My.Arts.Blog

Part 2: A National Conversation about Support for the Arts

2010-03-10T09:53:00.007-05:00

continuing from Margy's previous post on ARTSblog....

Feeling like we’d leveled off in our effort to build broad support for the arts, we decided to get more information. We studied how people think about the arts — that is, we engaged in some real research over the past 18 months. With this information, we’re crafting a new communications strategy—one built on a deeper understanding of the best ways to communicate about the arts—that we believe will lead to increased shared responsibility and motivate action in support of the arts.

In order to create a more constructive dialog, we had to explore the dynamics of the current public conversation—in the media, for instance—as well as in the thinking of the majority of people who do not focus on the arts in their daily lives. Understanding attitudes and beliefs more deeply is a key to negotiating them more successfully in future efforts. A new argument, or lens, on the issue is useful to the extent that it can move people to a collective perspective and shared action in support of the arts.

When legislators, business leaders, community leaders, and others all take in the same core message seen through the same lens—and in turn repeat them to their own constituencies—the resulting echo chamber can begin to transform the accepted common sense on the issue.

After a year of investigation and interviews with hundreds of people in the Cincinnati region and surrounding states, this research—conducted with the Topos Partnership, a national communications framing organization—found that public responsibility for the arts is undermined by deeply entrenched perceptions. Members of the public typically have positive feelings toward the arts, some quite strong. But how they think about the arts is shaped by a number of common default patterns of thinking that ultimately obscure a sense of public responsibility in this area.

For example, it‘s natural and common for people who are not insiders to think of the arts in terms of entertainment. Problematically, entertainment is a matter of personal taste, not public responsibility, and perceived as an extra, not a necessity. We need to change the landscape by employing a message strategy that:

Positions arts and culture as a public good—a communal interest in which all have a stake;
Provides a clearer picture of the kinds of events, activities, and institutions we are talking about;
Conveys the importance of a proactive stance; and
Incorporates all people in a region, not just those in urban centers.

Holding typical messages up to these standards clarifies why some ideas, even emotionally powerful ones, fail to inspire a sense of collective responsibility. Art as a transcendent experience, important to well-being, a universal human need, etc., all speak to private, individual concerns, not public, communal concerns. While many people like these messages, the messages do not help them think of art as a public good, and therefore inspire action.

Messages that are more communal in nature, such as the commonly used economic impact message, or a message about creating a great city, fail for other reasons. For instance, traditional economic arguments often compete with other (usually more compelling) ideas about how to bolster an economy.

Of the many communications approaches we tested, one stood out as having the most potential to shift thinking and conversations in a good way: A thriving arts sector creates “ripple effects” of benefits throughout our community. Two ripple effects — that people already believe in — work well to build more support:

A vibrant, thriving economy: Neighborhoods are more lively, communities are revitalized, tourists and residents are attracted to the area, etc. Note that this goes well beyond the usual dollars-and-cents argument and becomes about creating an environment where people want to live, work, play, and stay.

A more connected population: Diverse groups share common experiences, hear new perspectives, understand each other better, etc.

Now conversations move beyond polite nodding – you know, the kind we got when we talked about ROI or economic impact of the arts. We know we’re on to something when people offer their own examples — like how their neighborhood changed after an art center opened or the experience they had connecting with others at the fringe festival.

Cross-posted on ARTSblog.

A National Conversation about Support for the Arts

2010-03-09T08:33:00.007-05:00

Americans for the Arts -- "the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America" -- is hosting an online discussion about support for the arts. They invited Margy to participate by blogging about The Fine Arts Fund's new research report on communicating about the arts. Here's the host's description of the discussion:

"The Private Sector Initiatives team at Americans for the Arts is leading efforts to increase partnerships between the arts and the three main areas of the private sector: business, foundations, and individuals by partnering with a national network of Arts & Business Councils, Business Committees for the Arts and United Arts Funds. These partnerships deliver economic and social benefits to communities, generating jobs, and galvanizing neighborhood revitalization efforts.....Follow the Private Sector Blog Salon on March 8-12 as more than twenty leaders from across the country discuss issues related to private sector giving and the arts."

Margy is answering one of the questions posed in her invitation to participate: "So, how do we make the case for supporting the arts in 2010?" While many of the bloggers are focusing on private sector fundraising, our research is designed to provide a way to engage the community in a broader discussion about support for the arts.

