Making Waves Blog

Tom Williams, Chair of the 2015 ArtsWave Community Campaign, shares how the arts put Cincinnati on the map and transform our community.

Over the past five years, Clifton Cultural Arts Center has become an important hub of activity for the Clifton community. We asked Emmalene Benson, Programs and Office Coordinator, to share with us five ways that the CCAC is bringing neighbors and families together through the arts.

Picture Freedom has challenged young people across the country to explore what freedom and equality means to them, and to express their thoughts through art.

Has Macy's Arts Sampler left you wanting more arts experiences? Here are 14 additional opportunities to discover the amazing arts in our region for free.

For 10 hours a week in Price Hill, young neighbors gather to study music. We asked MYCincinnati Program Director Laura Jekel to share how this program makes an impact on the community.

Tom Kent of Elementz Hip Hop Center for Youth shares how collaborations with other arts organizations has a positive effect on their young artists.

By regularly convening arts leaders and staff from large and small organizations, ArtsWave serves as a hub for the development of collaborations, partnerships, and shared resources.

The 2015 ArtsWave Community Campaign officially kicks off January 28, but a key group of volunteers led by Tom Williams has been hard at work for many months behind the scenes.

Hundreds of volunteers serve as museum docents and theater ushers for local arts organizations. It's a great way to support the arts and connect with other people in our region.

Throughout 2014, ArtsWave’s arts and community partners made an impact on our region, creating community through the arts. Here are just 25 of the amazing arts stories from this past year.

How can a story about a dentist become a story about the arts? The relationship is strong between the arts and local businesses.

For several years, ArtsWave has partnered with a number of arts organizations whose primary focus area is serving individuals with disabilities of all kinds (physical, mental, emotional). The impact of these "very special arts" groups extends beyond the individual artists they serve and into the broader community.

A relative newcomer to Cincinnati, Karen Bowman joined the ArtsWave board in 2007, establishing herself as a key strategist at a time when a decades-old institution was at a critical juncture for transformational change.

Cincinnati Opera is reaching out to new audiences and communities all over the region. Community and school tours provide people of all ages a chance to discover how this classic art form can bring us together.

The May Festival Chorus draws its membership from all over the Tri-State and from all different backgrounds, bringing people together who might never otherwise have met, but who share a passion and dedication for vocal music. Over 100 men and women ages 18 to 70+ rehearse at least three hours each week from September through May to bring choral masterworks and new commissions to the region.

Every child can reap the benefits inherent in dance – discipline, self-expression, problem solving, focus, physical fitness, and team building. In 2013, the Cincinnati Ballet taught these critical life skills to 1,061 third graders in 21 Cincinnati Public Schools through its CincyDance! Program, and will reach 1,300 kids in 31 schools this school year.

How do you define extraordinary? We at ArtsWave mean something that truly distinguishes Cincinnati from other places and draws national attention to the region--like LumenoCity.