Jul
24
Making Art, Advocating for Affordable Housing

Making Art, Advocating for Affordable Housing

Dionna Flowers first entered Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) in the 90’s, when the school was still up in Mount Adams.

A graduate of Forest Park High School, Flowers served abroad in the Navy during Desert Storm before getting discharged in ’92. Back in Cincinnati, she had no framework for understanding PTSD and the addiction that was running her life, so she threw herself into going back to school.

“I have been drawing since I was seven years old. It was my way of escaping,” Flowers recalls. “So I jumped up and decided to go to the Art Academy of Cincinnati to try to ease the pain of being discharged from the Navy.”

Flowers got into the AAC on a full scholarship but quickly discovered that overcoming financial barriers was only half the battle.

“[The scholarship] wasn’t enough to keep me in there because, as I said, I didn’t understand the dynamics of what I was dealing with internally—dealing with PTSD and military sexual trauma and a survivor of so many different things as a child. I didn’t understand. I thought, if I just do this, and if I just leave that alone but still drink this, then I’ll be okay. And it didn’t work.”

What followed was rock bottom—and a vicious cycle.

“[It was] a long, twenty-five year journey of homelessness, dereliction, in-and-out of jail, in-and-out of institutions, in-and-out of halfway houses […] Clean, dirty, clean, dirty.”

The road to recovery began with intensive therapy at the Fort Thomas VA, then was sustained through the gift of affordable housing—thanks to OTR Community Housing and other local advocates—which gave Flowers the stability and the dignity to begin to dream again, for herself and for her community.

“Once I got equitable and affordable housing, I vowed that I would always give back to the community that I took so much from […] to make good the part I played in the destruction of our neighborhood.”

Finishing What They Started

Flowers is now celebrating five years of being clean, with restored family relationships, a strong support network, and a chance to finish what she started decades ago at the AAC.

“This is like a dream that I lost and was given back.”

Flowers is finding ways to merge art and advocacy work. Outside of class, she is a circuit speaker for the Homeless Coalition. In addition to silent auctions, her work can be found at the YWCA, the OTR Senior Center, and Algin Retro Furniture (as part of Visionaries and Voices), and at an upcoming show at the VA themed around PTSD among female veterans.

This Final Friday, Flowers is hosting “Art Extravaganza,” an art show fundraiser at the OTR Senior Center, with proceeds to benefit local senior services and affordable housing. The show features prints of Flowers’ original paintings made on 4×4’s that were left behind at the end of the school year, which she reclaimed and upcycled.

Flowers is grateful that in spite of everything, including a criminal record, art remains an open door to her. And she is all in.

“I’m open, like a sponge, you know, soaking up everything that I learn here [at the AAC]. And I’m willing to learn more and more and more. I’m ready for class to start back up. I’m ready to come back to class.”

This article was written by Sarah Dupee.

May
21
From Military Service to Art with a Purpose

From Military Service to Art with a Purpose

Each year, the Yale Norfolk School of Art selects twenty-six undergraduate art students from across the globe to attend its six-week intensive summer residency. The students are chosen from a pool of five hundred rising seniors who have been nominated by their school.

In a nutshell—it is a highly competitive program.

Which is why Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) student Kimberly Walker was floored when she received her notice of acceptance for Yale Norfolk’s 2019 session. She will be the first AAC student in seventeen years to attend the residency.

Their Story is Unique

Walker’s story is unique in that she became an art student only after serving seventeen years of active duty in the U.S. Army. When a spinal chord injury forced her into medical retirement, she did an about-face toward art.

“I retired down to New Mexico to do some healing. And then I ended up in art school,” she says.

If it weren’t for her now-mentor Sarah Stoler—an ‘00 AAC graduate who chairs the art department at the University of New Mexico-Taos—Walker might still be in New Mexico doing still life paintings.

“She brought the subject of the military out of me. At first I was kind of avoiding it. I just wanted to paint mountains and adobe homes.”

Under Stoler’s guidance, Walker found her way to Cincinnati where she is now a rising senior at the AAC. Her work investigates the ongoing realities of sexual harassment, abuse, and violence against women in the military through the medium of sculpture and installation.

Having a Story to Tell

Though it’s emotionally draining work, Walker draws motivation and energy from having a story to tell.

According to her most recent artist statement: “One out of three women who enlist in the U.S. military will be sexually assaulted or raped. Some have even been murdered by a brother in arms. In this sociopolitical climate, now is the pivotal moment to create this type of art.”

In the process, she has found there is something very satisfying about the physical work of building installations.

“I love the hard work. It’s almost like being a construction worker and an artist at the same time. So there’s some power there where you’re working with power tools,” Walker says. “I have a chain saw which I love to use.”

Unfortunately, the Yale Norfolk School of Art has a strict “no power tools” policy, so Walker will have to leave the chainsaw at home. But she anticipates a valuable opportunity to build on her study of color symbolism.

“I usually do red, white, and blue pieces. Or camouflage green and hot pink. But right now I’m trying all black.”

Otherwise, she is gearing up for an intense, full-immersion experience—something akin to boot camp.

