Cincinnati-based Arts Org Selected to Join MdW — a coalition of artist-led spaces representing 11 states across The Midwest.

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

Well... months later an email rang in and a representative from the MdW Arts Coalition confessed that the group of artists that visited in April was actually on a scouting trip, not just visiting. And as PAR- later learned, this group had visited artist-run spaces in Cleveland, Dayton, Cincinnati, and all points between, then unanimously selected PAR-Projects to represent Ohio, as MdW would be growing from six states to eleven.

time he just remembers thinking, "What a cool group. What a fun day?" ... After all, it was already Record Store Day — and PAR-Projects was the percentage benefactor from the sale of Rhinegeist's limited edition, Slow Jam IPA release. But now, he had connected with a group of artists who just happened to be swinging through town and enjoying all that Cincinnati had to offer. That's what he thought anyway.

For the PAR-Projects team, accepting this invitation was a no-brainer as one of their goals is to support the work of artists throughout the region. But taking that one step further, this presented an opportunity to support the work of their funders — e.g. ArtsWave & The Haile Foundation — by creating enough impact & connectivity to help people around the region continue noticing that Cincinnati is truly one of the strongest creative hubs of The Midwest.

Now it's official. PAR-Projects has helped add Ohio to the map, alongside the other 10 states and inspiring organizations representing the MdW Arts Coalition. And as their first call to action — and reason for visiting Kansas City — they’ve helped select a group of artist-led organizations to join them this November, for the week-long MdW Summit in Kansas City.  

Use the following link to Download The Official Announcement

https://parprojects.com/documents/MdW_is_expanding_2024.pdf

 Learn more about the MdW initiative at https://mdw.art/about

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