Arts & Culture : the Queen City’s crown jewels
Jane Copper-Short and husband, John, originally retired to Asheville, N.C., then moved to the Charleston, S.C. area, searching for more arts and culture. They finally came to Cincinnati seven years ago. “We discovered we wanted to be where there was a world-class symphony, a good opera, excellent visual arts, and a vibrant community…year-round,” she said. “When we were evaluating options, we sat down and talked about ‘Where are the great symphonies?’ We eliminated New York, Chicago and San Francisco primarily due to cost.”
Most metropolitan areas in our region (Columbus, Indianapolis, Louisville) or of similar size to Cincinnati (Portland, Denver, Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Antonio) possess some, but not all of these components, or at least not all of equal quality. According to Bob Olson, incoming board president of Cincinnati Opera, “We have a superb opera, symphony and ballet. When you go to other cities you find that not all of them have each one of those three, and they won’t, by reputation, have companies that are in the same class. Part of this I attribute to the fact that Cincinnati is a 200-year-old city with lots of tradition. There’s a real strength to its fabric that comes from being an older city. Newer cities haven’t developed those three art forms, at least to the extent that Cincinnati has. That makes Cincinnati different.”
Looking around the region, Opera Columbus recently had to delay the announcement of its upcoming season to raise the funds necessary to maintain its three productions and not fall back to two. The Columbus Symphony has recently proposed a restructuring, cutting its season by one-third and trimming players’ salaries by 20%. The Indiana Ballet ceased operations in March of this year. Opera Cleveland has just canceled its 2011 season, and has created a task force to assess the feasibility of continuing in the future. While there is no doubt that the recession has had a negative impact on Cincinnati arts organizations, attendance continues to be strong and budgets are being met.
One can’t possibly overlook the astounding $85 million recently endowed by Louise Nippert to sustain the Cincinnati Symphony, Opera and Ballet. While few could give such a gift, it is representative of the value placed on the arts that is a cornerstone of Cincinnati history.
It is this sense of history that has sustained Music Hall, the largest symphony hall in the U.S., and protected Over-the-Rhine as the country’s largest intact urban historic district. The $92.5 million revitalization of Music Hall (scheduled for 2012-13), combined with the ongoing renaissance in OTR and the new School for the Creative & Performing Arts nearby should serve as a magnet for investment and creativity in the urban core. “The Music Hall revitalization will be terrific for the arts in Cincinnati,” said Bob Olson. “That could be part of the branding of Cincinnati, the gemstone that’s the symbol of our artistic excellence, and it’s getting a facelift and being revitalized.”
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber website includes a video describing the most compelling reasons for moving to Cincinnati. The impression given is that we have everything other cities have, that we’re just as good. Why don’t we let viewers know that our arts and culture make Cincinnati more interesting than other cities? Wouldn’t we want tourists and new citizens who love the arts, and who are passionate about life, creativity and the very best aspects of humanity?
In order to position Cincinnati as a better alternative to major metropolitan markets, we need to emphasize this combination of affordability and superior arts and culture that makes Cincinnati a uniquely attractive place to live and work. Add in the undeniable physical beauty of the river valley, ten Fortune 500 headquarters, great restaurants, and competitive sports teams – we have quite a compelling story to share. ϖ
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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.