A Class Act
See works by students with Taft's Artist Reaching Classrooms exhibitio
If You Go
Expression
Opens Thursday, March 23
5–7 p.m.
The Annex Gallery
1310 Pendleton Street
Open through April 28,
Wednesday–Saturday, 12–5 p.m.,
Extended Final Fridays, 12–9 p.m.
on March 31 and April 28.
For more information about visit taftmuseum.org/Teachers-Schools.
For more than 30 years, the Taft Museum of Art has celebrated students and their artwork with the annual program and exhibition, Artists Reaching Classrooms (ARC).
The Taft’s ARC program immerses high school art students in Cincinnati’s visual arts community and exposes them to careers in the arts. Through this award-winning program, the Taft provides educational outreach and supports career opportunities in the creative sector for high school students across Greater Cincinnati.
“I enjoy working with these high schoolers, teaching them about what a career is really like on a day-to-day basis,”” says teaching artist Kay Hurley. Seeing the hard work these kids put in to create the beautiful pieces that are eventually displayed is a wonderful experience. I love seeing the excitement that their displayed art brings.”
This year’s student participants show their artwork in an exhibition called Expression at The Annex Gallery Expression, where the community can share in celebrating their achievements. Awards will be announced at the opening event.
This year’s participating schools are Anderson High School, Hughes Stem High School, Lakota East High School, Princeton High School, School for the Creative and Performing Arts, The Summit Country Day School, Spencer Center for Gifted and Exceptional Students, Western Hills University High School, and Woodward Career and Technical High School.
The teaching artists his year are are Anthony Becker, Debbie Brod, Rebeca Calderón Pittman, Cedric Cox, Saad Ghosn, Michael Hoeting, M. Katherine Hurley, Adoria Maxberry, Kevin Muente, Anissa Pulcheon, Marlene Steele, Brenda Tarbell, and Mark Wiesner.
All aspects of the ARC program, including buses for field trips, are offered to participating schools free of charge. Each year, the Taft Museum of Art enrolls 12 schools in this program.
The Play's the Thing
After two years of construction, Playhouse in the Park opens the new Mainstage Theatre Complex, featuring Moe and Jack’s Place — The Rouse Theatre, with the quintessential backstage musical, "A Chorus Line." Take a look!
(L to R) Jack Rouse, Managing Director Abby Marcus, Osborn Family Producing Artistic Director Blake Robison, Moe Rouse, Board Chair Ellen van der Horst and the Playhouse staff at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the all-new mainstage theatre complex, featuring Moe and Jack's Place - The Rouse Theatre. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.
If You Go
A Chorus Line
March 16 – April 15
Moe and Jack’s Place — The Rouse Theatre
962 Mt. Adams Circle
To purchase tickets or for more information, or visit www.cincyplay.com.
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park celebrated the completion of its capital campaign this week, with a ribbon cutting for its new Mainstage Theatre Complex, featuring Moe and Jack’s Place — The Rouse Theatre. The $50 million project began construction in 2021.
With its new Rouse Theatre comes a re-imagining of A Chorus Line that adds a contemporary vantage point to the classic musical and considers how dancers audition today, and how they dance differently now than they did in 1975.
This new production of the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning A Chorus Line features choreography by Alex Sanchez (Paradise Square on Broadway). Sanchez won the SDC Joe A. Calloway Award for best choreography and was recognized as one of Dance Magazine's “25 to watch.”
“It’s a musical about theatre and the artists who make it,” explains Osborn Family Producing Artistic Director Blake Robison, who is directing the production “It's also of the moment. We're emerging from a pandemic in which there was literally no work for actors for nearly two years. When they sing, ‘God, I hope I get it...I really need this job,’ that sentiment is raw and real.”
The musical features a cast of young New York City dancers led by Shiloh Goodin (Paradise Square) as Cassie and Cincinnati-native Drew Lachey (from the band 98 Degrees, Dancing with the Stars) as Zach. Also featured are Courtney Arango as Diana Morales and Diego Guevara as Paul. Set Designer Tim Mackabee, who designed The Elephant Man on Broadway, has envisioned a stage that transforms from a rehearsal/audition studio into a more traditional theatre stage as the story unfolds
“When I was talking to Blake about the show, he expressed wanting to do a new take on A Chorus Line and how it could be accomplished choreographically,” says Sanchez. “At the time, I had just worked on creating new choreography for a production of West Side Story in Chicago. The way that I approached both iconic works is by diving into the narrative, intention and event of the moment. Capturing the spirit and being true to the story is what will make the creation of new movement feel like it's part of the original story.”
Though the musical was contemporary to the 1970s, it still authentically reflects a love for the art form that feels timeless — it’s part of what makes A Chorus Line so beloved, no matter the generation of the audience. Robison aims to find that same cadence through his directorial approach.
“We haven't changed a single word or lyric in this production,” Robison explains. “But I think that audiences will see the characters responding to the situation in a more contemporary way. Auditions don't happen the way they did in 1975 anymore. And so we set our production in an audition studio, not on a mythic empty stage. Today's dancers are much more athletic. You'll see that in Alex Sanchez's superb new choreography. And I hope you'll get a sense that our dancers endure this unusually grueling audition process with more personal agency.”
The Rouse Theatre and Schueler Lobby officially opens March 16 with A Chorus Line. The new facility features expanded comfort and accessibility for patrons and enables the Playhouse to host Pre-Broadway productions, which means a production that premieres in Cincinnati could go straight to Broadway for the first time ever, further solidifying Cincinnati’s reputation as a city with a thriving arts scene.
Enhancements to outdoor features and landscaping this spring will connect the Playhouse to the Cincinnati Ballet and Cincinnati Art Museum in the emerging Eden Park/Walnut Hills arts corridor. New design elements also deepen the Playhouse’s roots in its Eden Park home.
While the opening of A Chorus Line in many ways celebrates a resurgence of live theatre after work slowed down or stopped for many theatres across the world, the Playhouse spent the pandemic ramping up its work to finance and build its new theatre. It turbocharged fundraising efforts and locked in the GMP (guaranteed maximum price) of the project before the pandemic-influenced supply chain and labor issues inflated construction costs, and the opening remains on time and on budget.