We'll be cross-posting Margy's posts here this week.

Join the national conversation on the Americans for the Arts blog site!

****

Making the Case: Effective Messaging for the Arts

We’ve noticed a lot of chatter about finding a new way to talk about what we’re passionate about. We all want a value proposition that works to create support for the arts.

We followed the long exchange on the artsjournal pages and noticed that Michael Kaiser put it on his wish list for the holidays. And of course, this conversation is designed to answer the question: how do we make the case for supporting the arts in 2010? What is the message that works with private sector supporters?

We understand this interest—and we share it. My blogs this week will offer a research-based answer.

Many of us have spent years searching for the strongest possible message and the best case on which to build support for the arts. Yet, the messages we have used, and successfully integrated in the dialogue across the country, have not yielded the broad sense of shared responsibility that we seek.

So, in late 2008, leaders of the Fine Arts Fund in Cincinnati embarked on a year-long research initiative designed to develop an inclusive community dialogue leading to broadly shared public responsibility for arts and culture.

We concluded that our work with the community through arts and culture must be based on a foundation that incorporates a deeper understanding of the best way to start the conversation in order to achieve that shared sense of responsibility.

People are always telling us that they like the arts. And we know they mean it. For “insiders” (everyone reading this blog, for sure!), participating, donating, and going to shows is what we do all the time.

Most everyone else sees the arts differently—and that’s critical for us to remember. Others have nothing against art—but we haven’t given them the lens through which to see arts & culture as a benefit to the entire community, even those who don’t participate.

Right now the public is most likely to see art strictly as entertainment: what to do this weekend, etc. And that’s great—when we are trying to build audiences, sell tickets and memberships.

But when we want people to donate to our united fund, support a better arts policy, or communicate with decision makers, not many are taking an action step. That’s because when art is entertainment, supporting it is a highly personal decision—based on personal preferences and resources like time and money.

We determined that we needed more analysis and knowledge of public views and assumptions about arts and culture to develop the foundation for a conversation that leads to the necessary increased shared responsibility and public support.

Our conversation has to engage participants as residents of the community, not as consumers. Because while most people feel positively toward the arts, we will have to change the conversation in order to motivate action by the public (by which I mean the private sector too) for the arts.

In my next blogs, I’ll share 1) the key organizing idea to communicate with the goal of building broadly shared responsibility for the arts, and 2) discuss the need for an echo chamber across the country.

The private sector has a leading role to play in creating the echo chamber and it’s our job to provide the communications strategy, the message that we can all use.

Cross-posted on ARTSblog.

Arts Make Cincy Sparkle!

2010-03-04T12:59:00.021-05:00

The Convention & Visitors Bureau awarded Mary McCullough-Hudson one of its Partnership Awards at the lunch party for the Spirit of Cincinnati USA Awards. The award is for our services and contributions related to bringing all the singing you can imagine (and more) with the 2012 World Choir Games.

The 2012 World Choir Games begining on July 4, 2012 and will be one of the biggest conventions ever in this region, bringing people from all over the world to the "olympics of song".

Even better, it will be a chance to show the world how incredibly vibrant the arts make our region.

Today's celebration ended with some surprise singing that we captured in this video.

Sharing the Joy on Sampler Weekend

2010-03-02T08:04:00.003-05:00

On February 20 & 21, Cincinnati celebrated the arts all around us with the Fine Arts Fund's annual Sampler Weekend, sponsored by Macy's. Our city was filled with thousands of people visiting over 50 venues like theaters, museums, community art centers, libraries, schools, and beyond, for shows, exhibits, and hands-on activities throughout the entire Cincinnati region. Creative things – music, dance, storytelling, theatre, painting, and much more – happened all over the place, from the center of the city to the suburbs.

Our Kick Off and Sampler Weekend are creating a big buzz in Cincinnati that is giving our businesses a boost. Last week was a great example of the types of things that happen all over our community, all year long, bringing us together.

To see MANY more photos taken during Sampler Weekend, click here.

Want to support the arts in our community? Click here to donate to the Fine Arts Fund today!

Let's Have Fun!

2010-02-25T09:08:00.004-05:00

Dan Hurley of WKRC Channel 12 hosts us on Newsmakers as we talk about the annual community arts celebration and campaign in 2010!

