Updates from the PAR-Projects blog...

|**| Artwork + Spiced Cider

We're doing a thing.  We did a thing.

While we created our first major project -- The State of Matter -- in October 2010, it was on this day -- October 2nd, 2015 -- that we were (finally) recognized as a 501(c)3, non-profit in the state of Ohio. Well, four years later, we quietly may have just put into motion the BIGGEST move we've ever made as an organization. Details will hopefully launch by the first week of November, but as we're in campaign mode, we don't want to distract from the fact that we need your support TODAY. The work we've been able to do -- from mobile art galleries, to corn mazes, to even that first (2010) walking tour of Northside that featured five spaces of fine-art-glass and studio demonstrations -- has always relied on the support of our community. So while we're making large strides towards our future, we do ask that you remember and celebrate some of the past work we've done today. Still, as something major happened a few hours ago, we think it would be great if you

The future of PAR-Projects' facility at 1662 Hoffner Street in Northside Photo rendered by: Team B Architecture & Design They said… How do these crazy dreamers expect they’ll be able to build an art and education space from nothing… in a city they’re still finding their voice in, with no huge donors lined up, no financial planners on board, and no experience in land development? Well… We were in our 20s, so our approach may very well have seemed overly-ambitious or even silly. But one thing most have realized by now is that we weren’t concerned. No risk, no reward. We knew we had a worthy mission. We knew we had good reason. And quite frankly, we now know we were some of the most determined artists, connected to some of the strongest artists, and unafraid to reach out to the more established artists to help us make things happen. This was to be an experiment on a grand scale, led by a tiny team of talent and determination. Of course there were some questions. Who

PAR-Projects would like to welcome Marcus Donaldson, our new development intern! Over the next few months, Marcus will help aid our fundraising efforts in ways we’re amped to share with you soon. Having previously worked with People’s Liberty and Chase Public, Marcus brings with him experience in content creation and strategy and is looking to add to his skillset in the world of development. Marcus joins the PAR-Projects team as part of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals ’ New Faces of Fundraising Program — a writer & strategist with tons of questions, he is motivated and excited by the arts and hopes to use his experience in communications to strengthen and build relationships for PAR Projects.

Because we can't (yet) offer all of our classes all of the time, we're asking our community to let us know what classes they'd be interested in seeing us offer in Kennedy Heights over the next year or two and what times would work best. Please find our two minute survey below. And if interested in viewing class descriptions, please visit our website — www.parprojects.com/Education — for more information. Thanks in advance for your participation!

Every year, a month after what is arguably Cincinnati's most creative few days of the summer — Northside's 4th of July Parade and Rock & Roll Festival — a humble neighborhood celebration takes place to invite everyone back into our community. This event is Northside Summer Market — a community-wide yard sale with free arts & music programming. And on Saturday, August 3rd, we're doing it again! As always, a day or two before the event, we'll release a printed and online map of all of our neighbors who have registered their houses' yard sales. But if you just want to visit Northside and go for it, two good starting places are the Yard Sale's Central Location at CAIN (4230 Hamilton Ave.) and our art-infused beer garden at Humble Monk Brewery (1641 Blue Rock St.).  This year, to help beat the heat, CAIN will be hosting a Cool Down Corner where festival patrons can enjoy grilled entrees, cold drinks, fresh fruit, FREE popsicles, kid's activitie

As the summer progresses, so does our planning for this years Northside Summer Market.  If you follow us on our social media platforms, you already know the date for this year's event is Saturday, August 3rd .  However, you probably don't know about the developing details of the day.  While gears are still turning, we can confirm the event schedule which will include split programming between the morning and evening portions of the day as well as other exciting details.  As per tradition, Northside Summer Market will coincide with the World's Longest Yard Sale weekend so community wide yard sales will take place throughout Northside, with a central location congregating at CAIN - 4230 Hamilton Ave.  Yard sales will begin at 9:00 am and continue to 2:00 pm.  Our friends at CAIN will also host a family cook out and cooling zone from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm at the central location.  If you are interested in registering your house on the map or registering for a spot at t

Over the years, we admittedly haven't been the best at sharing our story. Oftentimes it's a too-much-to-do-to-slow-down type of vibe. But until now, the "how" was a dilemma as well. To say the least, our story is a slow-and-steady, observing-and-reinventing, complicated type of journey, but we're happy to have figured out a decent way to walk everyone through it. From illegal evictions in the private sector, to the loss of a 30 year lease in the public sector, we've found a way to keep the arts at our forefront and continue pushing forward ...so it's time to share a bit of that. Unfortunately we couldn't embed the timeline in this post -- Blogger securities and all -- but hop on over to our information page for the newest feature of our hand-coded website ...by clicking this last part of this sentence . ... or by clicking the image below. Thanks again for your time, Team PAR-

