Sibcy Cline’s Professional Development Center offers a very unique and hyper-local continuing education class called “The Arts Make Greater Cincinnati a Better Place to Live”. The course was created and is instructed by Alecia Kintner, President and CEO of ArtsWave (Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts) for the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky regions.

Agents who attend this course are immersed into what’s going on with the local arts scene and well as its very interesting history.

Cincinnati’s arts support began with the Taft family in the late 1920s with a $1 million arts endowment that was then matched by the community with another $1.5 million. Voila, the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts was formed. The zoo also played a role in supporting the arts in the 1920s. Low visitor attendance to the zoo was a concern and so New York City opera singers were hired to perform at the zoo during their off season. Thus, Cincinnati’s opera season became a summer tradition.

The first Cincinnati arts campaign began in 1949 and continued since then. Sibcy Cline Realtors has been large supporter of these yearly community rallies for the arts. The company knows the arts make the region an even better place to live and help compel people to move here. Cincinnati is ranked #4 in the U.S. in which residents visit their local museums. The region donated $12,450,000 in 2016 to the ArtsWave campaign with 42,000 donors. Sibcy Cline is proud to be part of those statistics with $225,000+ donated by its agents and employees since 2010.

What’s new with the Cincinnati arts? Lots.

Coming Fall 2017:

• Music Hall
  Cincinnati’s Music Hall is currently being renovated and will be reopening in October 2017. This historic building is in the midst of  being heavily renovated. From acoustics; electrical, heating/air and plumbing systems; seating arrangements; to new carpeting and paint, the new building will still have its old charm with modern conveniences and technologies. A free open house is scheduled for October 7, 2017.
• Cincinnati Shakespeare Company
  The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is getting a new theater. The Otto M. Budig Theater will open in September 2017 with 100 more seats as well as modern amenities. An free open house will be announced.
• Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati
  The Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati is undergoing an expansion which is scheduled for completion in October 2017. The Vine Street theater is located in Over-the-Rhine and is expanding south. The new space is adding a rehearsal hall, offices as well as costume and set shops. Also new will be a longer lobby area, larger box office and more comfortable patron seating.
• Blink – October  2017
  Coming in October 2017 is Blink  – a light-art festival. This four-day show will have dozens of large-scale architectural projections (similar to the  Lumenocity art experience) found along the downtown streetcar route to be enjoyed at dusk. There will also be pop-up art along the route during daylight hours.

New and Ready for You to Enjoy Now:

• The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati
  New to The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati are the offices, studios and classrooms found on Red Bank Road in Madisonville. Performances are still held at the Taft Theatre, but rehearsals and summer camps now happen at this new facility.
• Lindner Arts Annex – Kennedy Heights Arts Center
  The Kennedy Heights Arts Center (established in 2003) added its Lindner Arts Annex in 2015. This former Kroger store now is a multi-cultural campus on Montgomery Road.
• Bi-Okoto Cultural Institute
  The Bi-Okoto Cultural Institute has a new studio in Pleasant Ridge. This African drum arts program spreads the African heritage throughout the community through drums, music, dance and the visual arts.
• Cincinnati Black Theatre Company
  The Cincinnati Black Theatre Company is now located in Golf Manor on Losantiville Avenue.

Coming in the Near Future:

• Cincinnati Art Museum
  The Cincinnati Art Museum has renovation plans in place. The museum (which is tucked away off Eden Park Drive with a rear entrance to the museum) is planning to offer a new front entrance and drive. Outdoor art will be added to be enjoyed by visitors.

Learn More about Cincinnati Arts

ArtsWave Pinterest Board – This board shares many links to the all of the area’s arts organizations that are supported by ArtsWave.

Cincy Arts Guide – This website is a curated event-search website. You can search by keyword, date, venue, city or region.
CincyArts+STEM – This website is focused on upcoming local kid-related arts activities.

ArtsWave: Atlas – This website is a search e-tool to use. The map and reports share neighborhood resources such as recreation centers, libraries, farmers’ markets and community gardens. You can also find public art, national historic designations and any community outreach art programs. A report can be generated from a home’s radius to share hyper local art locations. (This website is best used via a laptop or desktop.)

ArtsWave: The Ripple Effect Blog/eNewsletter – To keep up with all of the news on Cincinnati Arts, you can sign up for an e-newsletter. (Just scroll to the bottom left to add your contact information.)

Sibcy Cline ArtsWave and Cultural Arts Fund Campaigns – 2017
The Sibcy Cline fine arts campaign is headed up this year  by Jessica Overley, Vice President Production Manager for Sibcy Cline Mortgage Services. The campaign starts in March.