ArtsWave Black and Brown Artist Showcase 2024: Truth & Innovation

For the second year, Creativity Squared is proud to share a special series with the nation’s largest community arts campaign and our partner, ArtsWave, that will be starting July 25th. This year’s Truth & Innovation Artist Showcase centers around visual art, film, dance, and music by 22 of the region’s leading Black and Brown artists. The third annual showcase will take place on July 12-14:

• Friday, July 12 – from 5 to 9:30 p.m. at the Contemporary Arts Center
• Saturday, July 13 – from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (Gallery Hours)
• Sunday, July 14 – from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at The Carnegie

Creativity Squared will be there live with the artists, and our podcast series will highlight the phenomenal artists and grant recipients selected for this year’s ArtsWave Black and Brown Artists Program! 

Last year, eighteen of the Cincinnati area’s artists of color showcased their multidisciplinary works exploring the concepts of healing, rebirth, and reconnecting in the Truth & Healing ArtsWave showcase. Creativity Squared sat down with each of the 2023 artists to discuss their individual works for the series.

We had the honor of interviewing all of the artists at the opening of Truth & Healing Visual Art Exhibition, and are honored to do it again this year. Last year’s showcase was focused on the themes of healing, rebirth, and reconnecting. Projects explored and built upon the current artistic commentary of health and race and connected it with historical events and visions of a more equitable future. The artists’ mediums included couture fashion, painting, and sculpture — along with film, musical composition, podcasts, theater, dance, and multidisciplinary works.

The intention of these interviews was, and is again this year, to give these artists another platform to share their art and the truth expressed through it, as you never know what ripples will turn into waves. 

Who Is ArtsWave?

ArtsWave is a nationally recognized non-profit that supports over 150 arts organizations, projects, and independent artists. Because it’s important to support artists, 10% of all revenue generated from Creativity Squared goes to ArtsWave to support their Black and Brown Artists Program. The mission of Creativity Squared is to envision a world where artists not only coexist with A.I., but thrive.

The Black and Brown Artists Program supports independent artists of color in the greater Cincinnati area with direct grants of $10,000 each, as well as opportunities for mentorship, business skills training, and networking. Funded artists were selected by a panel based on how their proposal addressed this year’s showcase theme: “Truth & Healing.” 

And in case you missed it (or want to revisit it), listen to episode 9 of Creativity Squared featuring Janice Liebenberg who is the Vice President of Equitable Arts Advancement at ArtsWave to hear her talk about how the arts can bring people together and for more on ArtsWave.

In a release, ArtsWave shared:

ArtsWave approved $212,500 in funding to 22 local BIPOC artists for the fourth year of its Black and Brown Artist Program grants.

As a key component of ArtsWave’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access strategy, “Lifting as We Learn,” ArtsWave’s Black and Brown Artist Program is designed to give artists of color in the Cincinnati region the resources they need to interpret and express the themes of our times. It has funded 90 artist projects with over $950,000 in grants over the past four years. The Black and Brown Artist Program has explored important themes of the BIPOC experience, including truth, reconciliation, inspiration and healing. The artists selected for this year’s grant will create projects across artistic genres focusing on the themes of Truth and Innovation, connecting historical events and visions of a more equitable future.

2024 Truth & Innovation Showcase

The ArtsWave Black and Brown Artist Program Showcase, now in its fourth year, supports local BIPOC artists and their interpretations of contemporary themes. This year’s “Truth & Innovation Artist Showcase” runs from July 12-14, 2024, at various venues, with a visual art exhibition continuing through August 8.

Artists will present works across multiple genres, exploring the modern BIPOC experience and the concepts of “Truth” and “Innovation.” Community collaboration is a key component of these projects, promoting a more equitable future for Cincinnati.

The showcase includes visual art, music, film, theater, dance, and more, representing the diverse experiences of underrepresented groups in modern America. For more details and event schedules, visit artswave.org/truth.

Support Artists and Stay Tuned for More

If you’re interested in working with, featuring, or supporting these artists, please don’t be shy about it. 

Stay tuned for our special series, which will be live starting July 25 to learn more about these incredible artists and all that ArtsWave does.