A refresh at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center is coming this summer, kicked off this week in the unveiling of a new brand identity.
The multidisciplinary community arts center serving Clifton and the surrounding Uptown neighborhoods with educational programs, community events and cultural experiences unveiled a new brand identity and website in anticipation of breaking ground on a new $10 million home and expanded programming this summer.
“In just a few weeks, we will begin construction of the first purpose-built community arts center in the city of Cincinnati,” said Leslie Mooney, CCAC’s executive director. “Around the same time, we will launch a massive expansion to our free outdoor summer performance series. These are just two examples of how CCAC has grown and changed in the past 14 years. We needed a bold new look to better reflect what CCAC is today – to reintroduce ourselves to our community.”
The new home CCAC is constructing is a three-story, 18,000-square-foot building near the intersection of Ludlow and Clifton avenues. The property will feature flexible-use classrooms, art galleries, a make shop for hands-on exploration, a multi-purpose performance space, and a green rooftop terrace, all in a high-caliber, modern design that prioritizes sustainability, social interaction and seamless integration with the existing historic features of the Clifton Business District.
Previously, Clifton Cultural Arts Center maintained and operated the landmark Clifton School Building until Cincinnati Public Schools turned the premise back into a school. Since that time, CCAC has used temporary offices and worked to secure the $10 million needed to build the new center.
In addition to constructing a new center, CCAC will host 66 free outdoor performances this summer throughout the Uptown Neighborhoods of Clifton, Corryville, CUF, Avondale, and Mt. Auburn in an event they are calling “Uptown Arts Alive.”
Taking inspiration from the popularity of their Wednesdays in the Woods concert series, now in its fourteenth year, this year CCAC will have performances six days a week in six different locations over the 11 weeks of summer, starting June 1 and running through August 16.
Mooney believes this program will not only add vibrancy to Uptown but provide needed opportunities for the diverse residents of each neighborhood to interact with and build community with one another.
“Uptown Arts Alive has the power to unite people of all ages and backgrounds through the shared experience of live performance and art,” Mooney said, “to bring people together following a long period of isolation, to provide artists with paid performance opportunities, to enliven public spaces and neighborhood business districts, and to create more community cohesion.”