4 More: Justin Brookhart
Made you look! Justin Brookhart, executive director of BLINK, talks about his first year with the festival.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Justin Brookhart, executive director of BLINK.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
How many amazing people I've met! Cincinnati is full of talented and hardworking people and I'm surprised by how many of them I've gotten to know in the 10+ months I've lived here.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
BLINK 2022 is behind us and was an amazing success! We are excited to take all we learned this year and work to bring it back even better in 2024
What have you learned about our community this year?
How passionate they are about celebrating what is unique about this region. There is so much enthusiasm for things that make this community unique and I've learned that no matter how big or small those things are, there are people willing to work how and passionately to honor and preserve them.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Settling into the Cincinnati region more. This year has been a lot about transitions for me and I hope 2023 brings more comfort and continuity.
Take a look back at BLINK and its impact in one community.
4 More: Jayne Utter
We catch up Jayne Utter, the longtime managing director of Summerfair, one of the most respected and popular fine art and craft fairs in the country.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Summerfair’s Managing Director, Jayne Utter.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
The biggest surprise to me has been how quickly we all bounced back after Covid. In June, Summerfair was one of the biggest and best Fair we’ve had. We had a record amount of artists selling record amounts of their creations and one of our largest patron attendance accounted for in years.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
As a small non-profit that gives back to the art community in Greater Cincinnati, Summerfair has once again raised our giving in a few areas. We are now awarding over $$85,000 per year and have topped $2 million since we started in 1968! And all of that money is generated in 3 short days (and our nest egg) as we usher in the summer!
What have you learned about our community this year?
Our community is so into art and they understand the value of quality art. Cincinnati also understands the value of teaching and creating art. When you look around, art is in everything. The art of food, our homes inside and out, what we wear - drive - and entertain ourselves with. We are so lucky to have so much quality art around us! But then I didn’t just learn this, it’s the growth here in our town that warms my soul.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
We have some new and exciting things that will be happening leading up to Summerfair 2023 and also at the Fair. Please watch for these on our social media sites and on our website. We can hardly wait to see you on June 2, 3, 4! “Peace, Love, Art”
Click below for more from our previous interview with Jayne.
4 More: Ajanae Dawkins
Ajanae Dawkins joined a distinguished list contemporary Black artists when she was named the Taft Museum of Art’s Robert S. Duncanson Society.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Ajanae Dawkins, the Taft Museum of Art’s 2022 Duncanson Artist-in-residence.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
I was the biggest surprise to myself in 2022. I took a lot of risks, artistically and personally. (Applying for the Duncanson Artist-in-Residence was one of those risks). I surprised myself with the things I was willing to try in both my professional and personal life. It's led to a lot of amazing things including bolder, more vulnerable poems. Poems that make me nervous to read to an audience sometimes. It’s scary to change as a person and artist and not know how you’ll be received. 2022 was my first time re-entering the non-virtual world since the start of the pandemic and at every turn I surprised myself with what I believed was still possible.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
Not much has changed since we've last spoken. I'm co-hosting a podcast with my best friend, Brittany Rogers and The Poetry Foundation. Our first episodes are available wherever you stream your podcasts. I graduated with my MFA in poetry and am due to graduate in May 2023 with my Masters of Theology. I did a mini-tour of Europe with my husband and we’re hoping to become dog parents! I've published some work but mostly, I’ve spent my year traveling, reading, and writing towards a new projects.
What have you learned about our community this year?
Where to start! I’ve learned so much about the Cincinnati community this year. It remains one of my favorite cities and that is mostly because of the community members that I got to spend time with. I learned how rich your historic landscape is and how that has influenced the art that has been produced over the years.
One of the biggest lessons I learned about your community was from a young girl at a school I visited in my time at the Taft. A fourth grade girl wrote one of the most profound poems I've ever read called "Diamonds in Water." It reads like this. “Water falls every 3 seconds. It stops every 2 seconds. A diamond falls 2 drops at a time. The waterfall becomes diamonds. There's always a rule. Keep clean from the tide.” I wish I remember her name but I kept this poem because it was a reminder of how expansive and imaginative the minds of children are. The children of your community taught me how to imagine more beauty in the world. To look at a waterfall or even a dripping faucet and see diamonds.
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
Right now, I'm doing a lot of research and thinking about faith, the Black church, and contemporary Black poets and I'm excited to continue to immerse myself in that. As a writer, I'm most looking forward to seeing some writing projects that I've been working on mature. I'm looking forward to the things that I can't imagine will happen yet. Every year, I've received a career opportunity that shocked me so much I immediately started crying or worshiping. I don’t know what that opportunity will be in 2023 but I have faith that it will come. Outside of writing, I'm looking forward to getting older and all of the beauty that comes with that. Nobody told me that it was commonly understood that your early twenties are messy and difficult. My late 20s have been phenomenal. I know myself better and because I know myself better I can love myself better. I can make decisions for the future I want. I can be a better community member to those around me and refine my love ethic. In general, I am less afraid. This is the least afraid I've ever been and I expect to be more fearless in 2023. This is the most in love with myself I’ve ever been. The most in love with God I've ever been. I'm looking forward to the way time will grow those things.
See our interview with Ajanae when she was named Duncanson artist-in-residence.
4 More: Marcus Margerum
As the Contemporary Arts Center gets ready to celebrate the landmark building’s 20th anniversary, interim director Marcus Margerum looks at what’s ahead.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Marcus Margerum, interim director of the Contemporary Arts Center.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
The biggest surprise in 2022 was what it takes to complete a renovation like our Creativity Center, and its impact. We knew it was going to be a big endeavor, but experiencing the process of architects, contractors, artists, educators, board members, community members, government leaders and more coming together to bring this project to fruition was staggering, and then to see the way the community responded to its grand re-Opening was encouraging and awe-inspiring.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
In the 2021-2022 season we engaged more 280 artists, had more than 11,000 program participants, and welcomed nearly 30,000 total guests. As we continue in the 2022-2023 season, we celebrated our ongoing strong partnership with FotoFocus as well as the opening of our Creativity Center, which is bringing in families and increasing opportunities for programming and events—including creating a new rental space.
What have you learned about our community this year?
