Making Waves Blog

My twin 7-year-olds have a big-deal, second-grade project this week: to write and present reports on their favorite holiday traditions I confess that this assignment has caused me some angst because, thanks to the various dreams and ambitions imposed on them by me and my husband, their young lives have been fairly nomadic. I worry that we've done a less-than-pinterest-worthy job of things like instilling and documenting family traditions. So imagine my surprise and delight...

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

The ArtsPass program, available for a $75 minimum donation to ArtsWave’s annual community campaign, offers its members discounted tickets and other special offers at over 40 arts organizations around the region. In an effort to further drive its key impact areas, ArtsWave began adding retail and restaurant offers, helping members craft a full, affordable evening out.

More than 80 arts organizations, non-profits, restaurants, shops, and companies are committed to helping our community discover the region through the ArtsPass and CincYPerks.

This weekend made me take stock of all the things that arts organizations do in Greater Cincinnati to ensure access to stimulating, inspiring experiences like these for people dealing with the physical challenges of age or disability.

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.

ArtsWave believes in the inherent ability of the arts to connect, inspire, and engage at both individual and community levels has direct implications for the role that arts can play in promoting clinical and general health outcomes. If an expressive life can help increase the health and happiness of our region’s residents, then ArtsWave wants to support and enhance these critical collaborations as part of its community investment strategy.

CCHMC has been a tremendous supporter of the ArtsWave annual community campaign for many years. CCHMC understands the arts can have a transformative effect on the lives of everyone in our community.

‘Tis the season to count our blessings, and ArtsWave has begun taking inventory. Here’s Part One of our Gratitude List:

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.

One of the ways that ArtsWave says “thanks” to our leadership donors is with ArtsBreak, a quarterly series of behind-the-scenes presentations by Greater Cincinnati arts leaders.

A global company with deep Cincinnati roots, P&G has been an essential partner for ArtsWave for decades. It runs the largest workplace campaign for ArtsWave with more than 6,200 employees and nearly 400 retirees giving over $1.3 million in 2014 alone. But P&G’s contributions to ArtsWave and our community go far beyond dollars.

Music Hall and Union Terminal are hubs of very necessary educational and cultural activity – activity that results in a ripple effect of benefits for the entire community. Mine are just two among thousands of personal memories that have been made inside Music Hall and Union Terminal.

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.

Have you overheard Shakespeare at the airport? Seen the Ballet at the ballpark? Enjoyed a symphony under the stars? You may not have known it, but that’s ArtsWave in Action.

For more than 50 years, GCF has made grants and provided leadership in a variety of areas to help build a better community, including economic opportunity, educational success, environmental stewardship, health and wellness, and cultural vibrancy. GCF has long recognized the value of arts and culture in building a strong, thriving community. This alignment with ArtsWave’s goals for the community has led to many collaborations and partnerships between the organizations.

I often get asked why my husband and I would leave our life on a Caribbean island behind to move back to the United States. The short answer to this question is similar to the reason why you would choose to stay in a place like Cincinnati: you miss things like concerts, museums, theaters and libraries if they aren’t readily available.

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.

This innovative arts board-training program provides participants with the tools they need to be an active and engaged volunteer, and then matches them with a local arts organization for an observership. To date, ArtsWave’s board leadership program has placed nearly 300 volunteers with local arts boards.

Among ArtsWave’s many civic partners is Agenda 360, the region’s action plan related to nurturing talent, increasing jobs, and building economic opportunity for residents. ArtsWave and Agenda 360 work collaboratively on research, strategic initiatives, and advancing collective action with other nonprofit service organizations.