Roots in OTR
Red Door Project: Rooted
Red Door Project powered by the Art Academy of Cincinnati launches the first show back in OTR since 2019!
Thursday, Aug. 25, 5:30-10 p.m.
MadTree Alcove
1410 Vine St.
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It is a silent auction format. The highest bidder takes the artwork home.
What began as a pop-up gallery has now joined forces with one of the oldest arts institutions in the city.
The Red Door Project began in Over-the-Rhine in 2014, featuring art from hundreds of local artists, which made purchasing original artwork more accessible to people all over Cincinnati. In January 2020 Red Door started a collaboration with the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
When that exhibition was canceled due to the COVID pandemic, Red Door shifted to an outdoor model. The first show the Art Academy produced was in August 2020, at the Art Climb at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
“We did two (shows) in 2021, one at the Zoo in April and then in October at the Cincinnati Observatory,” says Hauser “This first one back in OTR is at the MadTree Alcove, to honor MadTree’s commitment to sustainability and our original start in OTR.”
“The mission and history of the Red Door Project completely aligns with the history of the Art Academy of Cincinnati,” says Joe Girandola, president of the Art Academy. “The Red Door project’s tagline: Imagine It. Create It. Share It. The Door is open complements the AAC’s 153-year history of supporting artists and cultural game-changers in the region.”
With AAC powering the Red Door Project, participating artists could decide a percentage of their sales be donated to fund a scholarship focusing on non-traditional students who have returned to school later in life.
This idea for the scholarship came from one of the AAC’s non-traditional students, Erika NJ Allen, who is currently studying in the graduate program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art after completing her studies at the AAC.
“The importance of enabling all creatives to have the opportunity to exhibit their work has long been a commitment of mine as a leader in the creative cultural economy,” says Girandola. “The conversations surrounding humanities as collaborative pathway for making the world a better place often starts with a door being opened. This project enables all creatives – trained and untrained – to have a seat at the table in expressing their thoughts visually.”