Making Waves Blog

ArtsWave will start a Creative Placemaking Network in Greater Cincinnati thanks to a $35,000 grant from National Endowment for the Arts. This grant is one of just 18 made to local arts agencies around the country for supporting public engagement in the arts in this funding round.

One of my favorite memories in the arts is also one of my favorite professional memories, the chance to cover the first-ever master class by legendary modern dance choreographer Merce Cunningham in Russia for the Moscow Times.

ArtsWave, the greater Cincinnati region’s leading local arts agency, launched a new service to the community today with its online arts calendar, Cincy Arts Guide. Designed to increase all kinds of community participation in the arts, Cincy Arts Guide provides detailed listings on performances, exhibitions, classes, fundraisers and other arts events from arts organizations across the region.

Sometimes you need a change in perspective. Each year, the Americans for the Arts convention offers me an opportunity to get the 30,000 foot view of the role of arts in our nation. Three things stood out for me this year at the annual gathering of more than a thousand local, state and national arts administrators, organizers, policy-makers, educators and advocates.

I often am asked how ArtsWave makes grants with the dollars it raises through the annual community arts campaign. It’s a story we love to tell, with origins that date back decades ago.

Five women who are redesigning the world of arts and design in Cincinnati shared their stories with ArtsWave's Women's Leadership Roundtable members.

What does it mean to be the largest community arts campaign in the country? $12,250,000 in community contributions is a big number, but it doesn’t capture the full scope of our region’s amazing commitment to the arts. Take a look at a few more impressive numbers from the 2015 campaign.

Earlier this month, ArtsWave announced three new Arts for Health grants to expand arts programs that improve health outcomes for Greater Cincinnati residents. This initiative is funded through restricted grants as part of the ArtsWave Community Campaign.

On April 18, 2015, you might see groups of people in purple shirts running through Downtown Cincinnati in search of art. No, it’s not another marathon – it’s the Amazing Arts Race, ArtsWave’s signature Young Professionals’ event back for a third year.

Picture Freedom has challenged young people across the country to explore what freedom and equality means to them, and to express their thoughts through art.

Sometimes creating community through the arts starts in a cubicle or cafeteria. We love the creative and engaging activities that companies create as part of their ArtsWave workplace campaigns.

What's it like to be a part of a company Sing Off event? Our friends at Duke Energy shared this story that shows how CincySings brings employees together.

ArtsWave announces opportunities for arts and community organizations to apply for more than $100,000 in new support to connect the arts to larger community initiatives around health and education. These targeted grants programs are part of ArtsWave’s strategy to leverage the power of the arts to address broad community goals. These opportunities are funded through restricted gifts to the ArtsWave annual community campaign.

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

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

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.

The ArtsPass program, available for a $75 minimum donation to ArtsWave’s annual community campaign, offers its members discounted tickets and other special offers at over 40 arts organizations around the region. In an effort to further drive its key impact areas, ArtsWave began adding retail and restaurant offers, helping members craft a full, affordable evening out.

ArtsWave believes in the inherent ability of the arts to connect, inspire, and engage at both individual and community levels has direct implications for the role that arts can play in promoting clinical and general health outcomes. If an expressive life can help increase the health and happiness of our region’s residents, then ArtsWave wants to support and enhance these critical collaborations as part of its community investment strategy.

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.

Have you overheard Shakespeare at the airport? Seen the Ballet at the ballpark? Enjoyed a symphony under the stars? You may not have known it, but that’s ArtsWave in Action.