Updates from the PAR-Projects blog...

As ArtsWave & The Greater Cincinnati Regional Chamber noted in their recent Economic Impact of Arts & Culture report (pages 14 & 16) , PAR-Projects — our BIPOC-led arts & education organization — has been working to build an inclusive and welcoming space to highlight and promote the work of local and regional creatives for a number of years. Specifically called out was the fact that our small team has raised and invested over $850,000 in this effort since acquiring our "HQ" building and outdoor space in 2015. And most notably, these dollars were used specifically for capital investments, outside of day-to-day expenses for operations and events.

This past July, Jonathan Sears — Executive Director of Cincinnati-based PAR-Projects — found himself traveling halfway across the country to Kansas City to meet with a diverse collection of artists. The reason? He was tapped to help plan a regional conference that's convening hundreds of arts-leaders to help strengthen the connectivity of artist-run initiatives located throughout The Midwest. Aptly named MdW  (pronounced "Midway") , this group of artists, like him, lead creative spaces across The Midwest. And while a segment of the coalition toured PAR-Projects back in April (2024), this was officially his first in-person meeting with the MdW arts coalition. So how did all of this come about? As Jonathan notes, in April of 2024, when a large group of artists showed up for a tour,  an odd level of comfort & conversation was achieved while exploring the 15,000 square foot expansion space of the PAR-Project Campus. At the

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