’s arts and Illuminator of BLINK®, has developed a unique behind-the-scenes guided walking tour for the event.
“We are calling them digital tours rather than audio tours because they include video introductions from the artists, images, sketches, artist bios and more,” says Jeni Barton, ArtsWave’s executive-in-residence for creative technologies.
Using your own smartphone, and walking at your own pace, the walking tour features 10 stops on a 1.5-mile loop. Each stop offers an immersive experience, curated by the artist, including video introductions, along with an array of different materials per art piece, including tours of the artists' studios, in-progress sketches and photos, artwork installation videos and biographies.
“I hope people learn more about the people behind the artwork while doing the digital tour,” says Barton. “The festival features both local and international artists with such a variety of creative styles and methodologies. It is fascinating to see how this diverse group of people from around the world can create such a cohesive and unifying magical experience.”
The tour is available with a $10 donation to ArtsWave, and can be accessed at any time during BLINK. You will receive an email immediately after their purchase containing the confirmation and instructions.
“The coolest thing about the tour is getting to look at the creative process behind some of the installations at BLINK,” says Bartton. “Each video captures the artist's personality and creative style. You feel like you are meeting the artist while experiencing their work!”
All proceeds from the tours will local arts, festivals, performances, and more. Donors to the 2022 ArtsWave Campaign who qualified for the Team Cincinnati benefit do not need to purchase a tour and have access the tour compliments of ArtsWave.
“As the illuminating sponsor of BLINK, we wanted to create something that would inspire people to become arts donors,” says Barton. “Every year, through donations from the community, ArtsWave funds thousands of arts events, like BLINK. A $10 donation gives you a more engaging experience with the artwork while also helping fund the next great Cincinnati art event.”
Coming Into Focus
The CAC is partnering with the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial: World Record, for a slate of exhibitions. The month-long celebration of lens-based art opens with a public reception on Friday.
FotoFocus Biennial: World Record
Opening Reception
Four Exhibitions. One Celebration.
Friday, Sept. 30
5 p.m.–12 a.m.
5 p.m. – Cocktail Reception
in Kaplan Hall
CAC Members and FotoFocus Passport Holders Only
6 p.m. – Exhibition Preview
CAC Members and FotoFocus Passport Holders Only
7 p.m. – Film Screening + Discussion in CAC Black Box with artists Dara Friedman and Lizzi Bougatsos
CAC Members and FotoFocus Passport holders only
8 p.m. – Opening Celebration
Kaplan Hall, 4th and 5th Floor Galleries
Free and open to the public
Everyone has a camera at all times now, with filters and Facetune to perfect their shots. But that ubiquity allows the art of photography to be even more appreciated. Sure anyone can take a picture, but only some people can tell compelling human stories through their photos.
FotoFocus celebrates and champions photography as the medium of our time through programming that creates a dialogue between contemporary lens-based art and the history of photography.
The 2022 FotoFocus Biennial, now in its sixth iteration, activates over 100 projects at museums, galleries, universities, and public spaces throughout Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio throughout October.
Each Biennial is structured around a unifying theme; for 2022 that theme, World Record, considers photography’s extensive record of life on earth while exploring humankind’s impact on the natural world. FotoFocus welcomes global artists, curators, critics, educators, and regional visitors to Cincinnati with exhibitions, talks, performances, screenings, and panel discussions during an expanded week of programming, Sep. 29–Oct. 8, 2022. Find details at www.fotofocus.org.
FotoFocus World Record officially begins Friday, Sept. 30 with an opening reception at the Contemporary Arts Center. The CAC has three FotoFocus curated exhibitions for the biennial, along with Cameron Granger: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Heaven in the Kaplan Lobby, which is a FotoFocus participating venue.
On the Line: Documents of Risk and Faith
Mitch Epstein. Installation view, On The Line: Documents of Risk and Faith. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2022. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati.