Lessons Learned
The work of artist and teacher Stewart Goldman featured at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
Pulse, 2007, 64” x 64”, oil on linen, Image credit: Howard Wells.
If You Go
Cross Currents: Stewart Goldman
Opens March 31, 5–8 p.m.
SITE1212, 1212 Jackson St.
Public reception and artist talk
Exhibition continues through April 24. More information at artacademy.edu/exhibitions.
Stewart Goldman taught hundreds of students at the Art Academy of Cincinnati during his more than 30 years with the school.
Works by the longtime AAC educator and mentor will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the AAC.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue that includes writings from Sue Spaid and an interview with exhibition organizer Joe Girandola, Art Academy of Cincinnati President, and Kristi Nelson, former provost at the University of Cincinnati.
Goldman taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 1968 to 2001. In both his teaching and his visual production, he has shown profound concern for human rights, social justice, and the global implications of genocide in Germany and elsewhere. An enduring presence in the Ohio art world, he has curated shows on printmaking and the visual aesthetics of opera, lectured on the long-term influence of the Renaissance, and headed up the Cincinnati Sculpture Council.
Goldman is one of the state’s best-known and highly respected artist/educators. His works have been reviewed by Art Forum, and in 1988 he was awarded the Cincinnati Post-Corbett Award for Outstanding Individual Artist.
Spaid teaches philosophy at Northern Kentucky University and the University of Dayton. She recently published The Philosophy of Curatorial Practice: Between Work and World (2020), which reflects over 35 years of experience as a curator, critic, gallerist, and museum director.
Nelson recently retired from the University of Cincinnati where she served for more than 40 years in a number of roles, most recently as Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. She served as the co-curator for Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America which was exhibited at the Cincinnati Art Museum Summer 2021. She also taught in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning for many years as Professor of Art History. She led many study abroad trips to Italy with UC students.
Girandola is the 18th leader and president of the Art Academy of Cincinnati. He is an internationally exhibited artist and is a classically trained stone carver from his studies in Florence, Italy. Girandola is the recipient of numerous grants including the 2017 and 2019 BLINK Artist Grant, 21C Pitch Night ArtPrize Grant, 3rd Century University of Cincinnati Studio and materials Grant, Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant, and a Change Inc. Grant.
Best Pictures
The Oscars are this Sunday! From Hollywood classics to this year's blockbusters, we asked some of our favorite Cincinnati People about their favorite movies. See if your picks made the list!
As Hollywood gets ready to pick its Best Picture at the Oscars this Sunday, we thought we’d get into the spirit of things, movie-wise.
We were curious about what locals thought was the best movie of the year. But realizing that not every movie is a classic, but that doesn’t stop it from being a guilty pleasure or a comfort watch, we also wanted to know about their all time faves.
We asked two questions
What movie have you probably seen the most?
What was your favorite movie of 2022?
Check out this year’s Academy Award nominees for Best Picture, and more importantly, see how your favorites stack up against other Cincinnati People.
– Tricia Suit
Justin Brookhart, executive director, BLINK
I’ve definitely seen Jurassic Park the most times in my life. It was the first film I saw in a movie theater and the movie I re-watch most often.
My favorite film of 2022 was Tár. I loved Cate Blanchett'‘s performance but especially loved that the film is about interpretation. There is intentional ambiguity and lots of visuals/themes that are left up to the audience to unpack. It's also very funny. And the beautiful shots of Berlin don't hurt.
Julie Calvert, CEO Visit Cincy
Urban Cowboy, The Intern, The Firm
Top Gun Maverick, Whitney Houston
Hillary Copsey, book adviser, Mercantile Library
Clueless, which I maintain is the best adaptation of a Jane Austen novel. (It’s a 1990s update of Emma.)
I saw it first as a teenager, and it’s a joy to see my own teenagers discovering it now.
Everything Everywhere All At Once ... though, I have to say, watching Daniel Radcliffe delight in being the villain in The Lost City was a treat. (Editor’s note: The Lost City is a delight!)
Kathy Debrosse, vice president marketing and engagement, ArtsWave
The movie I’ve seen the most, I think is Elf – it’s my favorite Christmas movie and favorite Will Ferrell movie as well. I have vivid memories of embarrassing my teenage kids at the theater when it first came out, many moons ago.
I don’t have a favorite full-run movie. However, I was moved by Stranger at the Gate, which is a documentary up for the best film shorts (documentary). It provides scary insight into how prejudice and extreme duress/PRSD from military service can mix, with the potential to inflict malice on others as a byproduct. At the same time, it’s hopeful, with love and acceptance ultimately winning out.
Eric Kearney
Rocky Horror Picture Show
King Richard
Nicholas Korn, AAC marketing, author Wild Sonnets
We rewatch a vast number of movies at our house, so an accurate count is in no way possible. But I am going to go with A Night at The Opera featuring the Marx Brothers. One of the most hilarious movies ever. Still. (Editor’s note: Facts.)
My favorite movie of 2022 was Everything Everywhere All at Once. Mainly because, much to my shame, it was really the only new movie I saw last year, but also because I’m a goon for anything with Michelle Yeoh.
Cincinnati People’s Picks
Megan Coffey, Cincinnati People videographer
One movie I’ve seen the most is either Elf or Pretty Woman. It’s a tie between the two for sure. Elf is a Christmas classic and Pretty Woman is just iconic. I love Julia Roberts and love how she turns her life around.
My favorite movie of 2022 was Top Gun Maverick! Saw it in theatre and it was incredible
Jackie Reau, CEO, Game Day Communications
Anytime I am flipping through TV stations, and I see Shawshank Redemption on, it’s all over. Andy Dufresne pulls me in every time and I have to watch it.
Fun fact: D Lynn Meyers, producing artistic director of the Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, was the casting director of Shawshank Redemption.
Tricia Suit, editor, Cincinnati People
Bringing Up Baby – Any time it is on, I will watch it. The madcap heiress, the overlapping dialogue, pratfalls, a leopard, and Skippy the dog – What’s not to love!
My favorites movies of 2022 could not be more different.
As a fan of the TV show, I loved Downton Abbey: A New Era, from the incredible fashion to the gorgeous setting in the South of France. It was the ultimate comfort (re)watch.