We have learned that there is still a way to go to fully recover from the pandemic and reinvigorate Downtown Cincinnati. We’ve learned that the community appreciates having a space that they can explore freely, that having multiple floors with ever-changing offerings is a powerful asset to a city like Cincinnati that highly values its vibrant arts scene.
What are you looking forward to in 2023?
2023 is going to be a milestone year for us. In March, we will welcome our new Executive Director, Christina Vassallo. And in May we will kick off the celebration of the 20th anniversary of our iconic building, the first U.S. Museum designed by a woman—Zaha Hadid. This celebration will extend through 2023 to include our gala in August and a retrospective exhibition opening in September that looks at Zaha Hadid’s career through the lens of inspiration, influence, and achievement.
See our interview with Marcus from earlier this year.
4 MORE: Candice Handy
Candice Hardy, director of education at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, hope local youths will love theatre as much as she does.
As part of our year-end issue, we are revisiting some of our favorite Cincinnati People from 2022.
We checked in with Candice Handy, director of education at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company who directed their production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
What’s been the biggest surprise to you in 2022?
The biggest surprise for me this year was how slowly audiences seemed to be getting back into the habit of attending the theatre at the beginning of the year. It seemed to be an uphill battle for many performance art organizations. What is awesome to see though is how attendance numbers have climbed at the end of 2022, as Every Christmas Story Ever Told has sold record numbers in ticket sales! I think people are really enjoying and yearning for holiday cheer and mirth.
What’s changed since we last spoke?
Since (we) last spoke, which was about me directing Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, various exciting career development opportunities are on the horizon for me. I will be attending and facilitating a workshop on “De-Centralizing Leadership” at the 2023 Shakespeare Theatre Association Conference in The Bahamas this year.
We are also welcoming a brand new company of Educational Tour members at CSC, a group of actors who will be performing Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth at schools and educational institutions locally and regionally starting in January of 2023. I am really looking forward to directing both of these productions! I will also be playing the lead role of Wiletta, in Alice Childress’ Trouble In Mind in Spring 2023, directed by Torie Wiggins.
What have you learned about our community this year?
I have learned this year that the Cincinnati community is loyal to the arts. I already knew that, but it has really been confirmed even more for me this year as patrons and donors have continued to support us through contagious illnesses and economy inflation. It is truly because of this community’s love and support for the arts that we survive and get to keep making theatre!
What are you most looking forward to in 2023?
I am really looking forward to how diversely the education program at CSC will grow in 2023! This year, CSC’s PROJECT38 Festival, our largest and completely FREE education and engagement initiative, has a whole new list of participants including Title 1 schools and predominately Black and Brown schools.
I look forward to seeing how many students of color get bit by the theatre bug early in their education and really start to lean into continued with us in 2023!
Read our interview about Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom with Candice Hardy here.
Their Eyes All Aglow
Take a trip through Journey Borealis: Holiday Lights on the Hill at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum. With more than one million lights along with dazzling scenic displays, this spectacular show is a tradition in the making!
If You Go
Journey Borealis
Pyramid Hill Museum & Sculpture Park
1763 Hamilton Cleves Road, Hamilton,
Cost: $25 a car load for non-members; $15 for members.
Open until Jan. 1, 2023
Installations by local artists
For more info at Journey Borealis.
Ever wanted to see 1,000,000 + Christmas lights at the same time?!
Well, your wish is Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park’s command.
This is Pyramid Hill’s biggest fundraiser of the year, with proceeds going to park improvements. From now until January 1st, check ou- a glittering, winding, holiday spectacle for the whole family!
A Perfect Circle
The CAC's One Night, One Craft inspires the gift of art.
This month, we popped in for the December “One Night, One Craft” at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC).
At this monthly event, you can learn something new, meet new people and create a masterpiece that you can take home.
December’s event was Holiday Wreathmaking
Everyone made a unique holiday wreath with fresh greenery & accents!
Artist, advocate, and educator Kelsey Nihiser led us in the workshop
Drinks, light bites and everything you need to create your wreath was provided
Cost is $40 for CAC members, $45 for non-members
These craft nights are perfect for everyone, whether you’re a novice or professional. The hosts are happy to assist you with your creations or leave you to create your work of art on your own.
For more information on upcoming CAC craft nights, click here!
Stop by the CAC Shop
Looking for a last-minute gift for the artist in your life? Look no further than the CAC’s Shop, located in the front lobby. You’ll find unique, handmade–often locally – jewelry, books, artwork and more.
Holiday hours and more can be found here.
For the ultimate gift, you can purchase a membership, so you never miss an event, exhibition opening, or One Night, One Craft!
Now until Jan. 2, 2023, you can purchase TWO memberships at a 20% discount. Simply place your desired membership into your cart twice at cincycac.org, and enter the code "20PERCENT" during checkout.
Flights of Fancy
Local artists explore themes of migration and belonging through an installation featuring birds, butterflies, and flowers in the Taft Museum of Art's Vuelo Sin Fronteras / Flight Without Borders.
The Taft Museum of Art explores the theme of being home for the holidays through the installation Vuelo Sin Fronteras / Flight Without Borders.
If You Go
Vuelo Sin Fronteras / Flight Without Borders
Taft Museum of Art
316 Pike St., downtown
www.taftmuseum.org
Open Wednesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission free on Sundays.
On view through Jan. 8.
The Taft invited three local artists who work with Wave Pool Art Center’s Welcome Project to decorate a six-foot Christmas tree in the museum’s Duncanson Foyer.
The artists – Gabriela Falconi-Piedra, Pedro Moreno, and Fabiola Rodríguez Ornelas – were born in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Mexico, respectively. Their installation features a fantastic array of paper and fabric birds, butterflies, and flowers, and a paper nest to explore the concepts of migration, belonging, and diversity.
Better Together
ArtsWave's latest round of grants fund projects that promote young professional outreach and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community.
Along with funding major arts organizations throughout the region, ArtsWave also supports arts programming that connects communities through its affinity group grants.
“We’ve thankful that we’ve crossed the million-dollar mark in affinity group grants, says ArtsWave’s CEO Alecia Kintner. “These grants have allowed dozens of projects to happen that might not have happened otherwise, while engaging our next generation of philanthropists, LBGTQIA supporters, and supporters of African American arts.”
ArtsWave’s Board of Trustees recently approved $102,500 in affinity grants to be distributed, marking more than $1.1 million made in cumulative impact since 2016.
Through ArtsWave Pride, the organization’s fastest growing affinity group, $53,500 of the funding will support seven projects which promote and celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. Leaders within the LGBTQIA community, who were also supporters of ArtsWave, encouraged the organization to create the affinity group. ArtsWave Pride recently celebrated its five-year anniversary during a party at BLINK.
The remaining $49,000 in grants will fund arts programming designed for young professionals through ArtsWave Young Professionals. ArtsWave YP began in 2009 as a way to develop and grow arts philanthropy among those 40 and under. The group added grant programs focused on arts events that would attract and retain YPs in the region as well as strengthen connections between YPs and that individual arts organizations.
Grant selection for both sets of projects were made by volunteer community panelists. These grant approvals come on the heels of $200,000 approved at this past September’s board meeting for its Circle of African Americans for the Arts affinity group, also known as “the Circle.”
artswave pride grants
Queen City Opera
Commission, Workshop, and Produce “The Post Office,” an episodic opera on LGBTQIA+ Marriage Equality
From the composer of “As One,” the most produced contemporary opera in North America, comes Laura Kaminsky’s latest work. “The Post Office,”is an episodic chamber opera in poems on LGBTQIA+ Marriage Equality, in collaboration with acclaimed poet Elaine Sexton. The two previously collaborated on “Marriage Equality,” commemorating the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.
Know Theatre of Cincinnati
“Lizard Boy: a new musical”
Know Theatre of Cincinnati presents the regional premiere of "Lizard Boy,” a new musical by queer writer of color, Justin Huertas. Inspired by comic book lore and featuring an infectious indie-rock score, "Lizard Boy" unfolds in a fictional Seattle where the eruption of Mt. St. Helens was actually a dragon's attack. This coming-of-age and coming-out adventure is a celebration of queerness, of standing out in the crowd and of what can be possible when we let love win against all odds. "Lizard Boy" runs from November 18 to December 11, 2022.
Pones
“Rainbow Box”
Pones will continue its “MOVE” initiative, which centers the voices of BIPOC artists, by partnering with local interdisciplinary artist Michael Coppage to create “Rainbow Box.” This new project, in the format of Coppage’s “Black Box,” will feature audio interviews about the lived experiences of seven local Black LGBTQIA+ individuals. Interpretive choreography and photographs of the individuals will accompany the audio in a gallery exhibition. The timeline of the project will coincide with Pride 2023, and videos of the performances will be submitted to the 2023 Cincinnati Fringe Festival and OutReels Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
“ShakesQueer – A Celebration of Bards and Burlesque”
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will partner with Smoke and Queers, a local drag and burlesque troupe, to host a Shakespearean Pride celebration. This event will coincide with Pride Month and will enliven the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood by offering a unique participatory opportunity for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company to create niche programming with, and for, the LGBTQIA+ community.
Church of Our Saviour / La Iglesia de Nuestro Salvador
“LGBTQ+ Arts Showcase”
“LGBTQIA+ Arts Showcase” is a long-awaited celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community's contributions to the performing, visual and culinary arts in Cincinnati. Church of Our Saviour in Mount Auburn, which has been a home to the queer community since the 1970s, will host the showcase on Friday, March 31 at 7 p.m. An hour-long performance will feature LGBTQIA+ composers, instrumentalists, singers, poets and dancers who live and work in Cincinnati. A reception catered by Jeff Thomas with a visual art installation will follow.
Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers
“Celebrating and Supporting LGBTQAI+ Artists Through Concert Dance Commissions”
Mutual Dance Theatre (MDT) will commission the work of two local gay artists, Gabriel Martínez Rubio and Steven P. Evans. These modern dance works will be performed by MDT’s local company (of which 33% also identify as queer) in Cincinnati in December 2022 and June 2023. These events will include opportunities to interact with the artists through open workshops teaching the fundamentals of modern dance, as well as question and answer sessions with audiences. The December performance will occur in the experimental studio of Mutual Arts Center Hartwell, while the June performance will take place in the Aronoff Center for the Arts.
Women Writing for (a) Change
“Let's Be Perfectly Queer”
Women Writing for (a) Change will offer an eight-week, 2 ½ hour class on Tuesday evenings called “Let’s Be Perfectly Queer” in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023. The class is a writing circle for participants to explore their queer identities and write within the broader context of queer literature and art. As is the practice at WWf(a)C, the two intergenerational facilitators, who are also part of the LGBTQIA+ community, will create a safe space to write in community. The classes include writing time, the opportunity to share in large and small groups and guidance in giving and receiving feedback.
ArtsWave Young Professionals Grants
Sweet Sistah Splash
“AfroArt After Dark”
The “AfroArt” community arts program features classes and events that support local artists, art patrons, and young professionals. “AfroArt After Dark” is an annual event offering an opportunity for young professionals to network and to become enriched in the arts. Sweet Sistah Splash commissions artists of color under 40 to create interactive art installations for the event that their peers can engage with, learn from, and be inspired by as arts patrons. “AfroArt After Dark" educates, inspires, and supports artists of color and young professionals through the arts. The outdoor event will be held in July 2023.
American Legacy Theatre
“Young Professionals Create Change”
American Legacy Theatre’s “Young Professionals Create Change” is a six-month cohort program that aims to amplify the voices of Cincinnati's up-and-coming workforce. Participants will learn how to write, produce and perform their own original stage play. At the same time, they will build critical leadership skills, including budgeting, emotional intelligence and empathic listening. American Legacy Theatre believes that theater should be the voice of our community, and this program encourages YPs to write the story.
Bi-Okoto
“Agidigbo”
In Nigeria, “Agidigbo” is a social gathering of young adults, during which young adults interact, learn, train, engage and are retained and/or hired to “deepen their roots” in the community. Bi-Okoto will bring this experience to college students in their senior year. Postgraduate students from select colleges and universities and young professionals from a variety of backgrounds, races, genders and sexual orientations in the Cincinnati region will come together though “Agidigbo,” a monthly gathering and inclusion program. “Agidigbo” seeks to foster positive interactions, meetings, drumming, dancing, play reading and networking amongst young adults ages 20-40.
Young Professionals Choral Collective
YPCC Chamber Choir: “Requiem for COVID-19”
YPCC's Chamber Choir will collaborate with composer and sound artist Yvonne Freckman and a local chamber orchestra to perform a requiem for COVID-19, featuring the words and experiences of YPCC singers and audience members as powerful lyrics. The 35-minute piece will be performed at the 2023 Chamber Choir concert in the spring. The exact performance venue is to be determined. Singers will audition for the Chamber Choir, and those chosen to participate will undergo an eight-week rehearsal period to prepare for the culminating performance.
Action Tank USA
“Action Tank Civic Club”
“Action Tank Civic Club” is a partnership between Action Tank and popular local businesses and nonprofits, including Findlay Market, Know Theater of Cincinnati and Lost & Found OTR. The program will provide young professionals with civic engagement opportunities and resources through clever and provocative art. In 2023, Action Tank will expand its programming for young professionals to include exciting, arts-driven, in-person events where civically-engaged artists will connect with the YP community and help deepen their local connections, fostering relationships with one another through programs that use art to empower civic engagement in our city.
Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera “Center Stage”
Cincinnati Opera’s young professionals group, “Center Stage,” engages young professional community members in operatic arts through unique events and collaborations with community partners. These events serve the Greater Cincinnati area, enrich the lives of developing professionals and create cultural interest and investment in the community. “Center Stage” events take place leading up to and throughout the 2023 summer season. The goal of this year’s programming is to reinvigorate interest following a decrease during the pandemic.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
Cincy Shakes “YP Preview Night”
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's “YP Preview Night” brings young professionals to the first public preview performance night of each Mainstage Show by offering them a subsidized ticket rate that includes a complimentary beverage. Afterward, participants are invited to chat with members of the CSC artistic team and provide feedback. This program provides area young professionals with a mid-week outing to relax and socialize while giving them a chance to make their voices heard and to participate in the art-making process.
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati
“Show Up!”
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati’s “Show Up!” series brings together young professionals new to Cincinnati and lifelong resident to experience Cincinnati’s vibrant arts, culture and food scene. YP attendees will enjoy a performance of each of ETC’s premiere series productions, followed by complimentary small bites and a beverage while they mingle and discuss the show at our partner venues, 1215 Wine Bar and Coffee Lab and Copper & Flame.
Well Read
Books by the Banks returns this Saturday! This free, all-day festival features 90 writers, with panel discussions, book signings, and readings, plus activities for the whole family.
If You Go
Books by the Banks Festival
Saturday, Nov. 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Duke Energy Center, 525 Elm St.
Details at booksbythebanks.org.
As the weather gets chilly the urge to curl up with a good book gets stronger.
Start your new stack of must-read books this Saturday, as Books by the Banks returns to the Duke Energy Center. This free, day-long festival features national, regional, and local authors and illustrators, with book signings and panel discussions.
The “Kids Corner” has activities for the entire family to enjoy, with hourly story times, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s “Musical Zoo,” crafts, balloon animals, and a dance party.
Celebrate the joy of reading and writing together with other bibliophiles and meet your new-favorite-author.
Notable authors scheuduled to appeare are W. Bruce Cameron, Will Hillenbrand, Erin Keane, R.F. Kuang, Adam Rex, Justin A. Reynolds, Laura Trujillo, and 80 more incredible, local, regional & national authors.
Each author will have their newest book for sale at the tables. You are also allowed to bring your own books to be signed!
Most of the authors will be at festival for the entire day, many participating in discussions with other writers. This is a great opportunity to hear your favorite writer talk about their work in a fun and informative way.
In addition to the author discussions, panels on writing and publishing, teen fiction, and local history/interest will be held.
A special screening of Marching On: The Fight for School Integration in Hillsboro, Ohio will take place at 10 and 10:30 a.m., followed by a Q & A.
Forward Progress
After a nationwide search, the Contemporary Arts Center has named Christina Vassallo as the institution’s new Alice & Harris Weston Director.
The Contemporary Arts Center has named Christina Vassallo as the institution’s new Alice & Harris Weston Director. An accomplished and effective arts administrator and curator, Vassallo brings more than ten years of executive-level experience at forward-thinking contemporary arts institutions, currently serving as executive director of The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia.
Vassallo comes to the CAC with a history of successful leadership in fundraising, education and outreach initiatives, and artistic collaborations of varying scope and size, as well as a deep understanding of the cultural ecosystems of Ohio and the Midwest, having previously served as Executive + Artistic Director of SPACES in Cleveland from 2014 to 2019.
Looking Ahead
In 2023, the CAC will celebrate its 20th year in its current location, the seven-story Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art—the first U.S. project designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and the first US museum designed by a woman.
Hadid’s original design, an “urban carpet” that dynamically draws visitors from the sidewalks of one of the city’s busiest intersections into the building and up through the galleries, was visionary in establishing a critical connection to the center of urban life in Cincinnati. The building was instrumental in establishing downtown Cincinnati as a vibrant cultural hub with the CAC at its core and remains a local landmark.
She will begin her new role at the CAC in March.
“It was important to the Board that we select someone with an understanding of not just contemporary art, but the needs and interests of the region,” said CAC Board President Gale Beckett. “Christina is exceptionally qualified. She has experience collaborating with established and upcoming artists, passion and proven success in expanding outreach, and a strong track record of fundraising and fiscal stability. We are confident that she will help usher in an inspiring new era at the CAC.” Vassallo’s appointment is the result of a nationwide search led by Gale Beckett as Board President working with search firm Koya Partners and a Board subcommittee.
“Before moving to Philadelphia, I spent six years in Cleveland, so moving back to Ohio feels like a homecoming for me. There is such a rich network of artists and creatives in the Midwest that I can’t wait to tap back into through the CAC, an organization at the cutting edge of the region’s cultural scene,” said Vassallo. “I’m looking forward to joining the CAC team and working to chart a new path forward that builds upon the institution’s deep history of supporting artists at the vanguard and nurturing curiosity and creativity in us all.”
Vassallo has served as the executive director of The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) in Philadelphia, since January 2020. Taking the reins at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vassallo immediately executed a deft strategic vision that allowed her to keep her staff of 30 fully intact, cultivate six new board members, stabilize the museum’s finances, and continue an ambitious program calendar of residencies and exhibitions by Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Rose B. Simpson, Henry Taylor, and others. During her tenure at the FWM, she has also secured the Mellon Foundation’s Art Museum Futures Fund to develop a permanent collection care plan and support DEAI initiatives; created an earned revenue initiative to support artists through the sale of limited-edition works; laid the groundwork for a new strategic plan; and advocated for the region’s cultural sector when city and state funding were at risk.
Prior to her work at FWM, Vassallo served as executive and artistic director of SPACES in Cleveland for nearly six years, where she provided creative direction and oversaw operations for one of the longest-running alternative art organizations in the country. At SPACES, she launched a $3 million capital campaign and spearheaded a relocation project, expanded the organization’s outreach initiatives, developed grant opportunities for local artists, and curated several critically acclaimed group exhibitions examining contemporary ideas and issues. From 2011 to 2014, she was Executive Director of Flux Factory in New York City, where she set the course for a thriving institution comprising an international artist residency program, acclaimed exhibitions program, and unconventional education initiatives.
“Christina brings a wealth of experience from various institutions to the CAC,” said Chief Deputy Director and Interim Executive Director Marcus Margerum. “I look forward to working with her to continue to rebuild the CAC after a tumultuous two years, with a focus on the future.” Margerum has served as Interim Executive Director since the departure of Raphaela Platow in July of 2021. Upon Vassallo’s arrival, he will continue to play a vital role at the CAC as the Chief Deputy Director.
Vassallo is a founding member of the Philadelphia Collaborative Arts Consortium, a member of the national association of Contemporary Art Museum Directors (CAMD), a 2022 Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund, and she completed the National Arts Strategies’ Chief Executive Program in 2020. Additionally, she has curated exhibitions for the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Everson Museum of Art, Jersey City Museum, NURTUREart, Lafayette College, and New Haven University. She holds a B.A. in art history and M.A. in nonprofit visual arts management from NYU.
Two for the Show
The Art Academy of Cincinnati opens two exhibitions this Friday – a group show of work by artists from Visionaries + Voices and a solo exhibition from faculty member Thomas Osorio.
If You Go
Opening reception: Driven and Digital Realities
Friday, Nov. 4, 5 to 8 p.m.
The McClure and Pearlman Galleries
1212 Jackson St. in Over-the-Rhine
More information at www.artacademy.edu/exhibitions.
For more than 150 years, the Art Academy of Cincinnati has been at the center of bringing local artists and students together and showcasing their work.
This Friday, two new exhibitions open with work from community artists from Visionaries + Voices and AAC faculty member Thomas Osorio.
The artists working at Visionaries + Voices (V+V) studio often create artwork with a heavy reliance on repetition, process, and intuition. At times, the process of following one’s intuition is more important than the work being shown in traditional spaces. When repetition is viewed in its entirety, it can communicate something larger about the everyday, and offer a look at the shared human experience. Driven, curated by Geoffrey “Skip” Cullen, includes works by V+V artists Kenny Barger, Antonia Baxter, Rob Bolubasz, Danielle Boyd, Curtis Davis, Aaron Evans, and Adam Maloney.
Established in 2003, Visionaries + Voices is a non-profit organization that provides exhibition opportunities, studio space, supplies, and support to more than 125 visual artists with disabilities. V+V artists actively contribute to the greater arts community through creative, educational, and strategic partnerships with local and regional artists, schools, and business leaders.
Cullen is a conceptual artist working in Cincinnati. He is a member of the artist collective Slapface and a co-founder of Adobe Books and Arts Cooperative in San Francisco. He is a co-founder of WavePool, a Cincinnati-based non-profit, creating community fulfillment through artistic possibilities. He currently balances his own practice while working as the exhibitions director for Visionaries + Voices.
AAC adjunct professor Osorio works in the foundations department. He is a Cincinnati-based artist who works with glitch, collage, video, and digital painting. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2018, and has exhibited work in galleries and DIY spaces in New York, Chicago, and Cincinnati, as well as online.
“Since 2013 I have been experimenting with creating digital pieces of art in Adobe Photoshop and later the iPad’s Procreate app,” Osorio says in his artist’s statement. “The creation of these works involves a search for imagery which is then copied, pasted, cut out, adjusted, and finally digitally painted on to create complex collage and painterly compositions. These works in many ways start as meditations and reactions to the increasingly complex physical/virtual worlds that are being built around us. They draw inspiration from dream-like worlds and a blurred distinction between what is real and imaginary.”
The AAC galleries are open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The galleries will be closed November 23 to 25 for Thanksgiving.
For more information visit www.artacademy.edu.
Can You Imagine?
The Contemporary Arts Center celebrates the opening of its Creativity Center, inviting the public to explore this dynamic new learning space.
With the new Creativity Center, the Contemporary Arts Center has transformed its sixth floor into a dynamic intergenerational learning space centered around creativity and exploration.
The Center, an environmentally conscious hub for creative learning, will amplify the CAC’s commitment to fostering innovation and curiosity in audiences of all ages
Creativity Center Grand Opening
Saturday, Oct. 29
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
FREE. Registration recommended.
Alongside interactive artwork found in the UnMuseum™, the Creativity Center offers a community gallery, sustainability-focused Art Lab, an innovation studio, and so much more.
Visitors of all ages are invited to explore, play, and create! Activities and entertainment will be plentiful. Guests will be able to meet the architects and artists who made the 6th floor an exciting space filled with wonder, interactive art, and opportunities for inventive making.
With 10,000 square feet of flexible space, the new Creativity Center will provide a vibrant spatial canvas for visitors to engage with art, connect with others, and use creative experimentation as a means to explore the increasingly complex issues of humanity, including environmental sustainability, global awareness, identity, health and wellbeing, and innovation. The Center will allow the CAC to further extend its mission of encouraging artists and visitors alike to tap into the boundless possibilities of their own creativity, placing an even greater emphasis on the creative process as a critical tool for learning, skill development, problem solving, and fostering empathy and understanding for all ages.
“As a non-collecting institution, the core of our work at the CAC revolves around the creative process of artists, performers, and makers around the globe and local artists from our region,” said Marcus Margerum, the CAC’s Interim Alice & Harris Weston Director. “The Creativity Center not only gives us more room to expand the work we’re currently doing with visual and performing arts programming, artist residencies, learning and community-based initiatives, and hands-on intergenerational engagement, but also to reinvent the notion of the contemporary arts institution as a robust resource for creativity.”
The CAC partnered with Chicago-based architecture firm Mir Collective to realize this bold new paradigm for learning within the museum space, which will merge interactive galleries, ample making spaces, and community-centric gathering and gallery areas—with a focus on environmental sustainability.
“We are excited to be partnering with Mir Collective on this groundbreaking project, as their creative approach to community engagement, sustainability, and inclusivity aligns closely with our own mission and values as an institution,” says Margerum.
Centering Cincinnati’s own creative communities, the inaugural exhibition in the revitalized UnMuseum® will feature new interactive installations by local artists Batres Gilvin (Karla Batres and Bradly Gilvin), Michelle D’Cruz and Christopher Glenn, Garrett Goben, Terence Hammonds, Pam Kravetz, Anissa Lewis, Abby Peitsmeyer, and Karen Saunders. Installations in the UnMuseum® will rotate every one to three years to showcase a new slate of work designed to inspire, educate, and engage visitors of all ages.
“Even throughout the pandemic-induced challenges of the past two years, the CAC has remained committed to championing creativity in our communities, offering virtual programs, distributing art-making kits for at-home use, and supporting local artists through grants and residencies,” said Gale Beckett, president of the CAC’s Board of Trustees. “Through the Creativity Center, the CAC hopes to instill in future generations the capacity to be hyper-creative and hyper-entrepreneurial, empathetic and curious, while remaining environmentally conscious.”
Since its opening, the sixth floor of the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art has housed the Sara M. and Patricia A. Vance UnMuseum® and provided space for children, family programs, and tours. The redesigned sixth floor will continue to host the UnMuseum® and will also expand to incorporate a large studio and a network of pavilions for exploration and gathering. Mir Collective’s design opens up the floor to Hadid’s “urban carpet,” creating a brighter, more inviting space that is integrated physically and programmatically with the city and its communities.
New in the Creativity Center
A sustainable art lab where recycling, upcycling, and other forms of zero-waste and net-positive waste systems will be explored
A large studio hosting intergenerational creative programs that deploy a full suite of analog and digital tools for making and creative experimentation
The updated UnMuseum® interactive gallery, with projects by local and national artists that engage visitors in a hands-on exploration of the complexities of our world
An archipelago of pod-like pavilions, offering a series of work niches for welcoming creative exploration opportunities and small gathering or comfortable observation of the studio activities
An experimental “town square”-type space for art-inspired discourse with city skyline views through CAC- and community-curated programming
An ever-changing community gallery with increased visual connection to the urban carpet and galleries below, dedicated to celebrating the creativity of CAC visitors of all ages by inviting them to display their own work
The Creativity Center also makes possible new initiatives like a sensory-friendly program, a recurring open mic night, therapeutic workshops for artists and creatives, and the expansion of current initiatives, such as the CAC’s Co-LAB program, which supports selected local artists with financial, marketing, and mentoring support. The Co-LAB program was initially launched by the CAC in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, to create opportunities for local artists and organizations to work with the CAC to realize community-oriented projects. The Creativity Center will offer space to these artists to develop new projects and share their work with the community through programming and events. The CAC also expects to leverage the Creativity Center to extend the impact of other ongoing efforts to encourage creativity, learning, and engagement within the broader community, even beyond the CAC’s walls.
There Will Be Blood
With a new soundtrack from the Mighty Wurlitzer, you can experience all the shocks and shivers in Nosferatu from the safety of your own home.
Music Hall is well known to paranormal enthusiasts as one of the nation's most active sites, with occurrences dating back to the 1800s. Built on the grounds of an old potter's field and purported to be haunted, Travel Channel lists Music Hall as one of the most terrifying places in America. Additionally, the building was featured in the Halloween 2014 episode of the TV show, Ghost Hunters.
It’s fitting then, that the Friends of Music Hall have created a free and spooky treat, just in time for Halloween! With Silent Movies Made Musical with the Mighty Wurlitzer, you can experience Nosferatu, the legendary 1922 silent German Expressionist vampire horror film, with a new soundtrack played by organist Trent Sims.
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Nosferatu tells the story of a creepy count who is hunting for a new home and takes an unwelcome fancy to his real estate agent’s wife.
Scary Movie: Watch Nosferatu
The film is available for online Halloween streaming now through Nov. 13. (So if you get scared you can try to watch it a few times!)
Sims, a native of Dayton, Ohio, has played classical and theater organ concerts across the United States, England, and Germany. He has been associated with Music Hall’s Mighty Wurlitzer, having made the inaugural recording on that instrument in 2010.
Ghost Tours of Music Hall
Tours include:
Knowledgeable guides from Friends of Music Hall and CR&PS relate the history of Music Hall's founding and evolution with additional stories about the firsthand experiences of visitors and staff past and present
Tours will see public and private and areas of the building not open to the typical concert-goer.
Participants are welcome to bring their own ghost hunting equipment (none is required)*
Each tour is approximately 1 hour long
Current tours are sold out, but check for more at CAA’s website.
If you’re fascinated by the history of this unique venue, the Friends of Music Hall and Cincinnati Arts Association host special after-hours tours in partnership with a local group dedicated to investigating, documenting, and researching such claims. The Cincinnati Research & Paranormal Studies team will show you a side of Music Hall not often seen by patrons attending performances.
Ghost of a Chance
Friends of Music Hall invite you to take a ghost tour, if you dare! (Insert sinister laugh.)
Ghost Tours of Music Hall
Tours include
Knowledgeable guides from Friends of Music Hall and CR&PS relate the history of Music Hall's founding and evolution with additional stories about the firsthand experiences of visitors and staff past and present
Tours will see public and private and areas of the building not open to the typical concert-goer.
Participants are welcome to bring their own ghost hunting equipment (none is required)*
Each tour is approximately 1 hour long
Current tours are sold out, but check for more at CAA’s website.
Ghost Hunters but make it local.
Friends of Music Hall once again is offering a spooky look at Music Hall, one of Cincinnati's most iconic buildings and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
Music Hall is well known to paranormal enthusiasts as one of the nation's most active sites, with occurrences dating back to the 1800s. Built on the grounds of an old potter's field and purported to be haunted, Travel Channel lists Music Hall as one of the most terrifying places in America. Additionally, the building was featured in the Halloween 2014 episode of the TV show, Ghost Hunters.
For those fascinated by the history of this unique venue, the Friends of Music Hall and Cincinnati Arts Association host special after-hours tours in partnership with a local group dedicated to investigating, documenting, and researching such claims. The Cincinnati Research & Paranormal Studies team will show you a side of Music Hall not often seen by patrons attending performances.
Out of This World
Is there a more romantic way to spend the evening than under the stars? The Cincinnati Observatory is perfect for date night.
Looking for a cool spot to take a date? Check this out.
The Cincinnati Observatory is hosting “Late Night Date ight” Saturday, Oct. 22 and Friday, Oct. 28.
On you date, you'll get to use telescopes to view astronomical objects that are not visible until late at night (weather permitting).
You’ll also get a sneak preview of the next season's planets and stars a month or two ahead of everyone else, and expreriene the observatory after hours.
The program runs rain or shine but space is limited! To make it a date, click here.
Wall to Wall
In Hanna Park, the northernmost point of this weekend's BLINK, artists Matt Dayler and Danny Gamble have created a mural to transform the park into an urban oasis for the whole neighborhood.
“This wall’s kind of got a bit of history in Cincinnati, says BLINK artist, Matthew Dayler. “It’s been painted by a lot of graffiti and street artists over the years. So it has a rich history in this part of town.”
“We wanted to bring a fresh approach, a community approach to this wall,” say Dayler and Gamble.
Less than half a mile from the hustle and bustle of the BLINK fun at Findlay Market, you’ll find this magnificent mural. Yyou don’t wanna miss it.
It sits in and around Hanna Park. Even the community pool was painted as part of the installation.)
“Most of the people in the park have been like ‘Oh, what’s this for?’ and we’re like, BLINK! And they’re like ‘No way, I can’t believe it’s coming up here!”
Dayler and three other artists collaborated on the project which he says took about two weeks to complete. The planning took around six months.
Dayler, alongside artist Danny Gamble, painted the mural and basketball court. It’s branded by Powerhouse Factories and Bunk News will create animations for the mural during BLINK.
There’s a lot to look at in the mural! Dayler explains there are four layers to this piece.
“The letters, keeping it authentic to the street and graffiti vibe with the playground graffiti coming through the piece,” he says. “Plus the portraits and the branded tropical shapes.”
“It’s family oriented, we want everyone to come but as it gets later, there’s a party vibe.”
“We just want to bring people together and celebrate the diversity of the area. The leave-behind is really important for us and always has been with our BLINK projects,” says Dayler “Not so much like, lighting it up but what happens after the lights go away.”
Watch the full interview below!
Tour de Force
Download the BLINK audio tour from ArtsWave with exclusive content.
ArtsWave’s Guided BLINK Tours
Download at artswave.org/tours for a $10 donation.
BLINK is A LOT to see, but if you’re curious about the stories behind some of the murals, installations, and projects just listen.
ArtsWave, the nonprofit engine for the Cincinnati region’s arts and Illuminator of BLINK®, has developed a unique behind-the-scenes guided walking tour for the event.
“We are calling them digital tours rather than audio tours because they include video introductions from the artists, images, sketches, artist bios and more,” says Jeni Barton, ArtsWave’s executive-in-residence for creative technologies.
Using your own smartphone, and walking at your own pace, the walking tour features 10 stops on a 1.5-mile loop. Each stop offers an immersive experience, curated by the artist, including video introductions, along with an array of different materials per art piece, including tours of the artists' studios, in-progress sketches and photos, artwork installation videos and biographies.
“I hope people learn more about the people behind the artwork while doing the digital tour,” says Barton. “The festival features both local and international artists with such a variety of creative styles and methodologies. It is fascinating to see how this diverse group of people from around the world can create such a cohesive and unifying magical experience.”
The tour is available with a $10 donation to ArtsWave, and can be accessed at any time during BLINK. You will receive an email immediately after their purchase containing the confirmation and instructions.
“The coolest thing about the tour is getting to look at the creative process behind some of the installations at BLINK,” says Bartton. “Each video captures the artist's personality and creative style. You feel like you are meeting the artist while experiencing their work!”
All proceeds from the tours will local arts, festivals, performances, and more. Donors to the 2022 ArtsWave Campaign who qualified for the Team Cincinnati benefit do not need to purchase a tour and have access the tour compliments of ArtsWave.
“As the illuminating sponsor of BLINK, we wanted to create something that would inspire people to become arts donors,” says Barton. “Every year, through donations from the community, ArtsWave funds thousands of arts events, like BLINK. A $10 donation gives you a more engaging experience with the artwork while also helping fund the next great Cincinnati art event.”
Coming Into Focus
The CAC is partnering with the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial: World Record, for a slate of exhibitions. The month-long celebration of lens-based art opens with a public reception on Friday.
FotoFocus Biennial: World Record
Opening Reception
Four Exhibitions. One Celebration.
Friday, Sept. 30
5 p.m.–12 a.m.
5 p.m. – Cocktail Reception
in Kaplan Hall
CAC Members and FotoFocus Passport Holders Only
6 p.m. – Exhibition Preview
CAC Members and FotoFocus Passport Holders Only
7 p.m. – Film Screening + Discussion in CAC Black Box with artists Dara Friedman and Lizzi Bougatsos
CAC Members and FotoFocus Passport holders only
8 p.m. – Opening Celebration
Kaplan Hall, 4th and 5th Floor Galleries
Free and open to the public
Everyone has a camera at all times now, with filters and Facetune to perfect their shots. But that ubiquity allows the art of photography to be even more appreciated. Sure anyone can take a picture, but only some people can tell compelling human stories through their photos.
