Rocco is comin’ to town

     (NWPR) – Once the Fine Arts Fund, it now becomes “ArtsWave,” an organization dedicated to connecting people through the arts, advancing the vibrancy of our community with the arts, and supporting the arts and culture in greater Cincinnati. And to celebrate its launch, ArtsWave is sponsoring two community cultural events over the next week.

     On Sunday, September 26, 1000 people from across the region will come together to paint six blocks of Twelfth Street in downtown Cincinnati. The design for the street painting is the work of local artists based on community input, and will be a surprise for everyone on the day of the event.

     And for his first Cincinnati visit since taking office in August 2009, on Tuesday, September 28, ArtsWave will host a public talk by Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, at 4:00 pm at the a Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. He will speak about the role of the arts in sustaining vibrant, democratic societies, including he will also participate in a panel discussion and accept questions from the audience.

     “The arts create lively places where we like to spend time, visit, live, and work,” said Mary McCullough-Hudson, President of ArtsWave. “Our change of mission is based on interviews with hundreds of people who told us that the arts are important because of how they connect people within and across communities. The conclusions from our research are quite clear: the arts are important to the vibrancy of Cincinnati, and people value arts organizations of all sizes. Through this transformation into ArtsWave, we will be working to foster and sustain a revitalized Cincinnati—to have an even greater impact on this amazing community.”

     Founded in 1927 to support four institutions, the Cincinnati Art Museum, Opera, Symphony Orchestra, and the Taft Museum, in 1978 the Fine Arts Fund expanded its support of the artistic community to include four more organizations: the Cincinnati Ballet, Contemporary Arts Center, Playhouse in the Park, and the May Festival. At the same time, recognizing even then that Cincinnati had evolved since the Fund’s founding, a grants program was established to provide support for smaller organizations.

     With the now creation of ArtsWave, and its new focus on impact-based grants, it will support the engaged population of the entire Greater Cincinnati region, just as arts organizations serve people regardless of their zip code or county lines.

     For more information, call Margy Waller at 513.632.0131 or email margy.waller@TheArtsWave.org.