Category: Uncategorized

Delivering Joy to Seniors

Our first delivery of JOY went out this week.

We could all use some joy right now, huh?

This is especially true for older adults. Due to the increased risk factors COVID-19 poses for older adults, many seniors are staying safe by self-quarantining at home or in senior living communities. Unfortunately, social isolation—while beneficial from a physical health standpoint during the pandemic— has the potential of causing loneliness which can lead to depression, anxiety or other health problems.

So, Kennedy Heights Arts Center and Episcopal Retirement Services (ERS) have teamed up to combat social isolation and deliver joy to our region’s seniors this holiday season—and you can help.

Everyone is invited to create a handmade gift for an older adult in need. For a donation of $45, you can order a Joy Delivery kit including materials and instructions to create a personalized card and a hand-painted mug, soap and dish, or embroidered scarf. Make your items at home, then drop it off at Kennedy Heights Arts Center to be packaged and delivered to a senior living in one of the ERS communities, or give the gift to an elderly neighbor or family member.

This holiday season will look quite different from previous years. With more seniors forced to celebrate the holidays alone, we must find creative ways to stay connected. Art can be a great way to connect with our elders in a personal and uplifting way.

Let’s spread some joy.

Lifting Voices for Racial Justice

Protests this summer have lifted the voices of people seeking justice. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest systemic racism and police brutality. Inspired by this, Kennedy Heights Arts Center partnered with Art Beyond Boundaries to provide a platform for Black artists’ voices to be seen and heard through the exhibition UPRISING.

Spaced throughout the grounds of the Arts Center are works by 10 Black Cincinnati artists: Cherie Garces, Melvin Grier, Terence Hammonds, Gee Horton, Hannah Jones, Jimi Jones, Cynthia Lockhart, Ricci Michaels, Thom Shaw and Gilbert Young. Each use the power of art to illuminate and tackle issues of racial justice and boldly advocate for change.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to increase the accessibility of this exhibit, the artwork was printed large-scale and installed outdoors to be viewed as a drive-through experience, or to be explored on foot.

UPRISING is on view now until November 28th and is generously sponsored by The George and Margaret McLane Foundation, ArtsWave, and FotoFocus.

Thank you to filmmaker Biz Young and FotoFocus for produced this video!

Image above by Will Jones Photo

Our Commitment to our Community

We’ve been asking ourselves what our organization can do to take meaningful action in response to this moment of uprising against racist violence. You may be asking that too.

Like many of you, we are outraged at the senseless killing of George Floyd – and Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless black people before them who have lost their lives in racist acts. The pain and trauma that black people are experiencing every day in our city and across our nation is real.

We see you. We hear you. We stand with you.

Since its founding 16 years ago by local residents, Kennedy Heights Arts Center has striven to be a place where all are welcome, seen and valued. We are proud to be part of an intentionally integrated neighborhood and to engage with a wonderfully diverse community.

Yet, we are all too aware of the multi-hundred year legacy of white supremacy and systemic racism in our country, and how institutions like ours have been complicit in that system of oppression. We have to be willing to do the hard work to put an end to racism, to brutality, to inequities.

We stand firmly opposed to all forms of racism and injustice, and move forward with purpose to create a more equitable future.

These are some of the immediate and longer-term actions we are taking to advance racial justice, both externally with our community and internally with our team.

• We are pausing other projects to make space for discerning our vision and to amplify the voices and messages our community needs to hear, at this critical time.
• We hold space for dialogue, particularly elevating the voices of young people in our community. We are partnering with Elementz and Tellus Zine to host conversations and creative expression with teens about what justice looks like to them–providing a safe space to share their feelings and experiences, expand understanding, and envision actionable steps they and we can take to create change.
• We believe in the powerful role that art can play in affecting social change. We hold space for diverse voices, perspectives and stories through the creation and presentation of art. In the near future, we are collaborating with Art Beyond Boundaries to host an exhibition of work by African American artists speaking out against injustice. Going forward, we commit to collaborate with more artists of color.
• We pledge our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and access at all levels of our organization. Kennedy Heights Arts Center is joining with 54 arts and culture organizations across the globe in the OF/BY/FOR ALL Change Network. In the coming year and beyond, our board and staff will be listening deeply and engaging with diverse community members to carry out the important work of transforming the way we work to be truly of, by and for our community.

