Author: Jenny Kessler

Jenny is a local designer who has a passion for people and for Cincinnati. She began writing for UrbanCincy in September 2009, and served as the website's operation manager until March 2012. Jenny currently works for ArtsWave and manages the OTR Urban Kickball League.

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Arts & Entertainment News

20 Years/20 Artists exhibit celebrates success of city grant program

Mayor Mark Mallory, Councilmember Laure Quinlivan, and members of the board of the Art Academy of Cincinnati came together on Friday, August 6 to celebrate the opening of a 20 Years/20 Artists – an exhibit showcasing the work of local artists who have received grant money from the City over the last 20 years.

In 1989 the City of Cincinnati established a competitive grant program that awarded money to extraordinary artists in order to help them establish their body of work while also making the arts more accessible to residents. To date, the Individual Artist Grant Program has awarded $700,000, through 320 grants, to 20 artists who might have not otherwise had the chance to change the world around them by sharing their talents.

“20/20 showcases work of successful artists whose work wouldn’t have reached the public without a grant,” said Ron Bates, chairman of the Art Academy’s Board of Trustees. “No other local government in the tri-state area has done this, and it makes a huge difference to these local artists.”

Artists who have participated in the grant program over the years were able to submit work to display in this exhibit highlighting the success of Cincinnati’s Individual Artist Grant Program. The exhibit features 35 pieces of work currently in the gallery, including two media works.  At the preview of the new exhibit a few of the artists came and spoke about how the grant program helped launch their careers.

“This [grant money] gave me a reason to dream a bigger dream,” local artist Kate Kern said. “This exhibit is a celebration and recognition of artists we support.  It’s a homecoming for those who have made it outside of Cincinnati.”

The free exhibit is open Monday through Sunday from 9am to 5pm until Friday, September 3.  A special reception will be held during this month’s Final Friday event on August 27 from 5pm to 8pm.  The Art Academy of Cincinnati is located in Over-the-Rhine at 1212 Jackson Street.  The exhibition has plenty of on- and off-street automobile parking options nearby in addition to free bicycle parking and Metro bus service (plan your trip).

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Arts & Entertainment News

Two national community engagement movements to gather in Cincinnati tonight

Transition Town Northside will be meeting tonight at 5pm, and members of the Over-the-Rhine community will be taking part in National Night Out at historic Findlay Market.

The National Night Out event in Over-the-Rhine offers a chance for community members to engage with their local law enforcement officers. Police officers from District One of the Cincinnati Police Department will be at the event that will include food and games. Organizers state that the event is geared towards creating a safe, healthy community by strengthening relationship with the community and its police force. The event will take place at Findlay Market’s farmers shed (map) on the north side of the market house from 5pm to 6:30pm. Please contact the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce for more information at (513) 241-2690.

The Cincinnati Police Department will also be participating in five other National Night Out events throughout the city.  District One will also be at Mt. Adams Monastery (map) from 6pm to 8pm, District Two at the Mt. Washington Recreation Center (map) from 6pm to 9pm, District Three at the Kroger Grocery on Ferguson Road (map) from 5pm to 8pm, District Four at Fleischmann Gardens Park (map) from 6pm to 8pm, and District Five at College Hill Presbyterian Church (map) from 6pm to 9pm.

Meanwhile in Northside, a group committed to helping the neighborhood build community and achieve a more fossil-free existence will be meeting from 5pm to 7pm at the McKie Center (map). The goal of Transition Town Northside is to create an umbrella under which like minded individuals and organizations can pool their efforts, with the main goal of working towards a neighborhood that is local and sustainable. The grass-roots, community effort is generally geared toward responding to the challenges presented by peak oil.

All of these events are free and open to the public and most can be accessed by Metro bus service (plan your trip). Free bicycle parking is also available in the immediate area for most locations.

Categories
News Politics

After Issue 9 victory, next generation of leaders need to stay involved

This past Thursday evening more than 40 people crowded themselves in a meeting room at the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce. The group was a diverse collection of individuals who had gathered for one purpose: to address safety concerns in the Main Street/Mulberry Street/McMicken Street area of Over-the-Rhine. The three policemen and chamber members in attendance could not believe the turnout, and mentioned their pleasant state of surprise several times.

Safety sector meetings like this are held regularly throughout the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood as engaged members of the community look to find out how they can continue to improve their neighborhood.  At this particular meeting, the majority of the people in attendance were under the age of 35. The common thread, beyond age, was that they were members of the community, either living in or around the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, who wanted to help make a difference.

The momentous build-up and defeat of Issue 9, the anti-passenger rail amendment, in last year’s local election sparked a wildfire of community activism not seen in this area for some time. For the first time in my relatively young life, I became totally and thoroughly passionate about doing all I could to inform and educate others about the importance of rail transit in Cincinnati. It felt pretty good to be involved in a cause I believed in, and a strong bond was formed between those who spent their time rallying to defeat Issue 9.

Fast forward to today, and there is no doubt that the Cincinnati Streetcar will be built, and the 3C Rail Corridor plan is moving ahead thanks to our efforts to defeat the anti-passenger rail amendment.  With these goals accomplished, many of us now must figure out what to do with all this energy, enthusiasm and excitement we have for the urban core.

I challenge you to get involved in your community.

There are countless ways to give your time and effort to strengthen and build your respective neighborhood. From participating in community councils to volunteering to serve with neighborhood groups, getting involved in your community not only builds up the place where you live, but it creates bonds between neighbors and truly builds a sense of camaraderie and sense of place.  For too long, too many have chosen to close their doors and picket fences.   Electing instead to stay inside a safe, often isolated, bubble of Anytown suburbia.  The results have turned neighbors into strangers in cases where it should be anything but.