The innovative Everything Everywhere All at Once maintains an exquisite humanity despite the amazing effects and convoluted storyline. The cast is incredible!
Courtney Tomasetti, client strategy director, Game Day Communications
Seen most and all-time favorite: Forrest Gump.
Favorite of 2022: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness // Runner up: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Because I’m 7 years old!) (Editor’s note: She in fact has a 6-year-old at home.)
Marcus Margerum, interim director, Contemporary Arts Center
Harlem Nights
Fun fact: Parts of the movie were filmed here! See a full list of movies shot in Greater Cincinnati, including a Best Picture winner!)
Nope
Mindy Rosen, executive director, Friends of Music Hall
Cabaret with Liza Minnelli because it’s still so daring to tell the tale of the evil Nazis with fabulous music and dancing.
EO about a wandering donkey in Poland who makes his way from a circus act through Poland to Italy. It’s up for Best International Feature Film. It’s visually stunning and shows the human bond to animals (even donkeys) can be super strong.
Cincinnati Fear E-sports Team
Tim David, manager, Cincinnati Fear
Deadpool
The Batman
Chase Capello
Jujutsu Kaisen 0
Bullet Train – I went to watch it with my friends I hadn't seen in many years and we all thought it was gonna be bad but it was really entertaining nonstop action.
Trevor Roy
1. Casino Royale
2. The Batman
Xavier Vaillancourt
Angels and Doom
Mingshui Zhang
Battle Los Angeles, I watched it 10 times with my dad as a kid, it was a new movie with guns soldiers and I loved those kind of movies so my dad would take me to the theater to watch it.
2. Turning Red
Form and Function
National ceramics conference puts the focus on local artists.
NCECA: Current
Duke Energy Convention Center
525 Elm St.
Limited areas open to public free of charge, registration required to access for presentations at www. nceca.net.
Arts organizations and galleries throughout the region have ceramics exhibitions during the conference. Find more at nceca.net/2023-exhibitions.
“This is the first time since 1990 that Cincinnati is drawing NCECA to the Queen City and we couldn’t be more excited” said Calcagno Cullen, 2023 onsite conference co-liaison for National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts and the founder and executive director of Wave Pool.
Cincinnati hosts the 57th annual conference of NCECA conference from March 15–18. The range of experiences and exhibitions during the event include exhibitions at dozens of locations throughout the region, from the ArtsWave to the Taft Museum of Art.
The Taft and the CAC will both have extended hours on Friday, March 17, 2023, showcasing works by Black ceramicists. Both venues will be open from 5–8 p.m. with cash bar, light bites, and the chance to shop in the gift shops. The events are free and include access to the museums’ additional galleries.
The ceramics conference comes to Cincinnati after plans to host in 2021 were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the event moved online. NCECA is dedicated to sustaining “a community for ceramic art, teaching, and learning,” according to their website. The three-day conference offers presentations, networking, and exhibitions throughout the host city.
Many of the exhibitions will be open to the public free of charge, allowing more people to experience the continuing evolution of human-kind’s most enduring art form. Core conference programming, which includes panel discussions, keynotes and other educational opportunities, will take place at the Duke Energy Convention Center.
Mayor Aftab Pureval and Councilmember Reggie Harris will welcome NCECA to town during the opening night ceremony on Wednesday, March 15 at 8:30 p.m., followed by a performance of ceramicists, poets, and musicians to explore the theme, We At the Wheel, based on the writing of artist Ted Randall using clay as a metaphor for shaping the community's future. UnderWorld Black Arts Festival director Napoleon Maddox will be joined by Johnny Ruzsa, Dan Barger, Brent Olds, Isaiah Cook, Camille Jones, Anaya Nikole, and Dawn Crooks for the performance.
“We’re thrilled to welcome attendees to engage with Cincinnati’s vibrant and creative arts community,” adds artist and educator, Pam Kravetz, who is working with Calcagno as the event co-liaison.
Brighter Days
Along with its stunning economic impact numbers, BLINK solidified the region as a hub of arts and culture, honoring the rich and diverse history of the Cincinnati.
The lights, and future, are bright for BLINK.
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber just released the final report for the event, held last fall.
“This report details the economic impact of BLINK, but it is important to note that the true beauty and impact of BLINK lies in the shared memories and experiences of those attendees,” said Justin Brookhart, executive director of BLINK. “Friends, families, neighbors, and strangers stood side-by-side on street corners gazing up in amazement at the artistic wonder covering familiar buildings and surroundings, experiencing Cincinnati in a whole new light. ”
In October 2022, the nowhere-else BLINK, illuminated by ArtsWave, experience attracted over 2 million attendees across the 4-day event, resulting in a direct economic impact of $126 million dollars. Additionally, the event directly supported or created 1,687 jobs, and generated $1.5 million dollars in direct artist commissions, honorariums, and art fees.
“The Chamber once again worked in close partnership with the Haile Foundation, AGAR, and ArtWorks, and welcomed new partners Cincy Nice and ish to the team,” said Brookhart. “Together this dedicated group labored alongside hundreds of hard-working and talented artists, visionaries, musicians, technical experts, and volunteers to deliver something truly special.”
At the heart of its mission, BLINK solidified the Cincinnati region as a hub of arts and culture, and the BLINK team made this possible by honoring the rich and diverse history of the city itself. Known for its collaborative spirit, BLINK paired awe-inspiring murals with projection mapping and lighting to create wholly engaging experiences. In total, the four-day event featured over 100 unique experiences including: 28 projection mapping installations, 42 light and art installations, over 100 musical performances, 300 drones lighting up the sky over the Ohio River, a parade featuring over 2,500 participants, and 17 murals that will leave a lasting impact on the Cincinnati landscape for years to come.
The 2022 BLINK Economic Impact report was developed by the Cincinnati Chamber’s Center for Research & Data, and utilized a variety of data sources and outputs to generate the information detailed in the report. The Center for Research & Data is an initiative to deliver data-driven analysis regarding vital regional indicators and outcomes and helps leaders, community partners, and policymakers make informed decisions.
See the full report at www.blinkcincinnati.com/about/economic-impact-report.
Something to Sing About
City welcomes return of in-person choral music conference.
