Exhibition Types: Current Season Kennedy Gallery

Undermining Silence: The Language of Change

To view the artist statement and artist bio for each image, please follow THIS LINK.

Please drive through the exhibit following this route:

Nine members of the artist collective Black Art Speaks will exhibit new artworks in Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s outdoor gallery this Summer in a show titled Undermining Silence: The Language of Change. Black Art Speaks is a collective of Black artists who elevate their voices and impact their community through artistic practices. This group emerged from the Cincinnati Black Lives Matter mural where lead artists and organizers found value in continuing their mission and combining forces. Their new original art pieces will be reproduced as large panels and installed around the KHAC grounds, which can be viewed as a drive-thru experience or guests can park and explore on foot. This exhibit includes reflective art inspired by protests against injustices which includes the purpose, process, and participation in creating a Black Lives Matter mural in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Exhibition sponsored by The George and Margaret McLane Foundation. 

Outdoor Gallery participants include: Brent Billingsley, Michael Coppage, Cedric Michael Cox, Latausha Cox, Ke’Monte’ Figgs, Brandon Hawkins, Adoria Maxberry, Annie Ruth, Asha White

Exhibition will be open from June 12 – August 28, 2021 (every day from dawn to dusk)

An Opening Reception, which will also include music by the Camille Saba Smith Trio sponsored by It’s Commonly Jazz, will take place outside on Saturday, June 26 from 4-6pm.

An Artist Talk will also be held outside on Saturday, August 21 from 4-6pm.

Image Credit: Justice/Just Us, Brent Billingsley, Reduction Woodblock Cut; ink on paper (photo credit:  Robin Imaging)

Unconventional

Sign up for a FREE PHOTO SESSION with Skye High in “Our Spot” through this LINK. Sessions are 20 minutes long, from 11am-3pm on both Saturday August 7 and August 21. Space is limited.

Participants can register for one or both of these exciting, FREE workshops with artist Adoria Maxberry, and create unique art pieces that will be added to the exhibition in our gallery, along with things to take home!

Friday, August 6 from 6:30-7:30pm – Papermaking: Inspire, Create, Grow

Saturday, August 21 from 10-11am – Art to DYE for! Tie-dying workshop

Four emerging, Black artists present diverse installations exploring different ways to experience art in Unconventional, opening July 31, 2021 at Kennedy Heights Arts Center (KHAC). The public is invited to an opening reception on Saturday, July 31 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Featured artists include: Phillip Dowdy, Ke’Monte’ Figgs, Skye High, and Adoria Maxberry.

This project grew out of Kennedy Heights Arts Center’s ongoing conversations with local Black creatives over the past year, and provides a platform for voices not often heard in traditional galleries.

In 2020, the Arts Center joined the OF/BY/FOR ALL Change Network, a cohort of arts and cultural organizations across the globe working to become more representative OF, co-created BY and relevant FOR their diverse communities. As part of an intentional process to put equity into action, KHAC board and staff have been in conversation with Black artists, performers and cultural leaders in Cincinnati whom we invited to collaboratively explore how we might partner on actions and projects which directly support their goals and aspirations for themselves, their artistic practice, and their community(ies).

Artists shared barriers they have experienced with accessing resources and opportunities at museums, galleries and art institutions in Cincinnati. They stressed the importance of building authentic, versus transactional, relationships. In response, Kennedy Heights Arts Center committed to supporting their work by sharing power, resources (financial, material, time, and space), and pursuing cultural shifts within our organization.
The artists’ installations in Unconventional reflect various themes and materials including painting, photography, video, fiber, and mixed media.

Skye High’s mixed media installation “Our Spot” is inspired by Dreamworld, a concept born in Skye’s apartment, from a place of necessity. After being assaulted by someone close to them, they found it difficult to feel safe in their space. Dreamworld was a way of reclaiming that space and cultivating safety, comfort, and community for the ones they loved and in turn, themself.

“As a queer, Black person and undiagnosed autistic as a child, I didn’t have spaces where I felt comfortable and safe, so I made them,” Skye remarked. “’Our Spot’ is about a return to myself and being able to find and cultivate safe space in art.”

Viewers will be invited to step into the installations and be photographed, if they wish, so they become part of the art. 

“I hope to make spaces that are tactile and inviting, and showcase the magic in the otherwise mundane. The installation hopes to blur the lines between art and observer, inviting patrons to step into a moment that feels strange, and oddly familiar, like a dream.”

It has long been Ke’Monte’ Figgs’ dream to create a children’s book. Art has always been a part of his life, and he is passionate about bringing an impact to the youth in his community. Whether it’s painting, writing poetry, singing, dancing, videography, or music production he believes there are so many different pathways Black youth can follow rather than the streets. Through his first children’s book, titled Arts, Dreams, and Success, Figgs hopes to positively encourage and inspire children to discover their true potential by tapping into their hidden talents and creativity – whatever that may be.