We know these actions are a small piece of what is needed. We are equally committed to engaging in this conversation with all of you and finding ways to create more value. We welcome your input, ideas and involvement. If you would like to contribute to any of these initiatives or suggest others, please contact us.

We have hope that, together, we can bring forth much needed tides of change.

Sincerely,

Creativity in the Time of COVID-19

Greetings from my dining room table! The Arts Center is closed and our staff are working from home. And, like the rest of you, I am figuring out how to stay safe and navigate in this new reality.

One thing we know for sure: creative expression is needed now more than ever. Your KHAC team has been working on ideas to help keep you creative and connected during this time of social distance. We will be sharing content online, including a virtual gallery, and linking you with other great arts resources you can access from home. 

Just because we are exercising social distance, it doesn’t mean we can’t connect and support each other. Our new Facebook group, Cincy Show and Tell, is an inclusive space to share the creative things you’re making, crafting, singing, playing, cooking, performing…. All the things that are keeping us sane during this home quarantine. More than 250 people have joined so far, and their ingenuity is inspiring.

We know, however, that not all families have computers and internet access at home, so we are distributing free creativity kits to make sure everyone has access to enriching arts learning activities during this challenging time. The kits are given to local families during Cincinnati Public Schools’ lunch distribution at Woodford Paideia Academy (3716 Woodford Rd) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11-12.

Great for kids of all ages, each Creativity Kit includes an art lesson with all materials provided, as well as imaginative activities kids can do at home with no special supplies (just their creative brain!). Anyone is welcome to pick up a kit at Woodford, whether or not you are getting food. We also have extra kits available on the front porch at the Arts Center; so if you are out for a walk, feel free to pick up one!

We welcome your ideas, too! If you have suggestions for other ways to connect and stay creative during this time, please send me an email at ellen@kennedyarts.org. We are all in this together.

Take care of yourself, and each other.

Ellen

Art is our Super Power

Groundbreaking research in neuroscience reveals that our need to connect with other people is even more fundamental than our need for food and shelter. Social connection is a super power that makes individuals smarter, happier and more productive.*

At Kennedy Heights Arts Center, we have seen how arts and culture connect us—to start conversations we might not otherwise have, to celebrate our commonalities, to overcome differences.

Teens collaborate with professional artists and each other to create projects about issues they care about from homelessness to bullying–and make a difference in their community.

Diverse artists of all practices and skill levels come together weekly in a supportive, nurturing space in Open Studio. They create much more than artwork—they create community.

Elementary students in Cincinnati Public Schools collaborate with artists and musicians in the classroom and after school. They create art installations, play in jazz and string orchestras, perform plays, and sing in a chorus—soaring beyond their expectations.

Kennedy Heights Arts Center provides free and low-cost arts experiences for more than 5,000 people every year–including art education classes for youth and adults, summer camps, artist residencies in the community, programs in public schools, Teen Artists for Change, diverse exhibitions, public art projects, and cultural events from Winterfest to Jazz in the Heights.

Because of contributions from people like you, 100% of these creative experiences are accessible to everyone regardless of income.

Your support is critical. Your gift to Kennedy Heights Arts Center creates social connections and builds vibrant communities for all of us.

Be a Super Hero. Give to our Annual Fund Campaign today.

*Matthew Lieberman, Social, 2013.

Going Beyond our Dreams

At last week’s showcase, students in grades 2-6 sang, danced, performed puppet shows, and displayed ceramics and paintings. And, they literally jumped with joy.

This marks the third year of Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s partnership with Woodford Paideia Academy to lead a school-wide arts and culture initiative. In this public elementary school where 99 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch, all students play a musical instrument; work with professional artists-in-residence in art, music, dance and theatre; participate in fine art field studies; and experience arts integrated curriculum in the classroom.

We employ the power of the arts to enhance creativity, confidence, and academic achievement.

And the results are showing.

On the Ohio Department of Education’s recent school report card, Woodford raised its overall grade from an F to a C, and earned an A in the important “Gap Closing” score.

While there are many factors that affect test scores, there is no doubt that the arts are having a profound impact on these young students’ success.

77% of Woodford students feel the art activities increased their self-confidence; 75% reported working better with others; and 65% thought the arts helped them do better in school.

In addition to gaining artistic skills, they reported learning: “about self-control,” “how to work with other people and use your imagination,” and “how to give your all in all you do.”

As one child remarked, “I learned we can go beyond our dreams.”