You may just hear singing on the streets of Cincinnati this weekend!
“Thousands of choral directors, composers, administrators, and singers of all ages from across the country will travel to Cincinnati for the 2023 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Conference, and it is fitting that Cincinnati, the ‘City that Sings,’ is host to this reunion,” says Steven Sunderman, executive director of the May Festival.
More than 8,000 people are expected for the organization's first in-person national conference since the pandemic.
The theme for ACDA 2023 is “A Place of Belonging,” through music, community and humanity, as attendees are welcomed back to a place to celebrate diversity and affinities, eliminate barriers, and inspire each other towards collective action.
“We are proud to welcome the musicians, directors, educators and enthusiasts of ACDA to the Cincy region, as choral music is such a rich part of our heritage,” said Julie Calvert, president and CEO of Visit Cincy. “When we first booked this event, it was right on the heels of hosting the extraordinarily popular the World Choir Games in 2012. ACDA choosing Cincinnati is an example of how earning an excellent reputation as a host city has lasting effects in our region.”
Some of Cincinnati's finest arts organizations will entertain attendees over the course of four days, including the Cincinnati May Festival, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Boychoir, CCM Chamber Choir and May Festival Chorus.
“We’re also delighted that the May Festival Chorus and the CSO will be one of the headlining performances of the ACDA conference this season, May Festival’s 150th anniversary,” says Sundersman. “We are honored to share music and show off our vibrant city as we welcome the national choral music community to Cincinnati for the conference.”
Events during the national conference will be held across the Cincinnati region, including the Duke Energy Convention Center, Aronoff Center, Music Hall and the Plum Street Temple.
The event is expected to have an $8.6 million economic impact in total business sales in the Cincy region, which will support 1,150 local jobs.
Find out more about ACDA, including performances, at acda.org/archives/events/2023-national-conference.
Collected Thoughts
The Taft Museum of Art shares the art collection of another generous couple during Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art.
If You Go
Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art
Taft Museum of Art
316 Pike St.
General admission: free for members, military, youth (18 and under); $12 for adults; $10 for seniors. Non-members save $2 by purchasing tickets online.
Sundays are free!
For more information, visit taftmuseum.org.
One of the world’s richest private collections of African American art from a diversity of Black perspectives is now on view at the Taft Museum of Art.
Memories & Inspiration: The Kerry and C. Betty Davis Collection of African American Art features over 60 works from the personal collection of Kerry Davis—a retired postal worker—and C. Betty Davis—a former television news producer.
Organized and toured by International Art & Artists, Washington, DC, Memories & Inspiration focuses on 20th- and 21st-century approaches to the Black image. The Davises have been guided by a passion for collecting and by their extensive knowledge of art—as well as a desire to preserve cultural memories and provide their community with a source of pride and inspiration.
Together, they have built one of the richest private collections of African American art in the world. Memories & Inspiration features a diverse sampling of their 300-piece collection typically displayed in their modest Atlanta, Georgia home. Many of the works themselves reflect social, cultural, historical, or personal meaning.
In addition cultural significance or beauty, pieces often also reflect connections to the Davises’ childhood memories, deeply held convictions or interests, and friendships with or affinity for the artists. The expansive collection includes paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures, and mixed media by well-known African American artists with wide-ranging approaches and subject matter.
Works of note include Romare Bearden’s improvisational portrayal of a lively jazz quartet, photographer Gordon Parks’s documentation of racial and economic disparity, and printmaker Charles White’s “images of dignity.” Other key pieces include abstract compositions by Sam Gilliam, Norman Lewis, and Alma Thomas, defiant and heroic portraits by Elizabeth Catlett, and historically and socially conscious works by Jacob Lawrence and Aaron Douglas.
Memories & Inspiration also elevates the profiles of contemporary artists such as Sedrick Huckaby, Alfred Conteh, and Amalia Amaki, honoring the Davises’ goal to gather and preserve a spectrum of approaches to the Black image. The work of these artists—and those throughout the exhibition—offer images from a variety of Black perspectives.
Coming to the Taft Museum of Art, Memories & Inspiration offers an enlightening contrast to Charles and Anna Taft’s own collection, which is on view permanently within the founders' former mansion. The Davises, however, do not fit conventional stereotypes of art collectors and connoisseurs. Neither is from an affluent or academic background, but they built an encyclopedic knowledge of African American art and artists through a lifetime of private study.
Their collection—gathered over decades of otherwise frugal living—is housed in the Davises’ home. But like the Taft’s residence, the Davis home has become an important center for dialogue, exhibition, and inspiration—prompting artist Leon Nathaniel Hicks to refer to it as “a museum in a home.”
Young at Art
The Summerfair Emerging Artists exhibition opens Friday at Clifton Cultural Arts Center featuring the work of area college art students.
Emerging Artists Exhibition
Opening Reception
Friday, Feb. 10, 6 – 8 p.m.
CCAC, 728 Short Vine Street
Gallery Hours
Tuesday and Thursday, 12 – 8 p.m.
Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Cincinnati has a storied past of incredible art and artists. But the future also looks bright.
Each year, during Summerfair’s Emerging Artists exhibition, junior and senior art majors from local universities, are given the opportunity to exhibit their work among their peers. These artists, representing the next generation of artists to emerge on the local art scene, are nominated by their professors to take part in this exhibition held at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center.
The participating artists are
Aleni Antalis (Xavier University)
Sabrina Argotte (University of Cincinnati DAAP)
Annie Crowl (Art Academy of Cincinnati)
Shelby Ernst (Xavier University)
Nick Felaris (Miami University)
Tricia Harmon (Mt. St. Joseph University)
Ian Hayes (Art Academy of Cincinnati)
Orion Inez (University of Cincinnati DAAP)
Helena Kaelin (Northern Kentucky University)
Grant Lawler (University of Cincinnati DAAP)
Madison Mackinnon (Miami University)
Emily Maneval (Art Academy of Cincinnati)
Alyssa McRoberts (Mt. St. Joseph University)
Skye Plank (Mt. St. Joseph University)
Skyler Smith (Northern Kentucky University)
Mary Visco (Miami University)
Zoe Whelan (Northern Kentucky University)
Jenna Wood (Xavier University)
Kendra Yurt (Thomas More University)
Love Stories
Take your love to literary levels with a trip to the Mercantile Library! Hillary Copsey, book advisor, offers a reading list perfect for Valentine's Day.