This summer, PAR-Projects will be collaborating with the Northside Farmers Market to provide weekly art programming!  Every Wednesday, 4PM - 7PM, Team PAR- will be at the Farmers Market helping neighbors create FREE art activities that are BOTH adult and kid friendly.  Once a month, PAR-Projects will also host a pop-up exhibition in the Hoffner Park gazebo. Check out the schedule below for more details about our summer pop-up exhibitions. May - Ashley Jackson solo exhibition June - Sarah Rodriguez solo exhibition July - Garrett Goben solo exhibition August - open call exhibition September – open call exhibition October - group printmaking exhibition curated by PAR-Projects Local artists are encouraged to apply to the open call exhibitions in August and September, so please stay tuned for more details of that application process!  For now though... Plan to join us on Wednesday May 8th for our first summer pop-up exhibition.  Prep work   will feature original

Paul Kemp (left) and Mike Kemp (right) We wanted to take the opportunity to highlight the opening of our friends Paul and Mike Kemp's new brewery in Northside - Humble Monk.  Humble Monk Brewing Company is a family operated craft brewery located at 1641 Blue Rock St.  A large portion of the brewery equipment has been re-purposed from food grade equipment and the taproom is decorated with rich dark wood, up-cycled spool tables, warm light and plenty of board games. The environment is family friendly and will surely become a Northside staple.  Mike, the brew master, has been home brewing for 30+ years and plans to brew a large variety of Belgian Style beers.  Paul, Mike's son, helps run the taproom and administration side of the brewery. Sounds great, right? If so, you can visit the Taproom on Saturday, April 13th   for The Humble Hop Print Shop fundraiser for PAR-Projects. The Humble Monk parking lot will be transformed into a beer garden with music and tacos by

As many of you know, last year (2018) we quietly launched our digital media education program , in collaboration with our good friends at Kennedy Heights Arts Center . Our primary goal was to help fill our city's digital media education gap, while creating pathways to new careers and higher education. A year later, the program is in full swing and we're launching new classes quarterly. Great news:   Cincy Chic   heard about the status of the program and some of our new offerings! Linked below is a great write-up they recently published. It's been years in the making, so we appreciate the help in spreading the word. Thanks again for the coverage Cincy Chic! Find the full text at: http://www.cincychic.com/ career/kennedy-arts-center- par-projects Thanks for learning with us! Team PAR-

What is placemaking?   How does placemaking relate to the mission of PAR-Projects?   As Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa define it in their paper for the National Endowment for the Arts,  "placemaking engages partners from public, private, non-profit, and community sectors to strategically shape the physical and social character of a neighborhood, town, city, or region around arts and cultural activities." Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired. In turn, these creative locales foster entrepreneurs and cultural industries that generate jobs and income, spin off new products and services, and attract and retain unrelated businesses and skilled workers. Together, creative placemaking’s livability and economic development outcomes have the potential to radically change the future of American towns

The Weather Project by Olafur Eliasson LINK here for a quick look . The Nook at PAR-Projects is an installation art gallery. But what does this mean? Installation art is a medium within the field of visual art that relies on the concept of site-specificity. Essentially, each creation is designed to transform the perception of the space.  For perspective, other mediums that also rely on the concept of site-specificity including  public art, land art and intervention art.  While the boundaries of all these overlap, installation art is usually applied to indoor spaces. Site-specific installations can incorporate a range of new and old media to transform an interior space.  Often sculpture is used within installations.  And with the advent of new technologies like video, sound, virtual reality, etc., artists have more resources than ever before to transform spaces for an interactive art experience.  As Wikipedia defines it , "Installation art operates fully with

[ 2min VID + 6min TXT ] Much like our Happy Winter video embedded above and/or  Linked HERE  , we’re ready to repeat. When looking over notes and reviewing the ups & downs of 2018, they read a bit differently than years past. Though rocky at times, we’ve found a formula that pushes us as an organization and now have a practice round under our belt. The tweaking process is a go! Two thousand eighteen was a change of pace. Personally speaking,   YeAr ONe  as a parent was officially under way. “Yay Waylan!!” But in the same breath, Team PAR- was gellin’ and able to launch two new initiatives — an applied arts education program in Kennedy Heights and new strategies to help fund local artists, starting in Northside. The boat was rocked, construction milestones were reached at Headquarters , and our organization as a whole continued to mature. Memorable times! Though we only hosted two full exhibitions last year, both were rather impressive. Christian Benefiel thrilled u