Cincinnati Is Turning 100 Years of Arts Support Into 100 Days of Celebration

A century after a group of Cincinnati philanthropists and business leaders came together to secure the future of their city’s arts institutions, the organization they created is preparing to celebrate by putting those institutions, their artists and their audiences in the spotlight.

ArtsWave, founded as the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts in 1927, plans to launch its centennial community fundraising campaign in early February 2027 alongside “100 Days of Arts,” a regionwide series of performances, exhibitions and community events spanning 100 consecutive days. The initiative will feature special ArtsWave Nights with major local cultural organizations, partnerships across artistic disciplines and a festival-style celebration later in the centennial year.

The emphasis on participation is fitting. ArtsWave is not a single concert hall or museum. It is the funding and civic-support network behind an arts ecosystem stretching from Cincinnati neighborhoods into Northern Kentucky and other surrounding communities. Each year, it supports more than 150 arts organizations, projects and individual artists. The coming anniversary is a celebration of the performances people see, but also of the often-invisible structure that makes those performances possible.

It began with a challenge in 1927

The story starts with Anna Sinton Taft and Charles Phelps Taft, whose challenge grant helped establish the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts. The idea was to make the arts a collective responsibility rather than leaving individual institutions to survive entirely on their own. Cincinnati’s business community responded, and the relationship between philanthropy, employers and cultural organizations became one of the region’s defining traditions.

In 1949, the institute launched the Fine Arts Fund, a community campaign providing regular support to four institutions: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Art Museum, Taft Museum of Art and Cincinnati Opera. In 1972, the fund introduced the nation’s first workplace-giving campaign for the arts, at GE Aviation. Five years later its support expanded to Cincinnati Ballet, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and May Festival, while project grants began reaching smaller organizations.

The ArtsWave name arrived in 2010, reflecting a shift toward measuring how creative activity affects the wider region. The organization now describes its work in terms of neighborhood vitality, education, economic activity and community connection as well as artistic excellence. A century after the founding challenge, its centennial message is that a strong arts community is something residents build together.

What the 100 Days of Arts will include

The organizing idea is straightforward: for 100 consecutive days, ArtsWave will direct public attention toward performances, exhibitions and community experiences throughout the region. The campaign is expected to begin in early February and carry into spring, though the precise opening and closing dates, full daily itinerary, ticket information and individual event times have not yet been released.

In an October 2026 interview with Realm Cincinnati, ArtsWave President and CEO Alecia Kintner identified a series of one-time performances and “ArtsWave Nights” involving the Aronoff Center for the Arts, the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Know Theatre. The mix spans larger theatrical productions, family-oriented performances, ballet and smaller-scale contemporary theater.

Additional centennial-program partners named by Kintner include 1001 Colors, the public-art and youth-development organization formerly known as ArtWorks; Cincinnati Art Museum; and Summermusik, associated with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. Those partners open the anniversary beyond traditional theater seating, taking it toward visual art, community creativity and live music. The announcement identifies the organizations involved, rather than a complete roster of productions or exact dates.

That distinction matters for anyone planning a visit. “100 Days of Arts” is the name of a 100-day celebration, not yet a published calendar of 100 separately identified performances. Specific programs, admission policies and reservation instructions will need to be checked as the participating organizations release them.

A celebration across the river, not just downtown

Cincinnati’s arts footprint does not end at the Ohio River. ArtsWave has expanded its Northern Kentucky presence through a partnership with meetNKY and the Northern Kentucky Port Authority, including the OneNKY Center Gallery, a rotating artist-in-residence program and support for public murals in Covington. The organization’s regional approach also reaches communities beyond the city’s best-known stages.

That geographic range is one reason the centennial could reward repeated visits rather than a single weekend trip. A visitor might encounter a theatrical production in downtown Cincinnati, a museum program elsewhere in the city, or public art across the river. ArtsWave’s free app and Cincy A&E calendar offer practical ways to navigate a cultural landscape too broad for one venue or one itinerary.

The infrastructure behind that discovery is already growing. ArtsWave reported in May 2026 that its app had exceeded 22,000 downloads and helped drive more than $200,000 in revenue to regional arts partners through ticket promotions and ArtsWave Pass redemptions. The centennial arrives with a means not only to promote the work, but to help audiences find it.