“[The residency] is seven days a week, you can’t leave the grounds, you’re housed in private residences, eating in a dining hall together—breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” she explains. “And I’m like, oh this is basic training—I can do this! And I imagine some special relationships are gonna be built.”

Feb
13
Four Year Tuition Promise

The Four Year Tuition Promise

The Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) is in the process of rolling out a four-year tuition promise. This promise will effect this coming fall 2019. This new measure represents the school’s commitment to protecting its students from tuition increases over the course of their four-year undergraduate studies at AAC.

“The standard across higher education is that when you come in as a freshman, you can expect your tuition will increase every year,” explains interim president Mark Grote.

By billing students the same tuition each year, the AAC seeks to reduce financial stress by making education expenses more predictable, transparent, and affordable.

“We want our focus to be on our students, and we know the cost of education is one of—if not the most—critical factors for students today.”

The four-year tuition promise will also apply to the AAC’s returning students. For example, “if you’re a sophomore this year, your tuition will remain the same when you’re a junior and senior.”

This puts the Art Academy at the forefront of what is sure to be a growing trend.

As it stands, the AAC will be the only private art college in America to implement the four-year tuition promise. And one of just three colleges in Ohio.

“This is one of the reasons we like being small,” Grote says. “Because being small, we can make really fast changes.”

To learn more about the Tuition Promise, click here.

Oct
11
$375,000 in New Scholarships to Art Academy of Cincinnati

To view more photos from the event, click here.

The Art Academy of Cincinnati announces two new transformational scholarships: the Carson E. Smith Scholarship and the William E. Villa Scholarship. Smith and Villa were both graduates of the Art Academy of Cincinnati and remembered the school in their end-of-life plans.

William E. Villa enrolled at the Art Academy in 1963 and studied drawing and painting, sculpture, visual techniques, graphic design, art history, and color theory. While a student, he worked as a photography lab technician. As a graduate, he began his career as a television news photographer for WKRC. He filmed, edited and produced local news stories.

In 1970, just four years after graduation, he moved to San Francisco and worked in the production of secondary school educational films. He was a television production specialist for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and a recipient of a national HUD photography award.

In 2000, he made his home in Kula, Hawaii. Photography served him well in his profession. Throughout his life, he stayed connected to his creative, artistic side, especially regarding the Art Academy training in graphic design and color theory. He continued to paint and draw; he created stained and fused glass. Just before his untimely death in 2010, William had plans to create an art studio.

Carson Smith graduated from the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 1957 with a degree in Design and Portraiture. As an Art Academy student, Carson met William Henschel, an Art Academy instructor and Rookwood Pottery artist, who recognized Carson’s talent and helped him get a summer job at Rookwood Pottery that lasted for many years both before and after his service in World War II. He earned the Purple Heart for his service to his country during the Okinawa invasion.

His career embraced beauty. He created intricate three-dimensional designs for cigarette cases, pocket watches, and cosmetic cases. Smith was known for his designs at Wadsworth Watch Case Company and Helena Rubenstein Cosmetics. It was not unusual to see celebrities and royalty using items he designed.

His most notable design was the Cadillac emblem – a shield with traditional figures of heraldry. While the emblem has evolved over the years, his design is still the foundation of what Cadillac continues to use.

Until his retirement in 1990, Carson worked as an interior designer at Greiwe Interiors, where he was recognized with a national award for the original Pigall’s restaurant in downtown Cincinnati.

The Scholars Celebration, October 3, 5-6:30 at the Art Academy, will recognize significant scholarships and the students who receive them. Art Academy students received financial support from

  • AAC Alumni Scholarship
  • AAC Portfolio Awards
  • John E. & Mary Ann Butkovich Scholarship,
  • Cincinnati Art Club Scholarship,
  • John Fisher/Leonard Sive Traditional Painting Scholarshp
  • Franklin Folger Memorial Trust
  • Gary Gaffney/Jacqueline Wollman Award
  • Omer T. Glenn Scholarship
  • Edie & Charley Harper Scholarship
  • Helms Trust Purchase Award
  • Fannie Isidor Scholarship
  • Carolyn & Julius Magnus Family Award
  • John & Judy Ruthven Scholarship
  • Carson E. Smith Scholarship
  • William E. Villa Scholarship
  • Bertha Langhorst Werner Scholarship
  • Stephen H. Wilder Scholarship

