2014 turned out to be an amazing year at ArtsWave.  Here are a few of the highlights we’ll be talking about for years to come.

CincySings is a Hit!

Our 2014 Community Campaign Chair Melanie Healey had a BIG idea: take the Sing Off competitions held annually as part of the P&G and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center campaigns and blow it up into a community-wide event called CincySings. The results were impressive: 10 companies fielded employee teams and more than 1,000 people packed into the Aronoff Center for a night of high-energy music and fun. Host Drew Lachey and our panel of expert judges were aces, and the talent on display was truly amazing. Plus, the ticket sales from the event helped us reach another major milestone…

A Record-Breaking Campaign

How big is $12 million?  It’s the largest single-year community campaign for the arts in the nation – EVER. Thank you again to all of the volunteers and donors who helped us reach this extraordinary goal. Your contributions enabled ArtsWave to support more than 100 arts and community partners and to provide valuable, coordinated services to the arts sector.

LISC Partnership Strengthens Community Development

Our first partnership with Local Investment Support Corporation of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky resulted in a series of mini-grants to community development corporations in five area neighborhoods. Seeing how these neighborhoods leveraged the power of the arts to tackle a wide variety of community goals was truly inspiring. 

A Fond Farewell to A Visionary Leader

Speaking of inspiring, after 35 years with our organization, including 20 as our fearless CEO, Mary McCullough-Hudson took a final bow with ArtsWave in 2014. We had a blast sending her off in style with an evening of cabaret music and fond memories at CCM. 

A Warm Welcome to Our New CEO

Then, in September, we officially welcomed Alecia Kintner as our new President & CEO. As she forges more connections with business and civic partners, we see an expanded role for the arts in all aspects of community development.