The wider centennial calendar

The anniversary’s public introduction began before 2027. Cincinnati Art Week, held October 3–10, 2026, and BLINK, the light-and-art festival held October 8–11, served as an early centennial kickoff. ArtsWave marked its history through a projection-mapping installation at the Aronoff Center developed by artist Greg D’Amico with AGAR. The outdoor festival’s reach into Cincinnati and Covington offered a visible example of the regional connections that ArtsWave hopes to strengthen.

Several other confirmed 2027 programs intersect with the centennial year, although ArtsWave has not said that every one belongs to the 100 Days of Arts schedule. Its Flow series, created to expand audiences for Black artistry, includes the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s “The African Company Presents Richard III” on February 11, a spring 2027 Robert S. Duncanson experience at the Taft Museum of Art on a date still to be announced, and Cincinnati Opera’s world premiere of “John Lewis: Good Trouble” at Music Hall on June 18. Flow Pass holders are also expected to receive invitations and offers related to the centennial celebration.

The celebrations extend into fall. ArtsWave has advertised a “Picnic at the Park” celebrating both its own 100th anniversary and Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park’s 30th, with food, family activities, performances and an exhibition at the 470-acre park in Hamilton, Ohio. Its donor-benefits page also lists a fall behind-the-scenes tour of the new Farmer Music Center, a concert venue scheduled to open in spring 2027 near Riverbend. Those experiences are presented as qualifying donor benefits; public eligibility and detailed schedules have not been announced. ArtsWave has separately previewed a larger festival-style centennial finale, without a confirmed date or program.

The next century is part of the birthday

ArtsWave’s 2026 community campaign raised $12,112,026 from more than 20,000 donors, according to the organization. In July, its trustees approved $8.97 million in Sustaining Impact grants for 46 organizations in a new three-year funding cycle. Those figures illustrate why the centennial is as much a story about ongoing financial support as it is about special events.

Fifth Third Bank Chairman and CEO Tim Spence will chair the 2027 campaign. Alongside ordinary fundraising, ArtsWave is pursuing a group of 100 Visionaries whose significant current or planned gifts would support an endowment designed to extend the Tafts’ original idea into the next century. The campaign also seeks to cultivate paying audiences so regional cultural organizations can strengthen the earned revenue that keeps their doors open between fundraising drives.

For audiences, though, the most immediate expression of that long-term ambition will be simple: an opportunity to see something unfamiliar. A museum visitor can try a small theater. A theater regular can discover a mural. A family attending a performance can learn that the same regional network is helping another community create something of its own. A century of sustained support has made that exchange possible. For 100 days in 2027, ArtsWave intends to make it easier to take part.

2027 dates and programs to watch

Early February–spring 2027

ArtsWave’s centennial fundraising campaign and “100 Days of Arts” begin; exact 100-day dates and daily lineup have not been published.

During the 100-day campaign

Announced “ArtsWave Nights” partners: Aronoff Center for the Arts, Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Know Theatre. Also named: 1001 Colors, Cincinnati Art Museum and Summermusik. Individual dates and programs pending.

February 11, 2027

ArtsWave Flow presents “The African Company Presents Richard III” with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. It is part of the centennial-year cultural calendar; inclusion in 100 Days of Arts has not been confirmed.

Spring 2027, date pending

ArtsWave Flow’s Robert S. Duncanson Experience with Taft Museum of Art; exact date pending.

June 18, 2027

Cincinnati Opera’s “John Lewis: Good Trouble” world premiere at Music Hall, another event in the Flow season.

Fall 2027, dates pending

“Picnic at the Park” at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and a behind-the-scenes Farmer Music Center tour are listed as ArtsWave donor benefits; access details pending.

Later in 2027, date pending

A large festival-style centennial celebration to mark ArtsWave’s history and future.

How to follow the anniversary

ArtsWave will publish additional details as the centennial calendar develops. Check ArtsWave’s official website, its events page and the Cincy A&E regional calendar for new listings, admission information and updated schedules.