Love is in the air, even at the library! As Valentine’s Day nears, we asked Hillary Copsey, book advisor at the Mercantile Library, to suggest stories perfect for the holiday.
The Mercantile Library is a great spot for book lovers. Founded in 1835, the library has 80,000 volumes, in a collection that includes e-books and audiobooks. The membership library hosts programs and events throughout the year, encouraging a passion for reading in our community. To find out more, visit mercantilelibrary.com.
All the rom-com novels by Emily Henry
Henry is based in Greater Cincinnati, and all her contemporary romances are superb, full of banter and swoon. Our favorite is Book Lovers, which turns a Hallmark romance on its head, but get on the library holds list now for Happy Place, coming out in April.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
This emotional second-chance romance is the February book for the Mercantile’s Black Experience Book Club. Fifteen years after an intense week falling in love as teenagers, two writers reconnect as adults. The spark remains but can passion survive their lives now?
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Cincinnati native Sittenfeld sets a modern version of Jane Austen’s classic enemies-to-lovers romance, Pride & Prejudice, in the Queen City. Elizabeth and Darcy go to Skyline! And Madison Bowl! Like Cincinnati chili, this book can be polarizing, but we think it’s a clever and charming update. Also, Sittenfeld has an April release to watch for: Romantic Comedy. A celebrity heartthrob falls for a regular-gal comedy writer. Can it work?
Persuasion by Jane Austen
If you’re going to read the Queen of Romance, we suggest her most grown-up novel. It’s a second-chance love story full of longing and the wisdom of knowing yourself. Also, Wentworth’s letter at the end is more romantic than even reservations at Jeff Ruby’s.
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
A gentle romance full of sharp British wit, this novel is a reminder that love happens at all ages.
A Duke, The Lady, and A Baby by Vanessa Riley
If you’re looking for a Regency Era romance to fill the gap until the next Bridgerton season drops, Riley gives you all the dukes and rakes you want — with a side of intrigue.
Bringing Down The Duke by Evie Dunmore
Feminists want romance, too. In Dunmore’s Victorian era romances, British suffragettes find their political plans complicated — and eventually, complemented — by love.
An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole
Cole is the romance writer other romance writers rave about. This is romance with a side of American history, the start of a trilogy about Civil War spies. The story is fantastic, but Cole’s research endnotes show you it’s also plausible.
Mighty Small
Small art makes a big impact in the Art Academy's Minumental.
Jenny Ustick, AAC class of 2000
Minumental 33, a longstanding Art Academy of Cincinnati tradition featuring tiny artworks created by members of the AAC community, opens Friday, Jan. 27. The exhibition will be held in the McClure and Pearlman Galleries, through Feb. 24.
Started by professor emeritus Gary Gaffney in 1987, the Minumental exhibition showcases works not exceeding 2 inches in any dimension. The works in Minumental 33, have all been created by AAC students, faculty, staff, and alumni who think small in strange and surprising ways. Unhampered by specific media requirements, these works run the gamut of media and include paintings, sculpture, collage, mixed-media pieces, photography, fiber arts and digital art.
Last year’s event featured more than 270 diminutive artworks from over 70 AAC artists.
Angela Pulvere, AAC class of 2015
For more information visit www.artacademy.edu.
Back to Nature
Explore the nature of art in Burnet Woods during the Contemporary Arts Center's Under the Canopy exhibition opening Friday.
If You Go
Under the Canopy – Opening
Friday, Feb. 3, 5 to 7 p.m.
Contemporary Arts Center
44 E. Sixth St.
Exhibition continues through March 5. For more information visit www.contemporaryartscenter.org.
Throughout 2022, artist Julia Orquera Bianco walked, hiked, taught in, and observed the seasons in Burnet Woods. In the new exhibition Under the Canopy, she shares the work influenced by and created during this time. The exhibition opens Wednesday, Feb. 1 at the Contemporary Arts Center, with accompanying programs held at the CAC and in the park.
An interdisciplinary artist and nature enthusiast, Bianco partnered with Preserve Burnet Woods, UC Students for Burnet Woods, and Permabuds to explore and reflect on the historical, cultural, spiritual and ecological importance of the park. The work in Under the Canopy is constructed in part with materials Bianco gathered from the park.
Bianco’s artwork translates the experience of being under the forest’s canopy while offering quiet but powerful meditations based on quotes from participants in last summer’s Co-LAB program.
In addition to cultivating a truly transformative experience through her artwork, Bianco collaborated with local historians and biologist to construct historical and ecological timelines of Burnet Woods, one of the largest and oldest parks in Cincinnati.
Bianco earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Drawing and Painting from Universidad del Museo Social Argentino (Buenos Aires, Argentina) in 2012. In 2018 she graduated from the MFA program at Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. In 2020, Bianco earned a Certificate on Sustainability from University of California, Los Angeles.
A Grand Passion
CCM grad returned to hometown stage with Anastasia.
Looking Ahead
Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati presented by TriHealth announced their highly-anticipated season lineup this week. Along with the including previously announced Six, the new season includes the musicals Beetlejuice, MJ: The Musical, From the North Country, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Peter Pan. These shows will be joined by one-week engagements of Disney’s Aladdin and Clue.
Season tickets for the 23/24 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati Season presented by TriHealth are available now at BroadwayinCincinnati.com.
MJ: The Musical (Sept. 5 – 17)
The music. The moves. The icon. Now, the unparalleled artistry of the greatest entertainer of all time comes to Cincinnati as MJ, the Tony Award®-winning new musical centered around the making of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour, begins a tour of its own.
Girl from the North Country (Oct. 17 – 29)
Girl from the North Country is the Tony Award-winning new musical sritten and directed by celebrated playwright Conor McPherson and featuring Tony Award-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale, that reimagines 20 legendary songs of Bob Dylan as they’ve never been heard before, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” and “Like A Rolling Stone.”
Disney’s Aladdin ( Nov. 14 – 19)
Discover a whole new world at Disney’s Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical. From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of Aladdin, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle.
