ArtsWave believes that the more people participate in the arts, the greater the Ripple Effect of benefits to our entire community. Many organizations we support are committed to making the arts accessible to everyone who lives here. If Macy’s Arts Sampler has left you wanting more, here are 14 additional opportunities to discover the amazing arts in our region for free. 

1. Cincinnati Art Museum: Admission is free every day all year long. Cincinnati Art Museum’s wide-ranging collection makes it a great place to take out of town guests or find a quiet moment for yourself during a busy week. Families should check out the new Education Center starting in March. You may need a few dollars for parking or special exhibitions.

2. Contemporary Arts Center:  Got a case of the Monday blahs? Pop into the Contemporary Arts Center for Macy’s Free Mondays from 5 -9 p.m. for art, conversation, and community programs. The CAC is also free through March 12 due to the lobby renovation! 

3. The Carnegie: All gallery exhibitions are free and open to the public and feature a wide variety of work from local and regional artists.  

4. Cincinnati Children’s Choir: See these talented young artists perform in The Cincinnati Public School Honor Choir Gala Concert on May 9 and the Queen City Children's Choir Festival Gala Concert on June 27. Both are free and open to the public.

5.  Cincinnati Opera: Summer brings several opportunities to enjoy world-class opera for free including Opera in the Park in Washington Park on June 7, the unique “Back to the Zoo” concert, and the Opera Goes to Church/Temple series. You can also learn more about the upcoming season with the free Opera Rap conversation series throughout the year.

6. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company: Every summer, CSC brings live Shakespeare to more than 25 local parks and communities. Enjoy an evening under the stars with your neighbors, a picnic, and the magic of Shakespeare.

7. Taft Museum of Art: The Taft is free and open to the public every Sunday. Several of these Sundays feature special family-friendly activities, plus special events like Hot Music/Cold Treats, Fall Jazz, Chamber Music, and Artist Talks.

8. Know Theatre of Cincinnati: To increase access to theater for the community, the Know Theatre has created The Welcome Experiment with free Wednesday performances of all its main stage shows. A portion of free tickets can be reserved in advance, the remainder are available at the door on the night of the performance.

9. Kentucky Symphony Orchestra:  Enjoy three free concerts each summer in beautiful Devou Park.

10. Visionaries + Voices: V+V hosts five free in-house exhibitions annually providing an opportunity for their artists to regularly show their work.

11. Cincinnati Young People’s Theater:  See the next generation of talent in a free, outdoor preview concert of their summer musical in July. 

12. Clifton Cultural Arts Center:  All summer long, Wednesdays on the Green brings live music to the front lawn of the Clifton Cultural Arts Center. 

13. Bi-Okoto Cultural Institute:  From their home base in Pleasant Ridge, Bi-Okotooffers free classes in West African dance and drumming for kids ages 5 -16 every Saturday.

14. Wyoming Fine Arts Center:  The center offers a variety of free performances throughout the year, including Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s “Off the Hill” touring productions for children and families.

This list is just a fraction of the free music, theater, dance, exhibitions, and more available year-round in our region.  For a quarterly round-up of all the free arts events, check out our Arts All Around blog posts.