Great Weekend!

2010-02-21T08:00:00.011-05:00

Thanks to everyone who came out, volunteered, and worked on our annual celebration - Sampler Weekend!

Please post your photos on our Facebook fan page here or email them to info@fineartsfund.org.

This week was the kickoff for the annual celebration and community campaign for the arts --- our city's music, dance, galleries, museums, and festivals. For the first time ever, the Fine Arts Fund - which organizes the celebration - sponsored surprise art that popped up outside Macy's downtown and in the Carew Tower arcade, as well as on buses running from downtown to Northern Kentucky and out to Anderson. Hundreds of people were amazed to see mobile galleries and dancing on buses and in unexpected downtown spots on the lunch hour.

Over the weekend, our city was filled with thousands of people visiting over 50 venues like theaters, museums, community art centers, libraries, schools, and other places, for shows and hands-on activities throughout the entire Cincinnati region. Creative things -- music, dance, storytelling, theatre, painting, and much more -- happened all over the place, from the center of the city to the suburbs.

Sampler Weekend included past favorites - Gospel Brunches, Arte Latino, and Get Smart About Art - and many new creative things. You can find a complete listing of the 130 performances, exhibits, and vibrant activities here.

On Saturday night, hundreds of people came to the Art Alive party at the CAC to celebrate the beginning of the annual community campaign. They saw the Shepard Fairey and other exhibits and were treated to several performances, including a surprise dance, the famous Splash Dance of YouTube fame.

RSVP Today for the ArtAlive Party!

2010-02-18T06:23:00.002-05:00

The Thing to DO on Saturday, February 20! Join us at the ArtAlive party to celebrate the creative things happening all across our community.

The ArtAlive Celebration at the Contemporary Art Center is an evening of creative food by eatwell, music by 513 DJ, live performances from Abiyah, Margaret Russo, and pones inc., AND access to the following galleries:

Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand

Shilpa Gupta: A Bit Closer

Marilyn Minter: Chewing Color

...and much, much more.

You also get a tote bag featuring Tina Clyburn's artwork from our 'Sharing Art' Community Competition.

Buy your tickets here!

For all the details on ArtAlive, please click here. To see all the activities that are happening during Sampler Weekend, click here.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 (cash only) at the door.

Surprise Art Kicks Off Annual Community Campaign!

2010-02-17T06:48:00.011-05:00

The 2010 Annual Community Campaign for the arts launched today with something new: surprises—music, painting, dancing, and storytelling—that happened all across our region.

Late last year, the Fine Arts Fund quietly invited artists to join in the fun.

Artists Pam Kravetz, Carla Lamb, and Karen Saunders organized young people from Harrison, Cincinnati, and West Chester to turn buses into mobile galleries. Inspired by the Newport Aquarium and Krohn Conservatory, they created the art in secret at the bus terminals on each side of the river. Passengers who boarded certain buses on TANK and Metro routes today shared a magical experience of color, imagination, and creativity.

On other routes during the day, members of Pones Inc., took over buses with their form of guerilla art: storytelling, movement, and song.

Meanwhile, dancers from Anaya Gypsy Dance filled the public space at the Fountain Place Macy’s with tribal belly dancing throughout the lunch hour. And people in Carew Tower’s Arcade were surprised by Liz Vosmeier accompanied by Music Director Alan Patrick Kenny singing "I'd Rather Watch You", from Adding Machine: A Musical -- the current hit show at Know Theatre.

The annual community campaign—when people all across the region contribute to support the arts—runs for ten weeks starting today and wrapping up on April 29, 2010. Last year the community invested 11 million dollars from 38,500 contributors to the campaign. Through contributions made to the annual community campaign, the Fine Arts Fund supports nearly 100 large and small arts organizations.

“Greater Cincinnati is incredibly fortunate to have so many supporters of the creative things happening in large and small ways throughout our region. The arts connect people and make our neighborhoods vibrant, benefiting us all. Our hope is that the community will contribute at the same level as last year, despite an economy that remains very challenging for many. We should all be proud of what we've created here and make sure we keep the arts all around us!” said Julie Janson, President, Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky and Fine Arts Fund Campaign Chair.