This group exhibition features artists whose work engages the complex and contested relationship humans have with notions of environment, wilderness, nature, and place. Drawing metaphorically from the phrase “on the line”—what is at risk; what is at stake; the body caught and captured; following the path of a line—the exhibition repositions various artistic interventions, with a focus on ephemeral acts to suggest an expanded conception of photographic time and the document. On the Line comprises a diverse selection of artists from the Americas and includes works in all media, with a special emphasis on photography, video, and performance.
On the Line is co-curated by Makeda Best, Richard L. Menschel curator of photography at Harvard Art Museums, and Kevin Moore, FotoFocus artistic director and curator.
Images on which to build, 1970s-1990s
Allen Bérubé, Snapshot of pride parade [FTM Contingent], 1994, Color photograph, 4x6”, Allan Bérubé Papers (1995-17), Courtesy of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
Through photographic documentation of activism, education, and media production within trans, queer, and feminist grassroots organizing of the 1970s through the 1990s, Images on which to build, 1970s-1990s reveals the technologies through which influential image cultures were constructed and circulated. The exhibition presents a range of photographic practices to explore the process of learning within alternative schools, workshops, demonstrations, dance clubs, slideshow presentations, correspondences, and community-based archive projects. Featured artists and collectives include Diana Solís, Joan E. Biren (JEB), Lola Flash, the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and the Sexual Minorities Archives, among others. The exhibition is co-organized by the Leslie-Lohman Museum, New York, where it will travel in the spring of 2023.
Images on which to build is curated by writer and curator Ariel Goldberg.
Baseera Khan: Weight on History
Baseera Khan. Installation view, Baseera Khan: Weight On History. Photo: Geoff Winningham, 2022. Image courtesy of the Moody Center for the Arts.
The CAC also presents Baseera Khan: Weight on History, the first institutional solo exhibition in the Midwest by this New York-based artist. Khan shifts seamlessly between media to explore the interconnectedness of capital, politics, and the body. Their work in video, photography, sculpture, and performance creates spaces of reprieve, beauty, and safety, while also critiquing power structures and knowledge systems that systemically exclude or misrepresent marginalized populations. The exhibition features a new body of sculptures, existing photographic collages, video, and sculptural work, as well as a site-specific installation, the exhibition addresses issues such as access, cultural appropriation, and migration. The exhibition is co-organized with the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University, where it was recently on view.
The exhibition is co-curated by CAC Senior Curator Amara Antilla and curator Ylinka Barotto.
Cameron Granger: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Heaven
Cameron Granger (b. Cleveland, OH; lives and works in Columbus, OH), This Must Be the Place (detail), 2018. Digital color video, with sound, 4 min., 32 sec. Courtesy of the artist.
For his solo project at the CAC, Cameron Granger: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Heaven, the Ohio-based artist and filmmaker develops a new iteration of The Line (2021) for the CAC lobby that draws from his personal biography as a Black man raised by his mother and grandmother in Ohio. By juxtaposing live-action scenes, autobiographical texts, and found footage, Granger’s videos and installations weave stories that complicate accepted interpretations of the past and present. His works thus offer poignant meditations on Black history and culture, highlighting not only the systems of racial inequity that target and police Blackness, but the communities that continue to thrive, persist, and most importantly, demonstrate love.
This project is curated by Stephanie Kang, former assistant curator at the CAC.
Seeing (the) Reds
As Hispanic Heritage Month begins, it's a great time to explore “Los Rojos!” at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, which looks at the history of baseball in Latin America.
MLB HISTORY
“Hispanic Heritage Month is the perfect time to highlight what we’re doing here.”
Los Rojos! The 2022 featured exhibit at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame & Museum is ready for you to explore.
And what a better time to do it than during Hispanic Heritage Month!
We stopped by recently and chatted with its Executive Director, Rick Walls.
Walls says the exhibit looks at the impact Latino players have on the Reds and Major League Baseball.
Learn More
The Reds Hall of Fame encourages you to find out more about Los Rojos at their website and to learn more about the impact of Latino players on Reds’ baseball, integration in MLB, and more!