TRANSFORM YOUNG LIVES
Give to the Annual Fund

Your support is critical. Your gift to Kennedy Heights Arts Center transforms the lives of hundreds of young people through arts and culture. And, you ensure that 100% of our programs remain accessible to everyone regardless of income.

DONATE NOW

Image by Will Jones Photo

I Come for the Community

Mindy and her longtime friend Annie joined Open Studio a year ago as an opportunity for them “to hang out together and make art.”

Turns out, it met more than an artistic need. “It gives us a community,” said Mindy.

Every Thursday, artists of all practices and skill levels are invited to create in community in the studio at Kennedy Heights Arts Center, free of charge. With support from studio coordinator Lynne Gibb, adults paint, draw, work with clay, felt, knit – and share coffee and their lives.

When Lauren was diagnosed with cancer, she and her three sisters wanted to spend as much time together as they could. They decided to do something they all enjoy: making art. After all, Lauren was an artist who at one time had a studio in the Pendleton Art Center.

“The Sisters”, as we often called them, became regulars at Open Studio. As they joyfully painted together each week, they also bonded with everyone in the group.

After Lauren passed away this summer, Lynn, Lila and Lisa thought it would be difficult to come back to Open Studio without their sister. But the support they found here helped them heal. Now they have recruited their cousin Amy, and they are carrying on the artistic projects Lauren began.

Open Studio is a nurturing, creative space to explore, experiment and get inspired by other artists. But for its members, it is more than that.

As one remarked, “I come for the community.”

BE A COMMUNITY BUILDER
Give to the Annual Fund

Your support is critical. Your gift to Kennedy Heights Arts Center brings people together through diverse arts and cultural experiences like Open Studio. And, you ensure that 100% of our programs remain accessible to everyone regardless of income.

DONATE TODAY

Teens make art to make a difference

Homelessness, food insecurity, bullying, depression and anxiety in young people. These are all issues that teens in our community care about – and they are using creative tools to address them.

Bridging artistic expression and activism in Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s Teen Artists for Change program, diverse students in grades 7-12 collaborate with professional artists and each other to create projects impacting social justice.

• Producing PSA videos for public access TV about teen mental health
• Creating a photo storytelling project raising awareness about homelessness
• Making a video for social media for The Caring Place food pantry

In the coming year, our Teen Editorial Board will be developing a new online ‘zine of creative expressions by teens, for teens, about issues that matter to them.

Teen Artists for Change “not only gave us the ability to voice our own opinions and ideas, it also gave us the chance to spread a powerful message,” said Riley (age 17). “(Kennedy Heights Arts Center) is a place that has allowed me to stretch my legs. I dream big and express my creativity, instead of hiding it.”

BE A CHANGE MAKER

Give to the Annual Fund

Your support is critical. Your gift to Kennedy Heights Arts Center provides a wide range of arts and cultural experiences for people of all ages, like Teen Artists for Change. And, you ensure that 100% of our programs remain accessible to everyone regardless of income.

DONATE TODAY

Lifting up Teen Voices

Are you passionate about sharing your voice, and the voices of other teens? Want to become part of an exciting group of teen leaders in Cincinnati? Apply to become a founding member of our Teen Editorial Board.

The Teen Editorial Board is a year-long commitment for diverse young artists and writers in grades 9-12 who want to make an impact in their community, sponsored by Kennedy Heights Arts Center and Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts (SOTA) with support from The Charles H. Dater Foundation.

The Editorial Board plans, creates, and publishes creative expressions by teens about issues that matter to them in a new online ‘zine.

Editorial Board members will:

• Be mentored by professional artists, writers, and editors to develop skills in expressing their voices through community-engaged art and writing
• Shape the direction of the online magazine’s content
• Engage in dialogue with teens from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives
• Gain professional experience for their resumes and/or portfolios
• Plan Kennedy Heights Arts Center sponsored events for teens
• Members of the Editorial Board will reflect the diversity of teens in the Greater Cincinnati region and should be outside-of-the-box thinkers who feel passionate about their opinions and expressing them through art and/or writing.

Accepted applicants will meet regularly the second Wednesday of each month from October 2019 – June 2020 at Kennedy Heights Arts Center.

APPLY NOW

Applications must be submitted by August 30, 2019. Student interviews will be held on September 7 and 14.

Please contact Brittany Vernon for more information.

Send a Kid to Camp!