Campaign leaders are excited about seeking new supporters for the arts. “As broad as the support is now, we know that many more people are involved in the arts and will make a donation if we ask. This year, all of those new donations will be matched by a generous grant from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./US Bank Foundation. Every dollar from a new contributor will mean 2 dollars to benefit our community through the arts, " said Mary McCullough-Hudson, President of the Fine Arts Fund.

Arts and community organizations will host many other events this week. The 24th annual Fine Arts Fund Sampler Weekend, sponsored by Macy’s, will be on February 20 & 21. And for the second year, the Friends For the Arts are hosting a party: ArtAlive, on Saturday, February 20 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Contemporary Arts Center.

For more information about the Fine Arts Fund, Sampler Weekend, and the campaign, please click here or call 513.871.2787.

Note – We will post video and photos on our site shortly.

The State of the Arts Forum Section 2.14.2010

2010-02-15T15:34:00.004-05:00

The Enquirer -- our local newspaper -- provides a lot of arts coverage still. And now they are beginning to think even harder about how they should use their platform (both the traditional paper and the online portal) to cover the arts.

They started with a big spread about the arts in the Sunday Section on 2.14.2010. (AKA: a lotta love for Valentine's Day!)

All in all, this a very positive set of stories about the benefits to our community through the arts. The reporters and editors thoroughly capture both our optimism and the challenges we face.

We're sharing links to some of the articles and commentary below.

Society's changed, but arts still a 'Big Deal'

Ray Cooklis

"We're also seeing people become more willing to expand their notions of what art can be - and can mean to them. Waller has the right idea. On her FAF blog, she posts her photos of "found" art that's all around us, looking at everyday objects in new ways. She helps organize events, such as the recent surprise "Splash Dance," that make us rethink where and when creative expression can be found.
We need the arts. We need the logic and passion and discipline they bring to our minds. We need the store of knowledge they have brought us through the centuries."

City's vitality, creativity on the upswing

Margy Waller

"New galleries, theaters, and community centers bring economic vitality to these neighborhoods. There's lots of energy and life on the streets and people want to be part of these appealing places where there are concerts and tourists, renovated buildings, festivals, and new housing."

How arts organizations reach out

Fundraisers May Be Running Uphill

Arts Groups Tighten Their Belt

State of the Arts

Carnegie pares schedule, sharpens focus - and gets by

Join Us For the ArtAlive Party!

2010-02-08T13:32:00.015-05:00

The Thing to DO on Saturday, February 20! Join us at the ArtAlive party to celebrate the creative things happening all across our community.

Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand

Shilpa Gupta: A Bit Closer

Marilyn Minter: Chewing Color

...and much, much more.

You also get a tote bag featuring Tina Clyburn's artwork from our 'Sharing Art' Community Competition.

Buy your tickets here!

For all the details on ArtAlive, please click here. To see all the activities that are happening during Sampler Weekend, click here.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 (cash only) at the door.

RSVP For The Arts: 2010 Neighborhood Summit

2010-02-05T09:26:00.008-05:00

You're invited to support the benefits of arts in our city by attending the 2010 Neighborhood Summit on February 27 and participating in the planning process for the City of Cincinnati Comprehensive Plan.

A few months ago, we asked you to participate in the Plan Cincinnati "Great City" Survey about the first comprehensive plan for our city in a generation. Many of you and other arts supporters in the community did respond to the survey.

Thank you -- we made a difference!

The survey results are online now and you can see them here. We're excited to let you know that the top response to the question "What makes a great city?" is arts & culture.

Plan Cincinnati informs current and future decision makers about where we are now, where we want to go, how we intend to get there, and who will help us along the way. No doubt, there will be budget implications of the final plan down the road!

Please view the invitation here and make sure your organization and friends participate in this great opportunity. There will be a breakout session for arts planning (at 10:30 a.m.) and we expect that arts will be discussed in other sessions -- on topics like transportation, urban design, neighborhood development, etc -- so plan to stay for the day if you can!

RSVP now by clicking here.

Reading Lessons: The Art Thief

2010-02-02T09:12:00.009-05:00

In the evening, I like to escape into a novel and I'm almost always reading one. (Hardly a weekend goes by without a visit to my neighborhood library -- luckily mine is open on Saturdays and Sundays.)

Last night, I came across this paragraph in my current novel, The Art Thief, by Noah Charney. It's entirely consistent with everything we've learned in our recent research on how people think about "the arts" -- through the lens of the contemporary protagonist who is tracking a series of thefts of paintings.