“It’s an annual exhibit, it’s a space we change out every year,” says Walls. “This year, we brought something new. A different color, a different look and just a great different feel and now, during Hispanic Heritage Month is the perfect time to highlight what we’re doing here.”
Walls says the exhibit attracts baseball and Reds fans from all over. The exhibit also brings in a lot of education programs from local schools.
The exhibit is set up so you can explore at your own pace or simply follow the timelines. There’s also a 12-minute film that Walls suggests visitors watch before touring the exhibit.
“You’ll find jerseys, helmets, contracts, balls, contracts of players dating back to the 1800s,” says Walls.
lEADING THE WAY
“There’s always been a connection to Latin America and the Reds have been at the forefront of all this, signing two players as early as 1911.”
Walls points out that the exhibit includes contributions from all MLB teams.
Check back here next week for a special segment on the Los Rojos! exhibit.
Refresher Course
Celebrate local art with Behringer-Crawford Museum’s freshArt fundraiser.
If You Go
freshART
Sunday, September 11, 4-8 p.m.
Behringer-Crawford Museum
1600 Montague Road, Devou Park
Tickets are $75. Order now or
call (859) 491-4003.
Event includes cocktails and hors d'oeuvre followed by a live auction.
The Behringer-Crawford Museum opened in 1950 with a life-sized stuffed black bear, a two-headed calf, and other “curiosities.” In the following decades, the museum has become a center of both local history and arts education.
This Sunday, the museum celebrates learning, loving, creating and collecting art in Northern Kentucky with their annual fundraiser freshART, a party and art auction of “fresh” art created en plein air by dozens of artists in Devou Park the previous week.
A portion of the sale price of each piece goes to the artist, with the balance donated to the museum, benefiting area children through BCM’s educational programs.
Submitted freshART works were judged by a panel of experts, with $1000 in cash prizes awarded to the first, second, and third-place entries by the William & Patricia Applegate Fund.
The afternoon includes cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from Funky's Catering along with music by violinist Preston Bell Charles III. John Lomax, retired LOCAL 12 news anchor, is the emcee and H. David Wallace, CEO and chairman of the board of Heritage Bank, will conduct the auction.
If you are unable to attend the event, there is a “silentART” option currently underway. View previously completed artwork by dozens of local artists and bid online or use QR codes in the galleries. The silentART auction will close September 11 at 8:15 p.m.
Since freshART began in 1992, over $950,000 has been raised, bringing educational and cultural activities to more than 275,000 Northern Kentucky children.
Setting the Scene
Film Cincinnati gears up for busy Fall with a new movie and Backlot fundraiser.
Ready for your closeup?
Backlot is Film Cincinnati’s annual fundraiser that allows the organization to continue to make our region a world-class destination for film and entertainment.
Oct. 29, 7 – 11 p.m.
Waypoint Aviation
4765 Airport Road, 45226
General admission – $150
Red carpet
Food & entertainment
Open bar
VIP – $250
6 p.m. – VIP celebrity cocktail mingle with Barry Levinson a
VIP Salon – $3,500
Private table of 8
6 p.m. – VIP celebrity cocktail mingle
Get tickets now!
Lights! Camera! Austin!
Fresh from his star-making role in “Elvis,” Austin Butler heads to Cincinnati in October, for the new film “The Bikeriders.”
He will be joined by Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”), Tom Hardy (“Mad Max: Fury": Road”) and Michael Shannon (“The Shape of Water”) in director Jeff Nichols’ next feature.
The film is Nichols’ sixth directorial effort, and his first since “Midnight Special” and “Loving” premiered in 2016. Sarah Green and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones will produce via Tri-State with Nichols, alongside New Regency. Fred Berger executive produces. The film will begin production in Cincinnati this October.
Based on the 1967 Danny Lyon photography book, “The Bikeriders.” tells an original story about a ’60s midwestern motorcycle club as it evolves over the course of a decade from a community for outsiders into a far more sinister gang.
