Documenting the continuing legacy of Cincinnati’s Artist Run Spaces
Ohio Against the World Black Friday Party by Floyd Johnson at The Ice Cream Factory, 2012, image by Scott Beseler
There is a joy, a freedom, a willingness to make it work, that is found almost solely in artist-run spaces.
Artists identify a void in the offerings of the cultural centers in our region and aim to fill it. Often begun with little to no experience, budget, or supplies; these spaces become the ultimate learn as you go laboratories, and being artist-run, the spaces are often more artistic endeavors unto themselves than curatorial models at all.
These spaces, consciously or subconsciously, play an impactful role in the cultural evolution of our region, the trajectory of hometown artist heroes, and the programmatic pivots adopted by some of our mainstay artist institutions. This project aims to archive these endeavors as part of the cultural legacy of Cincinnati.