Mrs. Doubtfire (Dec. 5–17)
Based on the beloved film and directed by four-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks, Mrs. Doubtfire tells the hysterical and heartfelt story of an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids.
Beetljuice (Jan. 16–18, 2024)
He earned his stripes on Broadway…Now the ghost-with-the-most is coming to Cincinnati. It’s showtime! Based on Tim Burton’s dearly-beloved film, this hilarious musical tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes. With an irreverent book, an astonishing set, and a score that’s out of this Netherworld, Beetlejuice is a remarkably touching show about family, love, and making the most of every Day-O!
Peter Pan (March 12–24, 2024)
Join the Darling Family as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell take them on a soaring adventure all the way to Never Never Land. All you have to do is believe. Featuring a timeless score that includes “I’m Flying,” “I’ve Got To Crow,” “Never Never Land,” “I Won’t Grow Up,” and so many more, Peter Pan is now updated for a new generation of thrill-seekers—and more spectacular than ever. Come witness the new definitive version of a story that never grows old. Your whole family will be hooked!
SIX (April 23–May 5, 2024)
From Tudor Queens to pop icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of 21st century girl power. This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over. SIX has won 23 awards in the 2021/2022 Broadway season, including the Tony Award for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.
Clue (May 14 – 19, 2024)
Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench? Based on the cult 1985 Paramount movie and inspired by the classic Hasbro board game, Clue is the ultimate whodunit that will leave you dying of laughter and keep you guessing until the final twist.
Paris may hold the key to her heart, but Veronica Stern holds the key to Cincinnati’s. The 2021 graduate of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music dazzles as the titular character in Anastasia: The New Broadway Musical on tour now, which made a recent stop at the Aronoff Center.
Stern’s incredible talent and range shines brightest during “In My Dreams,” the very first song she sings. Her voice and the score come together to tell a beautiful and haunting tale of how our heroine “Anya” came to be a street sweeper in St. Petersburg with no memory of her past or her identity.
If you were expecting to see a fun onstage re-make of the 1997 film that starred Meg Ryan and John Cusack, you could leave ever-so-slightly disappointed. While classic songs like ”Once Upon a December” and “A Rumor in St. Petersburg” remain, “In the Dark of the Night,” sung by Christopher Lloyd in the film (and one of my absolute favorites) does not make an appearance in the Broadway show.
Rasputin and his magic-laced storyline is replaced completely, in favor of a much more realistic plot about the Russian Revolution and the Socialist Regime that came to power in 1917. Bolshevik officer Gleb becomes the new antagonist–a man conflicted by his loyalty to the revolution and what they stand for and his desire to do the right thing. Christian McQueen brings Gleb to life on stage with his gravely, deep voice and massive presence. Yet he shows a restraint and vulnerability that makes this character interesting and dynamic.
This new story direction gives us one of the most poignant moments in the musical – “Stay, I Pray You,” a ballad sung by minor character Count Ipolitov and the ensemble – as Anya and her companions are about to board a train to leave their homeland. This song is a doleful ode to home and a prayer for that which they leave behind. The following scene demonstrates in harsh contrast the often brutal realities of the revolution and the true reason Anya must flee.
But the show is not all sad storylines and somber songs. “Journey to the Past” closes out Act I with the promise of hope and happiness as Anya and her friends head toward a brighter future in Paris.
In Paris, the costumes are brighter and everything is more fun and energetic. I particularly love when the LED screen background gives us an elevator ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower during “Paris Holds the Key.” Act II also brings comic relief with “Land of Yesterday” and “The Countess and the Common Man,” as well as more romance with “In a Crowd of Thousands.” We get glimpses of what exiled Russian aristocrats get up to and sweet moments shared by long-lost relatives. All of this leads up to the final show-down between Gleb and Anya where we find out in a very intense moment if our antagonist really is “his father’s son.”
I’m eternally grateful that Cincinnati can get such fantastic Broadway musicals in our very own Aronoff Center. A night at the theater is the perfect way to switch up a date night/girls night/family activity. Want to make plans? Check out Broadway in Cincinnati’s full list of shows at cincinnati.broadway.com.
– Shae Combs
What's My Line?
Resolved to read more books this year? Buy local! Pick up a copy of Wild Sonnets by Nicholas Korn, from the Art Academy of Cincinnati, at his reading on Jan. 19.
If You Go
Poet Nicholas Korn reads selections from The Wild Sonnets: Volume V (401-500)
Thursday, Jan.19, 4–4:30 p.m.
Pearlman Gallery, Art Academy of Cincinnati
212 Jackson St.
www.artacademy.edu
Copies of The Wild Sonnets: Volume V (401-500) will be available after the reading for sale and signing.
For more than 150 years, the Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) has cultivated a love of art and developed artists throughout the region. But that inspiration goes beyond students. The faculty and staff of the AAC make incredible contributions to the local cultural landscape, not just in the visual arts, but in literature and performance.
“One of the amazing things about being part of the community at the Art Academy is the level of support and approval you get for being an artist,” says Nicholas Korn, director of marketing and communications with AAC. “Since the primary focus of the AAC is the development of the creative individual, there is a great deal of significance placed on its faculty and staff being productive artists in their own right. It sets an example for the student body as to what it means to devote your life to your art, whatever discipline that may be. I have never before worked for an institution where this was the case, and I am honored and grateful to be part of it here.”
Korn recently released his fifth volume of Wild Sonnets, a series of poems he has been working on for more than a decade.
“I have been writing poems since high school, and was drawn to the sonnet form since encountering it in sophomore English class,” says Korn. “The compactness of its structure, and the way that the poet has to find a way in fourteen short lines to land his final thought – in the way that a gymnast lands a dismount – that just always kind of thrilled me.”
Korn is also a playwright. He is the founder of Stage First Cincinnati, which has produced 23 classical dramas and comedies at the Aronoff Center’s Fifth Third Bank Theater. His play, Delirium’s Daughters, was produced off-Broadway in 2015. An earlier play, The Antic in Romantic was a finalist for the 2006 Kaufman and Hart Prize for New American Comedy.