“We are thrilled to host this incredibly talented team and provide tremendous opportunities for locals,” said Kristen Schlotman. “It’s a very exciting time for Cincinnati's own role in the film industry.”
The movie follows the recent filming of the docuseries produced by Film Cincinnati, “label•less.” Filmed earlier this month at the American Sign Museum, the show follows the making of a stage show of the same name. Performances featured a special appearance by actor Zack Gottagen, who had his breakout role in 2019’s The Peanut Butter Falcon. In 2020, he became the first person with Down Syndrome to be a presenter at the Academy Awards.
Led by a talented young cast, “label•less” tells their stories of love, compassion and how they defy the labels they have experienced in their lifetimes. It’s an incredibly powerful show that people of all ages can embrace and experience together. With a diverse cast of 16-26-year-olds, this show tackles current social issues that this generation faces; everything from bullying to mental health to homophobia to racism.
The docuseries is a collaboration of Drew and Lea Lachey, Brave Berlin, and TVACOM (LA/Cincinnati).
With “Shirley,” starring Regina King and an adaptation of John Green’s “Turtles All the Way Down” filming earlier this year, and Film Cincinnati has come roaring back from COVID shut downs. In 2017 and 2018, the motion picture industry had an economic impact of nearly $80 million in the Greater Cincinnati area, according to a study by the University of Cincinnati Economics Center.
Filming of these productions during that time had a total economic impact of $142 million, with an employment impact of 1,054 jobs between FY 2014 and FY 2018.
The Backlot fundraiser helps Film Cincinnati continue its mission to develop programs, advocacy, and promotional events and support the continued growth of local film production.
The Next Stage
The 2022-2023 Broadway in Cincinnati season brings a little bit of everything to the Aronoff. Get a sneak peek at the shows headed your way.
Broadway in Cincinnati 2022-23 Season
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Oct 25–Nov 6, 2022
Jesus Christ Superstar
Dec 6–18, 2022
Anastasia
Jan 3–15, 2023
Annie (season option)
Feb 7–12, 2023
Tootsie
March 7–19, 2023
Jagged Little Pill (season option)
March 28–April 2, 2023
Hadestown
April 18–30, 2023
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
May 17–June 4, 2023
Prepare for your favorite stories from music, mythology and movies to take the stage as gender-bending, gospel-singing, mashup-bringing musicals come to the Aronoff Center for Broadway in Cincinnati’s 2022-23 season.
But before we get to the next season, remember that Hamilton rounds out the 2021–22 season with an almost month-long run from Sept. 6 to Oct. 2. Tickets – especially for weekday performances – still remain.
Now, let’s get a sneak peek into some of the upcoming shows.
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
The season kicks off with Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, which chronicles the life and legacy of Nutbush, Tennessee’s favorite daughter: the former Anna Mae Bullock. The show takes us through her transformation into the Tina Turner who graces stages and breaks barriers, while overcoming abuse and discrimination along the way.
Her volatile and violent relationship with Ike Turner is the focus of the first act. And you know what that means: time for a redemptive Act II. You’ll dance in your seat and sing along to Tina’s iconic songs, and the show’s finale is something special. If you love a jukebox musical (and who doesn’t), you might find yourself calling this one “Simply the Best.”
Anastasia
The legendary story of the Imperial Romanovs of Russia and their “lost princess” has been the subject of books, movies ,and an animated classic. Now, Anastasia takes the stage in a Broadway show that’s perfect for all ages.
Fans of the animated movie will recognize some of the classic songs like “Journey to the Past,” but 16 new songs by Lynn Ahrens and CCM grad Stephen Flaherty make the stage production feel even bigger. LED projection screens create and ever-changing background – and such a realistic experience during a train scene that I saw a patron in the front row of NYC’s Broadhurst Theatre get physically ill.
I promise this show won’t make you sick, though. Quite the contrary: you’ll find yourself humming song like“Once Upon and December” and “My Petersburg” for days.