The exhibit will feature original acrylic painting illustrations, as well as a look at his process creating the book. Visitors will have the opportunity to purchase an advance copy.

As a member of Black Art Speaks, Figgs painted the letter “S” (in Lives) in the Black Lives Matter mural in downtown Cincinnati in 2020 (and recently refreshed in 2021), but this will be his first exhibition in a gallery setting.

“This opportunity is a break-through for me, a step towards my dream coming true,” said Figgs. “I feel like I am stepping into my purpose in life and making an impact in the community.”

Unconventional will be on view in the Kennedy Gallery from July 31 to August 28, 2021. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday, 10am to 5pm and Saturday, 11am to 4pm. For more information, call 513-631-4278 or visit kennedyarts.org.

13th Annual Student & Faculty Exhibition

Opening Day: Saturday, June 5, 11am – 8pm

Featuring artwork created by KHAC students and faculty from the past year, the 13th Annual Student & Faculty Exhibition showcases the variety of class offerings at the Art Center and celebrates the talents of its wonderful community. Following the events of 2020, we feel there is even more to celebrate this year. This display includes work from art makers ages seven to senior creating in a wide array of themes and mediums. Click here to reserve your free timed entry ticket.

Image credit: Artwork by Portrait Drawing student Marilyn Wilson

Collective Impact: Females Joining Forces

Throughout history, women have joined forces to combat gender-based discrimination, redefine their roles in society, lift each other up in safe spaces, and amplify their voices.

Collective Impact: Females Joining Forces, curated by Mallory Feltz, features past work and newly created pieces by seven Cincinnati-based female artist collectives: Art for Artists, Art Hags, BombShells of Cincinnati, LOOK, Maidens of the Cosmic Body Running, PhotograpHERS, and Pull Club. 

Inspired by pivotal female artist collectives from the 1970s onward (Where We At (WWA) Black Women Artists, Inc., Guerrilla Girls, Sister Serpents, etc) that were fueled by the Second-Wave Feminist Movement in the 1960s (and subsequent movements), this exhibition aims to continue the discussion of female empowerment in art and the importance of the collective voice. The artists in this exhibition all find the draw to collaborate, and use their diverse perspectives to highlight various themes, inspire important discussions in our region, and comment on the contemporary female experience.

Signage on pivotal international female artist collectives past and present will link Cincinnati to the larger national art historical movement of females joining forces to make their voices heard.

Free timed entry tickets are available HERE or by calling 513-631-4278. Tickets ensure that you can visit at your desired day and time. If you visit without a ticket, you may be asked to wait or come back at a different time due to capacity limits. Masks are required. Please practice social distancing.

Hear the artists speak about their collaborative work in this video:

Exhibition Sponsored by: LasikPlus

Artist Collective Members List

Art for Artists: Lead organizers Arnelle Dow and Jan Thomas, membership varies. Complete list of participating members coming soon.

ART HAGS: Linnea Gartin, Liz Miller, Amy Scarlpello, Kate Tepe

BombShells of Cincinnati: Judy Dominic, Emily Holtrop, Shannon Faith, Karen Saunders, Barb Sferra, Katie Swartz, Amy Watson

LOOK: Sidney Cherie Hilley, Anh Tran

Maidens of the Cosmic Body Running: Denise Burge, Lisa Siders, Jenny Ustick

PhotograpHERS: Helen Adams, Erika Nj Allen, Tina Gutierrez, Claudia Hershner, Colleen Houston, Maggie Lawson, Kimberly Starbuck, Pat Timm

Pull Club: Chelsey Hughes, Amy Scarpello, Linda Winder

This exhibition was originally developed in partnership with ArtsWave’s POWER OF HER Initiative.

SOS ART Retrospective (2016-2020)

This Retrospective exhibit consists of a selection of artworks on the themes of peace and justice by 90 Greater Cincinnati artists who had participated in previous annual SOS ART shows between 2016 and 2020. Co-Curators Vaishnavi Ramanathan and Saad Ghosn selected the works based on their merit of quality and messages for a better world.

The show includes works shown indoors and works enlarged and printed on large panels displayed outdoors; also a video of the artworks and mini interviews with the participating artists.

Watch the artist interviews on the video below (length is 1 hour):

A color book documenting the show and including a section for children’s related art activities is available free to visitors. Children’s activities are also being planned during the duration of the show. Click HERE to find out more and how to participate!

You can view the color book which includes all the pieces in the show, and the children’s activities via this LINK. FREE hard copies of the book are available on our front porch. 

Learn more about the youth activities from this video:

Exhibition on view from Jan 9 – March 13, 2021

Free timed entry tickets are available here or by calling 513-631-4278. Masks are required. Please practice social distancing.