Arts & Culture : the Queen City’s crown jewels
September 2010
Thom Mariner
Co-publisher, Express Cincinnati & EXP/arts
New Orleans has Bourbon Street. Indianapolis has The 500. Memphis has the blues. Cincinnati has…what? What is that singular thing that sets us apart from other cities? What can we cultivate as our unmistakable signature – that element of our city in which we can take pride and share as our unique story – our brand essence? Cincinnati’s long history and strong European heritage give us an advantage over cities that did most of their growing in the 20th century. We should be able to claim arts and culture as the jewels of our Queen City’s Crown.
A recent Travel & Leisure magazine article ranked 30 cities in terms of classical music, theater, museums/galleries, and historical sites/monuments. Cincinnati was not even mentioned. Not considered among 30 cities in America when discussing arts and culture? Shame on them! …or is it truly “shame on us?” After all, isn’t it our responsibility to make the world aware of Cincinnati’s unique qualities?
With the fifth oldest symphony and second oldest opera company, eight professional chamber music series, a top flight ballet company, oldest choral festival in the hemisphere and respected professional chorus, Tony Award-winning regional theater, prestigious art museum and contemporary arts center, nationally-recognized museum center, internationally-known music conservatory and design school, the only K-12 arts school in the country, and the most successful collective arts fundraising organization in the nation, we have so much of which to be proud.
According to the City of Cincinnati…“A 2006 study by University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center for Education and Research reported that over $239 million in economic impact is generated by a subset of the cultural community – the 18 member organizations of the Fine Arts Fund, Greater Cincinnati’s united arts fund. The total impact of arts and cultural organizations and artists on the local economy is, therefore, much higher.”
Citing the UC study, “When compared to other ‘recreational’ enterprises, the total economic impact of the arts trails only that of Kings Island and the Cincinnati Reds.”
It’s more than just the number and longevity of our city’s arts organizations. It’s also the quality they present. Carol Olson, an attorney, moved here in 1988 when her husband, Bob, was transferred as general counsel for Penn Central. She initially wanted to keep her ties to New York City. “When we moved to Cincinnati, we kept our New York City Ballet subscription for a couple of years. We eventually gave that up. We found we didn’t need to race back to New York all the time to get our ballet fix.”
John Spencer, a management consultant and New York native, moved here for work and has decided to make Cincinnati his home. He is an active supporter of chamber groups concert:nova, Classical Revolution and Chamber Music Cincinnati. “It’s hard to imagine (particularly if you’ve never lived elsewhere), the relative cultural richness of Cincinnati. If you take the time to notice, it’s really very special. Many of us who came temporarily for business have chosen to stay because of this.”
What other U.S. cities have comparable resources? New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore/Washington, San Francisco… Are there others who surpass what Cincinnati offers artistically? Los Angeles? Minneapolis/St. Paul? Seattle? Dallas? They may surpass our region in specific areas, but they are much larger, congested, and have a much higher cost of living.
According to Spencer, “Sure, New York has more. It’s an unnecessary and invalid comparison. In New York, trying to get to everything can be nearly as stressful as paying the rent or the outrageous subscription prices. Three things are what make Cincinnati’s arts great: quality, accessibility and choice.”
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Posted: August 24th, 2010 under Arts & Culture Blog.
Comments
Comment from Maureen Dillon
Time August 30, 2010 at 2:12 am
I have lived in and travelled to several of the world’s great cities: Boston, Chicago, London, New York, San Francisco, Paris, Rome, Milan, Edinburgh.
Nowhere is so much quality experience so close at hand as here in Cincinnati. I can do world class tennis in the morning, major league baseball in the afternoon, and world class opera or symphony in the evening. Might even slip in a visit to the art museum or the zoo. Free music at CCM! A thriving theatre community!
We have Columbia Parkway and “Lazarus lizards” (very prolific this year after a balmy spring). Graeter’s, the Mercantile Library, Music Hall, Union Terminal, fabulous parks and architecture. And who’s got better river views?
Comment from Joey Reed
Time August 31, 2010 at 8:34 am
Cincinnati is rich in culture and the bonus, the cost of living is affordable. Even during this recession, who doesn’t want to have fun? Accessible and affordable art events are key aspects to sustaining long-term patrons as well as opening the door to new supporters. Let’s note that the CSO and other arts organizations have taken great strides to make arts accessible for all economic levels such as $10 extreme seats and the one day sale of $10 tickets for any seat in honor of Paavo Jarvi’s 10 year anniversary. It is a courageous step to help the community and in turn will create further involvement with those who felt it was not within their budget.
The only flaw that I have identified in your comments is that you quoted great people that I sense are well educated, traveled, and affluent. I am sure it was not your intent and the true point is to depict a real life comparison to New York and other large cities via individual experiences with Cincinnati. Your references do merit the opinion that we, Cincinnatians, are blessed with the culture we have within our regional area. However, here are questions I pose to you:
What about those who haven’t seen the world or even traveled to New York? Do they feel the same way? Where does this demographic group fit in the arts environment and are we doing enough to reach out and engage others with less opportunities or experiences? Our art organizations have opened the door but is this group taking advantage of the offer?
Comment from publisher1
Time August 31, 2010 at 9:32 am
Thanks for the comments so far. There is no question that we have a long way to go to broaden the audience for the arts, in Cincinnati and around the country. My question to our arts organizations is whether “opening the door” is enough. Without early and frequent interactive exposure to the arts among children, we will be severely challenged to attract enough of an audience to sustain these “jewels.” But that’s a whole ‘nother topic for a future issue. Thanks for being part of the conversation!
Comment from Joey Reed
Time August 31, 2010 at 10:31 am
I agree that is going slightly off topic. We need to continue to improve efforts to cultivate all of our community members without boundaries. To answer your question of should Cincinnati known for arts & culture, I’d say, absolutely. I can’t explain in one day how beautiful our immediate culture is. It’s the how we deliver this message that is often times difficult. Other than your publication and a few other alternatives, do we truly have strong public media support that other cities possess? For instance, what is the true focus of the local news? Our stations are full of negative publicity and arts are not necessarily a consistent focus. In order to change or promote a positive public perception, you have to make it available and noteworthy. Our media should be well more responsible for the messages it conveys. For instance, I recently watched the news and the crimes segment was the majority of the evening…listing every stupid thing select people have chosen to do-mug shots and all. I almost flipped to another channel when it announced it had a segment about the orchestra. This segment lasted perhaps 2 minutes maybe a tiny bit more. The worse part it was focused on what was happening in other cities. My question was what happened to the voice of our local arts which is truly worthy of note? The entire agenda was set up for a debacle. No wonder why Cincinnati isn’t on any “good” list. We haven’t really said what is good….for me the tube is off…I already know what we have but to others the negative has the loudest delivery which is sad. My opinion…
Comment from Thomas
Time August 26, 2010 at 11:24 am
Great Article! Cincinnati is often overlooked in what it has to offer! I’ve lived in 2 other states/cities and Cincinnati, Ohio is by far my favorite.