Korn’s reading at the AAC will feature a unique format, using a tarot-style presentation where the audience will select the poems to read. Then each Wild Sonnet will be shown on screen while being read.
“When I present a poem in print, I always feel that the reader would benefit from hearing the work as well, because I do infuse these poems with the music and richness of language,” he says. “When I share one these at a public reading, I get the sense that the listener would have a clearer appreciation if they could see how the lines move from one to the other, and how the word choices often play upon one another.
That sense of experimentation continues in the new book Familiar, by Matt Hart, head of creative writing at AAC. In the book, Hart has written an “obliteration” of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” via the Spanish version of the poem by the 20th Century anti-fascist poet and critic León Felipe, to make an entirely new poem.
“I’m a really process oriented writer,” says Hart. “I’ve always liked the idea of translation as a re-creation of something–a form of play where something of the original is always lost, but something else comes into being that echoes where it came from while also positing something new. Obliteration takes all of this one step further by trying to maintain the echo while getting as far away from the source material as possible.”
Available from Pick Pocket Books, an imprint of Ledge Mule Press.
Familiar is Hart’s ninth book of poetry. Along with teaching at the AAC, he was the co-founder and the editor-in-chief of Forklift, Ohio: A Journal of Poetry, Cooking, & Light Industrial Safety, and currently co-edits the journal Sôrdəd. Hart also plays in the local band, Nevernew.
“Poems, in contrast to song lyrics, are the words and the music in the very same breath,” says Hart. “In poetry, the value is in the words alone. I feel much more of an obligation in poetry to both deploy the language artfully AND also attempt to say, express, suggest, or demonstrate something meaningful with the words themselves.”
Hart will kick off the 2023 Word of Mouth series at MOTR, 1345 Main St. on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. This monthly literary event consists of both a featured reader and an open mic. Often Hart’s students participate in the opening reading.
“There’s a sense in which the AAC is a kind of laboratory of creativity where everyone is contributing to the imaginative possibilities of everyone else,” says Hart. “My students, my colleagues (both faculty and staff), and the administration and board of trustees all help to create an atmosphere where surprising, unpredictable, and marvelous things can happen. For me, it's always inspiring, challenging and thought-provoking. I get to teach things I love and be around incredibly interesting people.”
–Tricia Suit
Seeing Things
Museums and galleries offer the chance to start with art, from local student work to acclaimed masters.
Art Academy of Cincinnati
1212 Jackson St.
www.artacademy.edu
Cincinnati Art Museum
953 Eden Park Drive
www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/
Contemporary Arts Center
44 E. Sixth St.
www.contemporaryartscenter.org
Taft Museum of Art
316 Pike St.
www.taftmuseum.org
Weston Art Gallery
650 Walnut St.
www.cincinnatiarts.org/weston-art-gallery
After a year that brought international attention to local museums, what does the year ahead hold for Cincinnati art lovers?
Over the summer, CNN featured a 15th century “magic mirror” found in the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Asian art collection. Under an intense, focused light, the mirror revealed the image of a Buddha and an inscription on the mirror's back indicated it depicted Amitabha, an important figure in various schools of East Asian Buddhism. There are only three other known Buddhist-themed magic mirrors, including one in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. CNN again featured CAM in December, when an X-Ray revealed that Cezanne’s “Still Life with Bread and Eggs” included a hidden image of the painter.
The Taft Museum of Art was in the international spotlight when its exhibition Fakes, Forgeries and Followers, was featured on the BBC in a story about “Vermeer's Secrets” at the National Gallery of Art, and our ongoing fascination with art forgeries.
This year, the Contemporary Arts Center marks a milestone anniversary, celebrating the 20th anniversary of its landmark, Zaha Hadid-designed building.
Take a look at what else you can expect to see!
4 More: Justin Brookhart
Made you look! Justin Brookhart, executive director of BLINK, talks about his first year with the festival.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Justin Brookhart, executive director of BLINK.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
How many amazing people I've met! Cincinnati is full of talented and hardworking people and I'm surprised by how many of them I've gotten to know in the 10+ months I've lived here.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
BLINK 2022 is behind us and was an amazing success! We are excited to take all we learned this year and work to bring it back even better in 2024
What have you learned about our community this year?
How passionate they are about celebrating what is unique about this region. There is so much enthusiasm for things that make this community unique and I've learned that no matter how big or small those things are, there are people willing to work how and passionately to honor and preserve them.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Settling into the Cincinnati region more. This year has been a lot about transitions for me and I hope 2023 brings more comfort and continuity.
Take a look back at BLINK and its impact in one community.
4 More: Jayne Utter
We catch up Jayne Utter, the longtime managing director of Summerfair, one of the most respected and popular fine art and craft fairs in the country.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Summerfair’s Managing Director, Jayne Utter.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
The biggest surprise to me has been how quickly we all bounced back after Covid. In June, Summerfair was one of the biggest and best Fair we’ve had. We had a record amount of artists selling record amounts of their creations and one of our largest patron attendance accounted for in years.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
As a small non-profit that gives back to the art community in Greater Cincinnati, Summerfair has once again raised our giving in a few areas. We are now awarding over $$85,000 per year and have topped $2 million since we started in 1968! And all of that money is generated in 3 short days (and our nest egg) as we usher in the summer!
What have you learned about our community this year?
Our community is so into art and they understand the value of quality art. Cincinnati also understands the value of teaching and creating art. When you look around, art is in everything. The art of food, our homes inside and out, what we wear - drive - and entertain ourselves with. We are so lucky to have so much quality art around us! But then I didn’t just learn this, it’s the growth here in our town that warms my soul.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
We have some new and exciting things that will be happening leading up to Summerfair 2023 and also at the Fair. Please watch for these on our social media sites and on our website. We can hardly wait to see you on June 2, 3, 4! “Peace, Love, Art”
Click below for more from our previous interview with Jayne.