It is not just Over-the-Rhine that calls for your involvement. There are 52 neighborhoods within the City of Cincinnati, and many more throughout the region, that all have needs, goals, and a heavily established “old guard” that is eventually going to want to retire. The time is now for this generation to become actively involved so that the torch of community responsibility can be passed to us.

As I looked around the room on Thursday evening I was surprised to see that I knew at least a third of the people in attendance. They are not just my friends. They are my neighbors, my community. And we are ready and excited to invest in our area, strengthening Cincinnati and making it an even better place to live.

We Love Cincinnati

Categories
Business Development News

Former Boss Cox home to become new Clifton Library Branch

The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County will move its Clifton Branch from Ludlow Avenue to Parkview Manor nearby.  The $3.5 million project will require a full renovation of the 1895 home for notorious Cincinnati politician George Barnsdale “Boss” Cox.

Once the home of arguably Cincinnati’s most influential politician, the 10,000 square-foot Parkview Manor was designed by the famed Samuel Hannaford and is located directly across from Burnet Woods near the intersection of Brookline, Wentworth and Jefferson avenues (map).  Hannaford’s trademark use of limestone coursing and geometrically shaped rooms are visible here.  The architect’s firm, Hannaford and Sons, completed over 300 buildings in the Cincinnati area, including both Music Hall and City Hall.

Boss Cox meanwhile was known for controlling the goings on in Cincinnati through the Reform movement of the late 1800s. While his methods of governance were dictatorial and corrupt, Cox also made contributions to the city, including street cleaning and developing the plan for the ill-fated subway system.

The existing Clifton Branch of the Public Library is currently one of the busiest, and smallest, in the entire county-wide system. Its location on Ludlow Avenue does not have a dedicated meeting space, yet last year the branch presented 232 programs which were attended by 5,281 people.  The programs included a wide variety of topics including a weekly preschool story time and an English as a second language conversation group.

Circulation at the Clifton Branch has increased more than 12 percent over the past four years, which library officials believe is evidence that demand for the library is far exceeding the current capacity. The new location would be four times the size of the current building on Ludlow Avenue.  The new facility would also allow for a larger material collection space, more computer space, a dedicated children’s area, program room, teen area, and an easily accessible location with 16 parking spots in an extremely walkable neighborhood.

In order to make this dream a reality, library officials need to raise $3.5 million to renovate Parkview Manor and complete the move.  The library is actively seeking contributions for this project, and those interested in helping can contact development director John Reusing at (513) 369-4591 or through the project’s web page.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

TEDxCincy to highlight city’s diversity and ideas

In 1984, Richard Saul Wurman collected intellectuals from the fields of Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) to discuss their life’s work and new ideas.  Now in 2010, the TED conference has grown to four sold-out yearly conferences, and is now coming to Cincinnati as an independently organized TED event.

The mantra of TED is “ideas worth spreading,” through riveting talks given by remarkable people that are accessible to the world.  Since 2007, the speakers at these conferences have been recorded and available free to listen and watch as podcasts on the Internet.  For the last several months, David Volker, Michael Bergman, Emily Venter and their colleagues at LPK met for “Breakfast and TED” – getting a start on the day by nourishing their creative spirit through learning about topics they were not necessarily familiar with.

“Being in design, branding, and marketing… it’s really great to get perspective in non-related fields,” Volker explained.

The three learned that TED was expanding its reach by allowing independent organizers to collaborate in different cities, and they knew they wanted to bring the experience to Cincinnati.  So they, along with colleague Mary Riffe from Procter & Gamble, reached out to their employers to obtain backing and support on this new endeavor.  “P&G and LPK were very excited about the opportunity. We had their complete support,” said Ms. Venter.

The first TEDxCincy event will take place on October 7, 2010, and will feature a day-long conference with 21-25 speakers covering four different themes which are yet to be released.  Organizers expect the speakers to consist of an incredibly diverse collection of people with passionate and engaging stories, all of whom are connected to Cincinnati and the region in some way.  The conference will also feature entertainment as well as a selected number of podcasts played from the original TED conference.

Compared to initiatives such as Ignite Cincinnati and Pecha Kucha, which have swept the region within the last year, there are distinct differences between the events, but that is not necessarily a bad thing according to those involved.

“This [TEDxCincy] is more structured – the speakers will have between three and eighteen minutes to speak, instead of a rigid six minute presentation,” Michael Bergman explained. “The speakers’ passions will come through – for example, if they’re a musician who’s been practicing for years and years. Their history, research and learning experience will be very apparent.”

With over 150 people nominated to speak at the event already, it has been a difficult task to narrow down the list.  Venter says that the final list of speakers will not be released until a later date, but feels that the group of individuals selected will be a unique group that you will not be able to go anywhere else and hear what they have to say.

“I think we all agree that we’re a little too humble in this city.  There’s some great, great things happening here, and we are too nice to brag about them once in a while,” concluded Volker.  “From global and national perspective, we hope it sheds very positive light on Cincinnati, and shows some of the amazing people that are here.  If people can go to this and learn and hear all the stuff that goes in and go back and bring it into their daily lives, I think it’s only going to make this city a better place, and frankly, more appealing to people who might want to move here or relocate their companies here.”

TEDxCincy will take place Thursday, October 7, 2010 at Procter & Gamble Hall in the Aronoff Center (map) in downtown Cincinnati.  Those interested in attending TEDxCincy are asked to register in advance online.  Those interested in volunteering, submitting a speaker idea, or sponsoring TEDxCincy can do so on the event’s website.  Stay connected by following @TEDxCincy on Twitter, or by becoming a fan on Facebook.  Specific event details are expected in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.