Art Academy 2017 Scholarship Recipients are

  1. Andrea Bacca, Bristol,VA
  2. Cody Bechtol, Cheviot, OH
  3. Caroline Bell, Turpin Hills, OH
  4. Bruce Bennett, St. Paul, MN
  5. Kaitlin Burke, Hudson, OH
  6. Lauren Castillo, Greensboro, NC
  7. Mandy Clements, Greenville, NC
  8. Madison DeAtley, Loveland, OH
  9. Joseph DiMario, Cincinnati, OH
  10. Taylor Dorrell, Westerville, OH
  11. Claire Flath, West Chester, OH
  12. DJ Gathers, Madisonville, OH
  13. Zach Gibson, Covington, KY
  14. Sydney Greene, Union, KY
  15. November Hardy, Madisonville, OH
  16. Sam Holloway, Carmel, IN
  17. Jen Horsting, Loveland, OH
  18. Abriljoanna (April) Huerta, Fairfield, OH
  19. Aubre Lightner, Evanston, OH
  20. Noel Maghathe, White Oak, OH
  21. Nicole McClure, Tulia, TX
  22. Hailee McElroy-Herin, Clifton, OH
  23. Nikki Nesbit, Newport, KY
  24. Jack Nichols, Madisonville, OH
  25. Sabrina Pachla, Warren, MI
  26. Cecilia Padilla, Fairfield, OH
  27. Hannah Parker, West Price Hill, OH
  28. Audrey Patterson, Mount Juliet, TN
  29. Cody Perkins, Hebron, KY
  30. John Platt, Walnut Hills, OH
  31. Sydney Rains, Covington, KY
  32. Tez Robertson, Over-the-Rhine, OH
  33. Kane Sargent, Lucasville, OH
  34. Carly Simendinger, Lebanon, OH
  35. Vera Thornbury, Price Hill, OH
  36. Tiffany Tran, Verona, WI
  37. Savannah Vagedes, Ludlow, OH
  38. Sophia Velasco, Fisher, IN
  39. Julia Waldorf, Fairfield, OH
  40. Taylor Wellman, Amanda, OH
  41. Mal Wesley, Over-the-Rhine, OH
  42. Harris Wheeler, Lexington, KY
  43. Althea Wiggs, Lexington, KY
  44. Lindsay Wiles, Blanchester, OH
  45. Andre Wilson, Westwood, OH
  46. Katelyn Wolary. Wilmington, OH
Jan
06
DJ Gathers – Make it Inescapable

“Make it Inescapable”

Written by Doug Geyer

Most artists, like many who express themselves creatively, desire to share their work. To engage, inspire, and provoke others outside of themselves. To have a captive audience.

Darrin Gathers is no different.

Yet for this junior from Madisonville, he is driven by something deeper than the personal satisfaction of knowing his art is seen and appreciated, perhaps even purchased. DJ has something to say. But venting via Facebook, though common for his social media saturated generation, is not the medium he chooses. His anger will not be quelled, his vision not realized, by a posting here or a tweet there. As a young, biracial man growing up and into a world filled and fuming with social injustice, he has a singular goal for proclaiming that black lives matter through his art.

“Even though I’m a part of the first generation to grow up with social media, I don’t want to just talk about it on Facebook. With everything that’s been happening around the country, through my art, I want to make the message of Black Lives Matter inescapable.”

His dedication to offer his voice to those who are often unheard coupled with countless hours in his studio bears witness to why he was one of two students chosen for the New York Studio Residency Program. As a charter member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design, the AAC participates in the consortium’s annual program to give art students from around the country an opportunity to taste the Big Apple for themselves. To listen to and learn from other artists while discovering how they will make art that makes a difference.

But DJ’s passion wasn’t always so clearly professed or understood. With only two months left in his senior year of high school, he was preparing for a life of fighting fires and saving lives. It took a nudge from his mother to visit the AAC to help him realize there was no fire burning in his heart to be a professional firefighter. Once he saw the studios, envisioned having one of his own, a spark found ready tinder and he decided to change course.

“I didn’t want to just do something to earn a steady paycheck. I’d rather care about what I do.”

Like Ryan Khosla, a friend and fellow Residency recipient, DJ was drawn to the world of art while skateboarding and tagging in high school. Though at the time he didn’t envision himself moving beyond listening to hip hop, spray painting and simply enjoying the work of artists like Shepard Fairey, he was beginning to explore a world where he would ultimately become a contributor, an agent of change.

His time in New York this fall has fueled this ongoing exploration via the vast physical urbanscape itself and the inner world where his love for screen printing and collage has expanded exponentially.

DJ has also felt empowered by his mentor Oasa DuVerney. Oasa is a Brooklyn-based artist who often uses graphite and ink on paper as well as video to address social inequalities in the context of race, gender, and class.

“I’m impressed with DJ’s interest in creating work that has relevance outside of this very small art world, in spite of a less than supportive society that typically is not interested in art that is critical of the oppressive, white patriarchy that it upholds. It’s my hope that he continues to explore his voice and experience through art making because it is important and should be heard.”

To create a collage, an artist brings together various elements from different sources to give birth to a new, unified piece. Visuals that don’t typically reside in the same space somehow working as one to bring forth something of value because essentially they are different yet together. Screen printing relies on pressure applied by a hand guiding a fill blade or squeegee to push ink through a screen, persuading it through spaces it needs help to navigate.

Perhaps in the heart and hands of DJ, there are answers not only artistically but socially. Answers which are capable of bringing together people which aren’t typically residing in the same space. Birthing solutions both new and essential, applying the right kind of pressure to leave a memorable and lasting impression. Saving lives by starting constructive fires in the hearts of others eager to see equality for all.

Providing a way out through art that is inescapable.