4 More: Ajanae Dawkins
Ajanae Dawkins joined a distinguished list contemporary Black artists when she was named the Taft Museum of Art’s Robert S. Duncanson Society.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Ajanae Dawkins, the Taft Museum of Art’s 2022 Duncanson Artist-in-residence.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
I was the biggest surprise to myself in 2022. I took a lot of risks, artistically and personally. (Applying for the Duncanson Artist-in-Residence was one of those risks). I surprised myself with the things I was willing to try in both my professional and personal life. It's led to a lot of amazing things including bolder, more vulnerable poems. Poems that make me nervous to read to an audience sometimes. It’s scary to change as a person and artist and not know how you’ll be received. 2022 was my first time re-entering the non-virtual world since the start of the pandemic and at every turn I surprised myself with what I believed was still possible.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
Not much has changed since we've last spoken. I'm co-hosting a podcast with my best friend, Brittany Rogers and The Poetry Foundation. Our first episodes are available wherever you stream your podcasts. I graduated with my MFA in poetry and am due to graduate in May 2023 with my Masters of Theology. I did a mini-tour of Europe with my husband and we’re hoping to become dog parents! I've published some work but mostly, I’ve spent my year traveling, reading, and writing towards a new projects.
What have you learned about our community this year?
Where to start! I’ve learned so much about the Cincinnati community this year. It remains one of my favorite cities and that is mostly because of the community members that I got to spend time with. I learned how rich your historic landscape is and how that has influenced the art that has been produced over the years.
One of the biggest lessons I learned about your community was from a young girl at a school I visited in my time at the Taft. A fourth grade girl wrote one of the most profound poems I've ever read called "Diamonds in Water." It reads like this. “Water falls every 3 seconds. It stops every 2 seconds. A diamond falls 2 drops at a time. The waterfall becomes diamonds. There's always a rule. Keep clean from the tide.” I wish I remember her name but I kept this poem because it was a reminder of how expansive and imaginative the minds of children are. The children of your community taught me how to imagine more beauty in the world. To look at a waterfall or even a dripping faucet and see diamonds.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Right now, I'm doing a lot of research and thinking about faith, the Black church, and contemporary Black poets and I'm excited to continue to immerse myself in that. As a writer, I'm most looking forward to seeing some writing projects that I've been working on mature. I'm looking forward to the things that I can't imagine will happen yet. Every year, I've received a career opportunity that shocked me so much I immediately started crying or worshiping. I don’t know what that opportunity will be in 2023 but I have faith that it will come. Outside of writing, I'm looking forward to getting older and all of the beauty that comes with that. Nobody told me that it was commonly understood that your early twenties are messy and difficult. My late 20s have been phenomenal. I know myself better and because I know myself better I can love myself better. I can make decisions for the future I want. I can be a better community member to those around me and refine my love ethic. In general, I am less afraid. This is the least afraid I've ever been and I expect to be more fearless in 2023. This is the most in love with myself I’ve ever been. The most in love with God I've ever been. I'm looking forward to the way time will grow those things.
See our interview with Ajanae when she was named Duncanson artist-in-residence.
4 More: Marcus Margerum
As the Contemporary Arts Center gets ready to celebrate the landmark building’s 20th anniversary, interim director Marcus Margerum looks at what’s ahead.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Marcus Margerum, interim director of the Contemporary Arts Center.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
The biggest surprise in 2022 was what it takes to complete a renovation like our Creativity Center, and its impact. We knew it was going to be a big endeavor, but experiencing the process of architects, contractors, artists, educators, board members, community members, government leaders and more coming together to bring this project to fruition was staggering, and then to see the way the community responded to its grand re-Opening was encouraging and awe-inspiring.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
In the 2021-2022 season we engaged more 280 artists, had more than 11,000 program participants, and welcomed nearly 30,000 total guests. As we continue in the 2022-2023 season, we celebrated our ongoing strong partnership with FotoFocus as well as the opening of our Creativity Center, which is bringing in families and increasing opportunities for programming and events—including creating a new rental space.
What have you learned about our community this year?
We have learned that there is still a way to go to fully recover from the pandemic and reinvigorate Downtown Cincinnati. We’ve learned that the community appreciates having a space that they can explore freely, that having multiple floors with ever-changing offerings is a powerful asset to a city like Cincinnati that highly values its vibrant arts scene.
What are you looking forward to in 2023?
2023 is going to be a milestone year for us. In March, we will welcome our new Executive Director, Christina Vassallo. And in May we will kick off the celebration of the 20th anniversary of our iconic building, the first U.S. Museum designed by a woman—Zaha Hadid. This celebration will extend through 2023 to include our gala in August and a retrospective exhibition opening in September that looks at Zaha Hadid’s career through the lens of inspiration, influence, and achievement.
See our interview with Marcus from earlier this year.
4 MORE: Candice Handy
Candice Hardy, director of education at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, hope local youths will love theatre as much as she does.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Candice Handy, director of education at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company who directed their production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
The biggest surprise for me this year was how slowly audiences seemed to be getting back into the habit of attending the theatre at the beginning of the year. It seemed to be an uphill battle for many performance art organizations. What is awesome to see though is how attendance numbers have climbed at the end of 2022, as Every Christmas Story Ever Told has sold record numbers in ticket sales! I think people are really enjoying and yearning for holiday cheer and mirth.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
Since (we) last spoke, which was about me directing Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, various exciting career development opportunities are on the horizon for me. I will be attending and facilitating a workshop on “De-Centralizing Leadership” at the 2023 Shakespeare Theatre Association Conference in The Bahamas this year.
We are also welcoming a brand new company of Educational Tour members at CSC, a group of actors who will be performing Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth at schools and educational institutions locally and regionally starting in January of 2023. I am really looking forward to directing both of these productions! I will also be playing the lead role of Wiletta, in Alice Childress’ Trouble In Mind in Spring 2023, directed by Torie Wiggins.
What have you learned about our community this year?
I have learned this year that the Cincinnati community is loyal to the arts. I already knew that, but it has really been confirmed even more for me this year as patrons and donors have continued to support us through contagious illnesses and economy inflation. It is truly because of this community’s love and support for the arts that we survive and get to keep making theatre!
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
I am really looking forward to how diversely the education program at CSC will grow in 2023! This year, CSC’s PROJECT38 Festival, our largest and completely FREE education and engagement initiative, has a whole new list of participants including Title 1 schools and predominately Black and Brown schools.
I look forward to seeing how many students of color get bit by the theatre bug early in their education and really start to lean into continued with us in 2023!
Read our interview about Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom with Candice Hardy here.