Making Waves Blog

ArtsWave, the first and largest united arts fund in the country, announced today at its annual meeting that Lisa Sauer was elected as the new chair of the ArtsWave Board of Directors, effective today. ArtsWave also announced that Tara Townsend, PhD, will assume the newly-created position of Chief Impact Strategy Officer, overseeing a workplan to drive and measure the impact of arts in creating a vibrant regional economy and a more connected community. Townsend joined the ArtsWave staff in 2012.

On December 10, ArtsWave honored acclaimed author Leah Stewart with its 2014 Rosa F. and Samuel B. Sachs Fund Prize at a reception and reading at The Mercantile Library. The award recognizes Stewart for her award-winning novels and contributions to Cincinnati’s literary scene. Stewart read from her recent book, The History of Us, which is set in Cincinnati.

At a special celebration of her career on July 23, ArtsWave’s retiring CEO Mary McCullough-Hudson received the Key to the City from Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Mann, in recognition of her 35 years of service to the community. More than 300 colleagues and friends attended the cabaret-style evening at the Patricia Corbett Theater at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. The ArtsWave Board of Trustees also announced the creation of an arts innovation grantmaking fund in her honor. McCullough-Hudson will officially retire as CEO of ArtsWave at the end of August, as previously announced.

ArtsWave’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Friday, June 20 to elect Alecia Kintner as CEO of ArtsWave, effective September 1. Current CEO Mary McCullough-Hudson announced last summer that she will be retiring in August 2014.

ArtsWave announces nearly $10.4 million in grants and initiatives to create a vibrant regional economy and bring people together through the arts. These investments are made possible by the thousands of people and organizations who contributed to ArtsWave’s community campaign—donors who recognize that the arts make the Greater Cincinnati region an amazing place to live. ArtsWave continues to be the largest united arts fund in the country, investing more than $50 million in Greater Cincinnati arts organizations in the last five years alone.

ArtsWave announces a new strategic initiative in partnership with LISC Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to support arts activities in five Place Matters neighborhoods in the coming year. ArtsWave will award $45,000 in grants to LISC’s designated community revitalization organizations in Avondale, Covington, Madisonville, Price Hill, and Walnut Hills. Each Place Matters neighborhood will use the funds to contract with arts organizations supported by ArtsWave or to support activities that include community-building arts programs.

ArtsWave announced the successful completion of the 2014 Annual Community Campaign, with gifts totaling $12,015,031 in support of arts organizations across the region.

On April 9, ArtsWave hosted its first-ever CincySings event at the Aronoff Center. Hosted by artist Drew Lachey, the high-energy evening featured amazing performances by 11 employee choirs from top regional companies. Judges Bob Herzog, Kathy Wade, Pamela Myers, and Casey Hayes reviewed the performances and provided commentary throughout the show.

Interact for Health, a catalyst for health and wellness, in partnership with ArtsWave, today launched Join the Fun, a series of community events to motivate residents of all ages to “get moving” and to build social connections. Interact for Health and ArtsWave welcomed the opportunity to collaborate on this initiative when they recognized similar objectives – to bring people together and promote active living – and saw the advantages of combining resources to make them a reality.

In my decade in Harford, Connecticut, I had the privilege of working with some outstanding CEOs and community leaders who chaired our united arts campaign--which was much smaller than ArtsWave's. I was often asked to research and report on what was different about Cincinnati's campaign...

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.

Our ArtsWave Ambassadors are finding ways to share their personal passion for the arts and support ArtsWave's community campaign.

For more than 35 years, a special group of volunteers, the Residential Division, have helped get the word out to neighbors and friends with a letter campaign.

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.

Who are the volunteers that make ArtsWave workplace campaigns fun? Our amazing ECC's exemplify "ArtsWave in Action."

More than 5,000 local volunteers are gearing up for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game. The volunteer effort for the 2012 World Choir Games inspired the creation of The Welcomers Network.

I want to tell you the stories of Three Wise Men and One Very Brave Young Woman – all of them committed to those wonderful holiday ideals of Peace and Harmony, in unlikely ways.

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.

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.

Now is also the moment to look forward to exciting events in the New Year. At ArtsWave, we’re focused on the 2015 Annual Community Campaign. Here are just a few reasons we’re getting excited to kick-off in Feburary: