posted by REBECCA CALKIN ON
Jan 26, 2015
Originally posted 11/10/2014
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.
This week’s ArtsBreak featured Cameron Kitchin, new director of the Cincinnati Art Museum. 80 donors gathered at the museum for lunch and a conversation facilitated by ArtsWave CEO Alecia Kintner. We learned what intrigued Cameron most about the opportunity to join the Cincinnati cultural community, and why he thinks that “museums matter” in the 21st century.
“Cincinnati Art Museum is a public service institution,” he said. “For our 133-year history, we have always been about serving the community. Our location was even planned in service to community, since at the time of our founding, it was accessible from the streetcar. My vision for the future is all about increasing access to the museum, because art gives people a common touchstone to begin a conversation.”
Cameron isn’t the first newly arrived arts leader to remind us that there is something special about this community. At the very first ArtsBreak in November 2012, new CSO Maestro Louis Langrée described his delight at discovering the wonderful people and places of Cincinnati, including the Over the Rhine neighborhood. “Growing up in Alsace, France, we could look ‘over the Rhine’ to Germany. I feel right at home already in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati,” he said.
Blake Robison, artistic director of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, shared his enthusiasm for Cincinnati’s theater community with an ArtsBreak audience when he arrived in the fall of 2012, and gave us an inside track on his strategy to engage new faces with a focus on families and plays by diverse playwrights.
Kate Kennedy, Director of Individual and Leadership Giving, says ArtsBreak is all about showing donors what a difference their support makes. “We were excited to launch the ArtsBreak series as a forum for ArtsWave leadership supporters to experience their ArtsWave gift in action,” she explained. “Since 2012, we have had the opportunity to feature a wonderful variety of fascinating arts leaders, advocates, and practicing artists.”
Leadership donors contribute $1,500 or more to ArtsWave's annual community campaign. Young Professional leaders at the $500 level are invited to select ArtsBreak events. Donors can also step up to the leadership level incrementally over three years, starting with a gift of $500, and begin receiving the benefits of leadership giving immediately. ArtsBreak is made possible through the generosity of the Dornette Foundation.
The next ArtsBreak will be in January, featuring 2015 Campaign Chair Tom Williams. Contact Kate Kennedy at kate.kennedy@theartswave.org to learn more about how you can participate.