Hadestown
Broadway delves into the mythology of Hades and Persephone, Orpheus and Eurydice. Thankfully, the Playbill offers a brief primer for those of us a bit removed from our studies of Greek gods.
This show chronicles these two couples on opposite ends of their own journeys; one pulling apart, one coming together. The story is set on earth and “way down” in Hadestown, and the juxtaposition of the two play out in sets, costumes, lighting and choreography.
Hadestown even takes the form of ancient Greek plays, with a narrator, Hermes, known in mythology as the messenger of the gods. The Three Fates at times tempt, and at others, shame the main characters for their actions. The ensemble takes the role of the Greek chorus, hammering home the show’s message and furthering the story.
Hadestown is beautiful performance that explores love and loss, and offers hope amid its despair. It’s one of those shows you could watch over and over and see something different each time.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Wrap a glitzy visual extravaganza in catchy “Glee”-style song mashups – and you’ve got Moulin Rouge. It’s based on Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie about a young Englishman in 1899 Paris who meets mysterious dancer at the can-can revue.
The story is secondary to the music, though. Yes, you’ll hear “Lady Marmalade,” as well about 576 other recognizable songs. Your brain will be doing somersaults trying to pick out each one, and by then, they’re on to the next.
The sets, costumes and lighting are among the best you’ll see on stage - and if excess is what you’re looking for, you’ve found it. The show is recommended for ages 12 and up, but I might lean a little older than that. Moulin Rouge is a visual and aural spectacle and it owns it.
– Kathrine Nero
Keep It 100
Art Academy of Cincinnati hosts a party and exhibiton for Charley Harper's 100th birthday.
Celebration of Charley Harper
On His 100th Birthday
Aug. 4, 5–7 p.m.
Continues through Sunday, Aug. 14
Art Academy of Cincinnati
The Pearlman Gallery
1212 Jackson Street
More information.
The Art Academy of Cincinnati’s celebrates the 100th birthday of one of its most famous alumni, Charley Harper, today!
More than 40 prints from Harper’s career will be featured in a new exhibition in the AAC’s Pearlman Gallery.
Harper developed one of the most recognizable styles of American illustration in the 20th century.
With a body of work ranging from advertising and posters to murals and paintings, and a delicate approach to lines and colors, Harper’s love of nature led him to create an influential legacy that is now compiled in a new book, Wild Life: The Life and Work of Charley Harper.
Curated in collaboration with the Charley Harper Art Studio, led by his son Brett Harper, and offering insights into his private life, influences, and professional evolution, this book presents the Harper universe in its totality. He will attend celebration and sign copies of his new book.
Harper was named a Distinguished Art Academy Alumnus in 2019. He was a Cincinnati-based American Modernist artist, best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters, and book illustrations.
Ladybugs, birds, dogs, and owls. With a never-ending curiosity for the world around him, Charley Harper developed one of the most recognizable styles of American illustration in the 20th century. With a body of work ranging from advertising and posters to murals and paintings, and a delicate approach to lines and colors. Brett Harper, who wrote the preface for and is the co-editor of Wild Life, leads the Charley Harper Art Studio, which is dedicated to preserving and promoting the American illustrator’s work. Charley Harper's art is a beloved treasure which inspired an entire generation of artists and designers.
Born in Frenchtown, West Virginia in 1922, Harper’s upbringing on his family farm influenced his work to his last days. He left home to study art at the AAC, and won the school's first Stephen H. Wilder Traveling Scholarship. While at the AAC, and supposedly on his first day there, Harper met fellow artist (and fellow AAC Distinguished Alumna), Edie McKee, who he married after graduation in 1947.
Flood of Memories
Each of the exhibitions currently on view at the Contemporary Arts Center offer a chance to explore the world around us from new and thoughtful perspectives.
If You Go
Contemporary Arts Center
44 E. Sixth St.
Admission is free.