"[Art crime] was considered high class. At the top level of the caste system, art crime was socially acceptable, even thought of as prestigious and intriguing. It was the only serious crime for which the public tended to root for the criminals....The average citizen felt somewhat detached, and sometimes threatened, by fine art. It was considered elite and elusive...and therefore frightening to many. It was with some satisfaction that the public read about gracefully orchestrated art thefts. It was a combination of voyeurism into a glamorous world apart, and a satisfying jab at an institution that felt exclusive."

You Shared Your Favorites and the Winner Is.......

2010-01-27T10:00:00.014-05:00

We asked the community to send art and got almost a full alphabet (21) of submitted designs. Then we asked everyone to vote and hundreds of you did.

Today we announce the winner of our 'Sharing Art' - Community Competition. Now we'll print the winning design on tote bags for everyone who comes to our ArtAlive Celebration on February 20.

And The Winner Is....

by Tina Clyburn

Thank you to everyone who came together to share the art!

Celebrating the Art All Around Us

2010-01-22T13:42:00.012-05:00

Please join us, Saturday, February 20, to celebrate the creative things happening all across our community.

During the annual Fine Arts Fund Sampler Weekend, Friends For the Arts is hosting the ArtAlive Celebration at the Contemporary Art Center. The evening will include access to art in the galleries, live performances, music, food, drink, and more. Guests will receive a tote bag featuring the winning design from our 'Sharing Art' Community Competition. You can vote for your favorite artwork here.

For all the details on ArtAlive, please click here.

RSVP online at www.cincinnatichamber.com

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

Vote on Your Favorite 'Sharing Art' Design

2010-01-21T10:03:00.020-05:00

We asked artists from all over our community to send us their artwork expressing 'Sharing Art'. Now it is your turn to vote on which design you think expresses our theme the best. We will print the winning design on tote bags that we will hand out at the Friends For the Arts party, ArtAlive, on Saturday, February 20.

The ArtAlive party, which we are hosting at the Contemporary Arts Center, is part of our Sampler Weekend - a weekend when creative things will be happening all over the place -- music, dance, storytelling, theatre, painting, and much more. Find more details on Sampler Weekend here.

Click here to vote the 'Sharing Art' designs. The deadline to vote is Tuesday, January 26 - so make sure you get your vote in now!

Singing in Haiti

2010-01-20T07:03:00.004-05:00

One

Two

Speaking with One Voice about Supporting the Arts

2010-01-14T11:36:00.015-05:00

Want to talk about creating an echo chamber to strengthen the community through the arts? We've learned lots about the WAY to start the conversation about the benefits of the arts in our community and we're sharing those lessons in our new report.

Now you can join a discussion about the best way to share these ideas with our elected and appointed decision-makers too.

Join Northern Kentucky University's Institute for Nonprofit Capacity for their Breakthrough Breakfast on February 4 to learn more. Phillip Sparkes, assistant Professor at Salmon Chase College of Law and Director of the Local Government Law center will speak on the topic and Margaret Hulbert and our own Margy Waller will reflect on the presentation.

For more information on this event click here.

CityBeat on Us!

2010-01-13T11:40:00.011-05:00

John Fox at CityBeat reported on us this week! We just finished a first-in-the-nation communications research initiative on building more support for arts & culture and he's posted a really nice summary of our just-released report: The Arts Ripple Effect: A Research-Based Strategy to Build Shared Responsibility for the Arts.

"The Fine Arts Fund has released the results of a year-long study intended to start the process of building more collective responsibility in Greater Cincinnati for the arts. Despite the general public’s longstanding support for arts and culture in their communities, charitable giving to and public funding of the arts struggle to keep up with demand nationally and locally — and this study was undertaken to try to “change the conversation” here about the arts as a shared public good and to motivate Cincinnatians to increase support."

You can read the full article here.

We Need Artists to Tell Our Story

2010-01-12T15:25:00.013-05:00

First we moved -- and now we're changing our name.

It's true. (But we don't know our new name yet - honest!)

This is NOT our new name.

Now we are looking for partners to assist with these concrete steps to illustrate the expansion of our work.

Then we'll need your help to share the news with everyone! We thought about putting on a show (public dancing or singing even!) -- and we might still go there -- but we need some hot thinking on this.