FotoFocus celebrates and champions photography as the medium of our time through programming that creates a dialogue between contemporary lens-based art and the history of photography.
The 2022 FotoFocus Biennial, now in its sixth iteration, activates over 100 projects at museums, galleries, universities, and public spaces throughout Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio throughout October.
Each Biennial is structured around a unifying theme; for 2022 that theme, World Record, considers photography’s extensive record of life on earth while exploring humankind’s impact on the natural world. FotoFocus welcomes global artists, curators, critics, educators, and regional visitors to Cincinnati with exhibitions, talks, performances, screenings, and panel discussions during an expanded week of programming, Sep. 29–Oct. 8, 2022. Find details at www.fotofocus.org.
FotoFocus World Record officially begins Friday, Sept. 30 with an opening reception at the Contemporary Arts Center. The CAC has three FotoFocus curated exhibitions for the biennial, along with Cameron Granger: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Heaven in the Kaplan Lobby, which is a FotoFocus participating venue.
On the Line: Documents of Risk and Faith
Mitch Epstein. Installation view, On The Line: Documents of Risk and Faith. Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2022. Image courtesy of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati.
This group exhibition features artists whose work engages the complex and contested relationship humans have with notions of environment, wilderness, nature, and place. Drawing metaphorically from the phrase “on the line”—what is at risk; what is at stake; the body caught and captured; following the path of a line—the exhibition repositions various artistic interventions, with a focus on ephemeral acts to suggest an expanded conception of photographic time and the document. On the Line comprises a diverse selection of artists from the Americas and includes works in all media, with a special emphasis on photography, video, and performance.
On the Line is co-curated by Makeda Best, Richard L. Menschel curator of photography at Harvard Art Museums, and Kevin Moore, FotoFocus artistic director and curator.
Images on which to build, 1970s-1990s
Allen Bérubé, Snapshot of pride parade [FTM Contingent], 1994, Color photograph, 4x6”, Allan Bérubé Papers (1995-17), Courtesy of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
Through photographic documentation of activism, education, and media production within trans, queer, and feminist grassroots organizing of the 1970s through the 1990s, Images on which to build, 1970s-1990s reveals the technologies through which influential image cultures were constructed and circulated. The exhibition presents a range of photographic practices to explore the process of learning within alternative schools, workshops, demonstrations, dance clubs, slideshow presentations, correspondences, and community-based archive projects. Featured artists and collectives include Diana Solís, Joan E. Biren (JEB), Lola Flash, the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and the Sexual Minorities Archives, among others. The exhibition is co-organized by the Leslie-Lohman Museum, New York, where it will travel in the spring of 2023.
Images on which to build is curated by writer and curator Ariel Goldberg.
Baseera Khan: Weight on History
Baseera Khan. Installation view, Baseera Khan: Weight On History. Photo: Geoff Winningham, 2022. Image courtesy of the Moody Center for the Arts.
The CAC also presents Baseera Khan: Weight on History, the first institutional solo exhibition in the Midwest by this New York-based artist. Khan shifts seamlessly between media to explore the interconnectedness of capital, politics, and the body. Their work in video, photography, sculpture, and performance creates spaces of reprieve, beauty, and safety, while also critiquing power structures and knowledge systems that systemically exclude or misrepresent marginalized populations. The exhibition features a new body of sculptures, existing photographic collages, video, and sculptural work, as well as a site-specific installation, the exhibition addresses issues such as access, cultural appropriation, and migration. The exhibition is co-organized with the Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University, where it was recently on view.
The exhibition is co-curated by CAC Senior Curator Amara Antilla and curator Ylinka Barotto.
Cameron Granger: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Heaven
Cameron Granger (b. Cleveland, OH; lives and works in Columbus, OH), This Must Be the Place (detail), 2018. Digital color video, with sound, 4 min., 32 sec. Courtesy of the artist.
For his solo project at the CAC, Cameron Granger: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Heaven, the Ohio-based artist and filmmaker develops a new iteration of The Line (2021) for the CAC lobby that draws from his personal biography as a Black man raised by his mother and grandmother in Ohio. By juxtaposing live-action scenes, autobiographical texts, and found footage, Granger’s videos and installations weave stories that complicate accepted interpretations of the past and present. His works thus offer poignant meditations on Black history and culture, highlighting not only the systems of racial inequity that target and police Blackness, but the communities that continue to thrive, persist, and most importantly, demonstrate love.
This project is curated by Stephanie Kang, former assistant curator at the CAC.
Seeing (the) Reds
As Hispanic Heritage Month begins, it's a great time to explore “Los Rojos!” at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, which looks at the history of baseball in Latin America.
MLB HISTORY
“Hispanic Heritage Month is the perfect time to highlight what we’re doing here.”
Los Rojos! The 2022 featured exhibit at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame & Museum is ready for you to explore.
And what a better time to do it than during Hispanic Heritage Month!
We stopped by recently and chatted with its Executive Director, Rick Walls.
Walls says the exhibit looks at the impact Latino players have on the Reds and Major League Baseball.
Learn More
The Reds Hall of Fame encourages you to find out more about Los Rojos at their website and to learn more about the impact of Latino players on Reds’ baseball, integration in MLB, and more!
“It’s an annual exhibit, it’s a space we change out every year,” says Walls. “This year, we brought something new. A different color, a different look and just a great different feel and now, during Hispanic Heritage Month is the perfect time to highlight what we’re doing here.”
Walls says the exhibit attracts baseball and Reds fans from all over. The exhibit also brings in a lot of education programs from local schools.
The exhibit is set up so you can explore at your own pace or simply follow the timelines. There’s also a 12-minute film that Walls suggests visitors watch before touring the exhibit.
“You’ll find jerseys, helmets, contracts, balls, contracts of players dating back to the 1800s,” says Walls.
lEADING THE WAY
“There’s always been a connection to Latin America and the Reds have been at the forefront of all this, signing two players as early as 1911.”
Walls points out that the exhibit includes contributions from all MLB teams.
Check back here next week for a special segment on the Los Rojos! exhibit.