Open Wednesday –Friday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
www.contemporaryartscenter.org
Launched in 2017, Center of Unfinished Business from Contemporary And (C&) is a roving reading room and discussion-based program. It has traveled to art spaces and museums around the world. The CAC’s iteration, in the lobby, features a curated selection of books and a series of discussions that respond to water as a literal and metaphorical framework for exploring African American and African experiences and cultures.
Breaking Water brings together works in installation, video, photography, painting, sculpture, and performance that offer a range of approaches to the subject of water, liquidity, and feminism. Co-curated by CAC Senior Curator Amara Antilla and independent curator and writer Clelia Coussonnet, Breaking Water opens on May 6 and continues through August 15, 2022. The exhibition will be accompanied by a parallel film screening program that extends the exhibition’s central themes.
Co-organized by the CAC and Wave Pool, Artist-Run Spaces explores a moment of self-reflection and reopening amid the pandemic. The needs and interests of these artist-run and independent spaces, which are often able to pivot and react to current events much quicker than larger organizations, are timely and important. This exhibition features ten artist-run spaces and collectives that developed an installation highlighting their work and ethos, with a focus on showcasing the work of artists and makers within their networks.
Look Around
The CMF Outdoor Museum features 15 local artists of color at Paul Brown Stadium, presented by ArtsWave.
If You Go
The community is invited to meet the artists and paint rocks as part of the public art display in Washington Park on Saturday, July 23, from10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The artists painting in Washington Park are
Nytaya Babbitt
Zuri Ali Cole
Terence Hammonds
Javarri Lewis
Rashad Orlando
James Reynolds
La'De Richardson
Keith Wallick
Dai Williams
The third annual Cincinnati Music Festival Outdoor Museum opens at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday, July 23 to celebrate the return of the music festival.
The CMF Outdoor Museum is an outdoor public art exhibition that will feature works from 15 local artists of color, all focused on the theme of “Feels like CMF.”
At Paul Brown Stadium, five local artists – Cedric Michael Cox, TC Flowers, Hannah Jones, Adoria Maxberry and April Sunami – will take a plein air approach on Saturday night, capturing what they’re seeing in both the crowd and on stage.
During the day, 10 additional local artists will create artwork in Washington Park, capturing the city skyline, plus the energy and excitement of the crowd being able to come together to enjoy the music festival.
All artwork will be displayed in Washington Park through the end of August and the community will be able to engage in creating stones that will form the displays. After August, the public art will travel to the Court Street Plaza, through a partnership with 3CDC.
For more information on the CMF Outdoor Museum, visit artswave.org/outdoormuseum.
La Vie en Rose
Explore the City of Light in the Queen City at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Mercantile Library, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Can’t wait to hop that Aug. 2 direct flight to Paris from CVG? A visit to the Cincinnati Art Museum will help tide you over until you can make it to France.
Among the museum’s world-class collection of European paintings you’ll find 19th-century French landscape paintings by Corot, Courbet, and Daubigny. From coastal scenes to sylvan settings, these works will transport you to the French countryside. You’ll be ready to grab a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine and step inside one of the frames. You’ll also find more a modern forest by a certain Dutch painter who loved France!
You’re on a streak on Duolingo! Tres bien!
Put all that hard work to the test at the Mercantile Library. and explore their French collection.
Though many of their books about France are in English, Librarian Cedric Rose discovered Paris and Environs in the stacks, written in both languages. So you can try out your translation skills as well as explore French history and geography.
When you’re ready to enjoy a glass of wine after all that hard work, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has you covered! Now through Aug. 4, the CSO’s concert of Debussy’s La Mer, conducted by Louis Langrée, is being rebroadcasted via CSO Replay.
Whether you are commemorating Bastille Day or simply want to take a culture trip, a visit to France is closer than you think.