Interested agencies and others can find out more about our plans and how to indicate your interest by downloading this official Request-for-Qualifications.

'Sharing Art' -- Community Competition

2010-01-08T12:53:00.008-05:00

Cincinnati, OH – The Fine Arts Fund is planning a community competition for everyone as part of this year's annual Sampler Weekend. The staff is inviting submissions that celebrate the way our large and small arts events across the region bring people together and make Greater Cincinnati a vibrant place to live, work, play, and stay.

Utilizing word-of-mouth tools like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, the Fine Arts Fund staffers are letting the community know about this opportunity to share their art. There is just one guideline: the design must incorporate artists' view of 'Sharing Art'. Beginning on January 20, 2010, the Fine Arts Fund staff will post submissions and invite everyone in our community to vote on the designs.

The Fine Arts Fund leaders plan to print the winning design on tote bags and give them to partygoers at the Friends For the Arts Party, held at the Contemporary Arts Center on the Saturday of Sampler Weekend. Sampler Weekend will be on Saturday February 20 and Sunday February 21 and is an annual event when creative things happen all over the place – music, dance, storytelling, theatre, painting, and much more. Area residents and visitors enjoy these events every year and can find more information about Sampler Weekend by visiting www.FineArtsFund.org/sampler.

“It'll be great to see how people across the community celebrate the way arts connect us and make our region so much fun,” said Margy Waller, Vice President of Arts & Culture Partnership at the Fine Arts Fund.

To view details about the contest and the application form for submissions, please click here.

Art = Love

2010-01-06T08:00:00.003-05:00

On the expansion of citizen participation in art-making:

How good can any of this stuff be? That's missing the point, says Robert Lynch, president of the nonprofit arts promoter Americans for the Arts: "The word 'amateur' comes from the Latin root for love." Where the arts are concerned, love is definitely in the air.

Read the whole report in Newsweek.

Things We Liked in Our Sunday Reading

2010-01-04T10:58:00.017-05:00

On the last day before back-to-work in twenty-ten (yep, that's what I've settled on)...it was nice to stay inside and warm and read the Sunday papers.

In the New York Times, we liked seeing this report from Damien Cave on people connecting at museums and sharing art a lot these days:

...compared with 2005, Americans spent less time in 2008 buying goods and services and more time cooking or taking part in “organizational, civic and religious activities.”

Just as tellingly, evidence can also be found in culture. While one new study shows that attendance at museums and cultural events dropped from 2002 to 2008, it has climbed in 2009 at many major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago. Movie attendance was also up 5 percent in 2009, and in the world of the Walt Disney Company, product sales have declined as the company’s theme parks enjoyed a 3 percent increase in visitors last quarter.

Even here in Miami, a city famous for its materialism, retailers are hurting while audiences continue to grow at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, at parks and for cheap activities like yoga by the beach.

“It’s a different kind of recession,” said Richard Florida, the author of several best-selling books about the economics of cities. “It’s not like in the ’30s when people stopped going to concerts. Now people seem to be keeping up with experience consumption and cutting back on other necessities.”

In the same paper, we noticed a call for a creative jobs initiative - the kind of thing that means more paintings and storytelling for all of us. We still enjoy art created with a similar effort in the thirties -- like this mural in Cincinnati-- today.

And in our local paper, we read an optimistic commentary written by Tom Callinan, on the role of local media and plans for more connections between the Enquirer and our local arts. Great way to start our year!

Our Biggest Web Hit of the Year: Cincinnati Splash Dance

2009-12-31T13:24:00.007-05:00

To celebrate the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, we bring back our biggest hit of the year: the Cincinnati Splash Dance! The Splash Dance is a great example of the way the arts connect us all and make our city such a vibrant, fun place to live, work, play, and stay!

Happy New Year to all!

Holiday Art: The Slide Show

2009-12-25T10:00:00.007-05:00

Lee Carter is a GREAT Guy!

2009-12-22T15:46:00.014-05:00

This is soooo RIGHT! The Chamber of Commerce just announced that Lee Ault Carter, our very own Chairman of the Board and longtime volunteer, is a Great Living Cincinnatian!

Lee Carter with board member Jack Rouse

We knew this already - but it's suh-weet that the Chamber is saying so officially! Congratulations Lee!