Exhibitions

Ten 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. 

Outdoor Gallery participants include: Brent Billingsley, Michael Coppage, Cedric Cox, Latausha Cox, Kemonte Figgs, Brandon Hawkins, Lahna Lei, Adoria Maxberry, Annie Ruth, Asha White

Exhibition will be open from June 12 – August 28, 2021

Image Credit: Justice, 

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.

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.

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.

This exhibition is now over in our gallery. However, it continues to be exhibited online at www.renaissanceincincy.org

Curated by Lex Nycole and Gee Horton, this exhibition pays homage to the Harlem Renaissance era, showcasing the artistic contributions of a collective of African American artists of the 1920’s, and how their artistic endeavors have undoubtedly shifted the American cultural, economic and political landscape. 

As part of A Celebration of the Harlem Renaissance, presented by Juneteenth Cincinnati in partnership with Kennedy Heights Arts Center, this exhibit is designed to memorialize, draw connections and spark conversations as twelve contemporary Cincinnati-based artists revisit the past in attempts to celebrate the history of the Harlem Renaissance by creating new works, in their own mediums, in a way that authentically pays tribute to the artists of that era.

Whether it’s the expressionism of Beauford Delaney or Bessie Smith’s blues that carried a nation, this exhibition will be nothing short of real, true, and timeless. A time where holding your tongue was scoffed upon and dwelling in your authenticity became the only elixir for success. An era that has paved an impenetrable path to greatness for anyone who so chooses to follow. This show provides you with a bit of everything you thought you knew, and all the wonders of things you didn’t know you needed.. . a legacy. 

Exhibiting artists include: Paris Abstract, Asmara Abraham, Cedric Michael Cox, FEALART, TC Flowers, Cherie Garces, Lance Johnson, Hannah “Jonesy” Jones, Michael Coppage (Prosper Jones), Natasha Quitano, Skye High, and Ike Slimster.

Artworks, artist statements & bios, and historical panels (along with all the virtual programming and educational curriculum) will all be accessible online SOON on the project website: www.renaissanceincincy.org

Curators Lex Nycole (right) and Gee Horton (left)

Lex Nycole bio: As a curator my mission has always been to make culture more accessible to my city. I’ve always known that art and entertainment were some of the most influential and impactful platforms to be a part of. So early in my youth, I decided to devote my professional career and life to creating and helping mold outlets that promote not only the city’s artistry, but the well being of its community. A combined interest in experimental marketing, brand awareness, project management, and production have led me to where I am now. Furthermore, I am a firm believer that creativity is the vehicle that will drive the progression of change.  I want the work I do to undoubtedly lead a renaissance of change that will contribute to the break down of barriers and set new standards on how people embrace life & cultural differences.

Gee Horton bio: Gee Horton is a Cincinnati-based self-trained Hyperrealist visual artist who has recently transitioned from a career in the corporate world to focus primarily on making art and building communities. Using graphite and charcoal pencils, Gee’s drawings capture a heightened sense of realism, but it is important to note that the Hyperrealist style is only one facet of comprehending his work. Having earned a master’s in social work from the University of Louisville, he often incorporates his education and life experiences into his art to achieve a kind of power that for many triggers’ emotional associations. With this in mind, his current work makes a connection between his African roots and their juxtaposition to American attitudes on the social and emotional development of the African American male experience.

Gee’s artistic practice began roughly three years ago and work has already been featured in local art exhibits such as The Black & Brown Faces exhibit at The Cincinnati Art Museum, The “Uprising” exhibit at Kennedy Heights Arts Center, The WE Gallery exhibit at the

historic Cincinnati Music Hall, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s “#NewTruth” Art Show, ArtWorks’ “Secret ArtWorks 2018” at The Banks, and the Mohawk Gallery’s “Manifestations of Time: The Black Experience” exhibit.

Gee is currently working on a series of work entitled, “Coming of Age”. In collaboration with photographer Jason Carter, the series is autobiographical and offers a complex multilayered conversation about black-male adolescence and their search for identity, acceptance, purpose, and love. Gee is currently selling hand selected pieces from this selection as well as other works on his website. Expect to see this prolific collection “Coming of Age” to debut in 2021, which will be his first gallery showing to the Cincinnati community.

Gee is currently serving as the Mercantile Library’s first African American Artist-in-Residence. He has been commissioned to draw a 6ft portrait of Peter H. Clark, the Mercantile Library’s first African American member. Gee played a major role in the Black Art Speaks collective to paint the Black Lives Matter! mural in front of Cincinnati’s City Hall. His contribution in the Black Lives Matter mural is the “L” in “Lives”, using text from the renowned African American poet Langston Hughes’ 1926 poem, “I, Too”. Gee currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Artworks, Wave Pool, and is a Co-Host of the Urban Consulate Cincinnati Chapter.