Truly Inspiring
New exhibition from ArtsWave and community partners at the Cincinnati Art Museum features the work of Black and Brown artists
Through the lens of 22 local artists who received support from ArtsWave’s Black and Brown Artist Program, year’s “Truth & Inspiration Artist Showcase” features works that represent an array of perspectives on the complexities that accompany the theme of “truth and reconciliation,” many of which will inspire us all.
This year’s showcase features visual art, film, music, dance, children’s literature — expanding from two locations to partner with three different arts and culture organizations: the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Live performances and a film festival will be held throughout the weekend. The exhibition is open through Aug. 14 at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Truth & Inspiration Visual Art Exhibition
Cincinnati Art Museum, Schiff Gallery,
Open through Aug 14, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (daily)
Included Artwork and Artists:
NEW MOON by Asha Ama
Mood Altering by Asha the Artist
REST by Darnell Pierre Benjamin
It Is Art by Means Cameron
12 Commandments by Michael Coppage
Amid Exhibition by Iman Jabrah
Tepozzanilli: Live Stream Transmission by Rebecca Nava Soto
Sanctuaries by Michael Thompson
Story Share by Kailah Ware
Saturday, July 16
Cincinnati Museum Center
10 a.m. to noon – “On Her Shoulders” a masterclass by Annie Ruth
Cincinnati Art Museum
11:30 a.m. – “I Am Not Afraid of Spiders” book reading by Ashley Aya Ferguson at the Rosenthal Education Center
12:30 p.m. – “Mood Altering” panel discussion by Asha the Artist in the Fath Auditorium
1:45 p.m. – “Story Share” short film by Kailah Ware and testimonial in the Fath Auditorium
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
(All events in the Harriet Tubman Theater)
3 p.m. – “Monarca - Lost Butterfly (In Memoriam)” contemporary dance with film by Gabriel Martinez Rubio
4 p.m. – “Namba: A Japanese American’s Incarceration and Life of Resilience” documentary by Emily Hanako
Momohara with Q&A
Sunday, July 17
Cincinnati Art Museum: Film Festival
(All films in the Fath Auditorium)
11:15 a.m. – “Same Garden: An Identity Documentary” by Jonesy
12:05 p.m. – “12 Commandments” by Michael Coppage
12:15 p.m. – “laying the foundation” by Asa Featherstone IV
12:30 p.m. – “Black Arts Revamped” by Lamonte Young
1:30 p.m.– BREAK
2 p.m. – “Our Baby Knows” by David Chimusoro
2:15 p.m. – “REST” by Darnell Pierre Benjamin
2:55 p.m. – “Monarca - Lost Butterfly (In Memoriam)” by Gabriel Martinez Rubio
3:10 p.m. – “It Is Art” by Means Cameron
3:30 p.m. – “I’m Listening...” documentary by Brent Billingsley
Exhibitions
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
“I’m Listening...” mural by Brent Billingsley in the Everyday Freedom Hero Gallery.
On view through Sept 22, 2022.
Cincinnati Museum Center
“Regeneration” by Erin Fung, part of “America’s Epic Treasures featuring Preternatural by Michael Scott” on the Lower Level
On view through Jan. 8, 2023
ArtsWave, the engine for the Cincinnati region’s arts, is partnering with the City of Cincinnati, Duke Energy, Macy’s, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, Hard Rock Casino and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center for the 2022 Truth & Inspiration Artist Showcase.
What's the Story
Drew and Lea Lachey are creating a space for young artists to follow their hearts. Ih the show label•less, the students tell heir own stories, building empathy in a world of enormous challenges.
Drew and Lea Lachey understand the impact music and dance can have on someone’s life. Through Lachey Arts, in Pleasant Ridge, they offer classes for students to hone their skills by learning from working artists.
But they are also creating a space for young artists to follow their hearts, including creating label•less, a musical journey toward acceptance.
Lachey Arts is a non-profit organization focused on using the arts to build a diverse community of young artists, empowering the creative spirit and giving the confidence and tools to change the world.
Summer camps continue through this month, along with a number of dance classes. For more information visit www.lacheyarts.com.