2017 marks a convergence of philanthropy, vision and leadership in Cincinnati’s arts community unlike anything seen here since the late 1800s. In September, a brand new theater will open downtown, the new home of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company at the corner of Washington Park. Almost next door, one month later, a beautifully restored and renovated Music Hall will be unveiled to the public. Just a few blocks over, the long-anticipated expansion of Ensemble Theatre will be completed in time for the fall season. ArtsWave will host a community celebration of all of these projects in this “Arts and Innovation District” so keep your calendars free for early October. 

The places and spaces for experiencing and making art in Cincinnati – our cultural facilities – are being re-imagined and positioned for an exciting future. In addition to the projects in Over-The-Rhine, plans are underway in neighborhoods around the region. In Eden Park, the Cincinnati Art Museum is changing the approach to its building, constructing a new driveway entrance that will bring visitors directly to the front of the museum rather than winding around from behind. At the Playhouse in the Park, plans are being developed to rebuild the mainstage theater – which after 50 years of use needs to be brought up to current technological standards to meet the needs of artists and audiences. In Westwood, a new merger between Madcap Puppets and Cincinnati Landmark Productions has enabled the organizations to announce that a new Madcap Education Center will be built inside an historic 1923 Art Deco, former-telephone switching station. 

The list goes on: to provide better rehearsal and administrative space, the Cincinnati Black Theater Company is rehabbing a building in Golf Manor that will be an important community civic space as well. In Pleasant Ridge, Bi-Okoto Cultural Center on Montgomery Road is creating a multi-use performance, rehearsal and classroom complex. New space at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center in the form of the Lindner Arts Annex has enabled expansion of summer camp programs there. Nearby on Red Bank Road, the new home of the Cincinnati Children’s Theatre has seen enrollment jump by over 300% since opening less than a year ago. 

ArtsWave is the fuel that ignites great programming and arts experiences inside these and many other cultural facilities across the Greater Cincinnati region. We are just one week away from the end of the 2017 ArtsWave Campaign, which will provide grants to 100+ arts organizations that have a ripple effect of benefits on our community. But, we have a gap to our goal that we need your help in filling. 

Here’s what you can do:

1. Make a gift. Contributions made between now and April 27, will be matched by Fifth Third Bank up to $20,000. Every dollar will help narrow the gap and enable more arts! 

2. We have created a social media image that has a red background with the words, "#ISupportArtsWave Because…” We want you to forward this image to your friends and colleagues (via 'share' in Facebook, 'retweet' in Twitter, or a screenshot via Instagram), and then fill in the blank – why you support ArtsWave. Every time you share the image, you’ll reinforce all the great work being done by our arts community and you'll be spreading the word about matched gifts. 

In 1927 with both wisdom and foresight, ArtsWave’s founders Charles and Anna Sinton Taft stated, “There is no reason...if intelligent direction and support is given… why Cincinnati should not be recognized as one of the greatest centers of art and music in the United States and the world!” 

You, and the tens of thousands of other donors to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, are keeping this vision alive!