Contemporary Arts Center

Contemporary Arts Center Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) brings art and the creative process to all people. The CAC has a long and rich history. It was the first U.S.
(1685)

The Contemporary Arts Center's mission is rooted in the belief that there is an intimate link between art and life and that connections are made through contemporary art. Since 1939, the CAC—one of the nation's oldest and most celebrated contemporary art institutions—has been a steadfast facilitator for that connection, and a conduit for innovation. It remains today an open hub for creative inspir

ation, art celebration, and intellectual stimulation—a place to be inspired by new ideas and where art connects people to each other and to the world outside. At the cutting edge of contemporary art for decades, the CAC is known around the world for the creative freedom and support it gives to artists, the access and opportunities it provides to the public and the space it creates for cross-generational and cross-societal dialogue around contemporary issues. In 1940 it was one of the first venues in the United States to exhibit Picasso's Guernica, it presented one of the first museum exhibitions of Pop art—with works by future icons such as Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol; one of the first major exhibitions of the famed sculptor, Dale Chihuly; and the first museum survey to spotlight the underground, DIY, street art movement with Beautiful Losers. It has hosted lectures and performances by future luminaries such as Buckminster Fuller, Margaret Meade, Maya Angelou and David Byrne; commissioned valued public art installations; and furthered public discourse over contemporary art. It's current home, the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, opened in 2003. art museum designed by a woman, London-based Zaha Hadid. Called ""the most important American building to be completed since the end of the cold war” by the New York Times, the design won Hadid the prestigious Pritzker Prize. https://contemporaryartscenter.org

🔹 Market Bleu joins forces with Contemporary Arts Center four times a year to showcase artisan handcrafted goods and fin...
06/16/2026

🔹 Market Bleu joins forces with Contemporary Arts Center four times a year to showcase artisan handcrafted goods and fine art from our region and beyond.

✅ Mark your calendars and join us for this night market on July 18, 6-10 p.m.

🏳️‍🌈 🪩 Join us Thursday, June 25 for a special Young Adult Lab celebrating Pride!We'll be joined by Drag Artist Vanta Bl...
06/15/2026

🏳️‍🌈 🪩 Join us Thursday, June 25 for a special Young Adult Lab celebrating Pride!

We'll be joined by Drag Artist Vanta Black for a rhinestone workshop and Art Therapist
Sharee Allen for a tie-dye workshop. Meet us in the lobby for this free program from 4-6 p.m.

Young Adult Lab is a drop-in style program every Thursday at the CAC geared toward teens and young adults, but anyone is welcome to join! This week is a double workshop with two artists, so make sure to stop by for the festivities and create some swag for Pride.
Free snacks provided.

Full of fresh inspiration? Keep the Artful Adventure going at home! Shop our selection of art supplies in store and onli...
06/14/2026

Full of fresh inspiration?

Keep the Artful Adventure going at home! Shop our selection of art supplies in store and online at shopcincycac.org.

📷

Join us on June 21, 2 to 4 p.m. as we further explore the spiritual cosmologies that permeate and inform “Chapter 4: In ...
06/13/2026

Join us on June 21, 2 to 4 p.m. as we further explore the spiritual cosmologies that permeate and inform “Chapter 4: In Another Lifetime,“ by Gee Horton by practicing restorative yoga and celebrating the summer solstice.

This Co-Lab session will be presented as a hybrid session for those who wish to participate in person or from their current locations. Once participants have responded, they will be emailed a link to the Zoom session.

This workshop is free and open to the public. Upon registration, entry into Gee Horton's “Chapter 4: In Another Lifetime“ will be free.

🎉 Today's the day! We're going on an Artful Adventure! Enjoy local brunch bites and handcrafted art experiences while su...
06/13/2026

🎉 Today's the day! We're going on an Artful Adventure!

Enjoy local brunch bites and handcrafted art experiences while supporting CAC's programming. See you there, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CAC!

Thank you to our sponsors: The Charles H. Dater Foundation, Carolyn + Cody Hefner, Corrie Loeffler + Adam Turer, and Shannon + John Morris.

Join us tomorrow for Artful Adventure – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CAC! Tasty treats and art activations around every corner! ...
06/12/2026

Join us tomorrow for Artful Adventure – 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at CAC!

Tasty treats and art activations around every corner!

Reserve in advance at the link in bio, ticket price goes up at the door! Thank you to our sponsors: The Charles H. Dater Foundation, Carolyn + Cody Hefner, Corrie Loeffler + Adam Turer, and Shannon + John Morris.

06/11/2026

Explore Micah Mickle's art practice with our Artist In Residence program.

Workshops take place Saturdays, from 1–3 p.m. in CAC's Creativity Center at the CAC and Wednesdays, from 4–6 p.m., at the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library Downtown.

START FREEING UP YOUR WEDNESDAYS! Contemporary Arts Center is now open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.!Come visit the captivating...
06/10/2026

START FREEING UP YOUR WEDNESDAYS!

Contemporary Arts Center is now open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.!

Come visit the captivating works of in his show “Chapter 4, In Another Lifetime.“ Immerse yourself in the artist's large-scale photorealistic drawings, photographs, collages, videos, and installations in the Level 5 gallery , which all reflect the consequences of intergenerational trauma, cultural legacy, and the rupture of colonial inheritance.

Members: Free
Kids 18 and under: Free
General Admission: $12
SNAP/ EBT Recipients: Free

Get your tickets today! Visit the link in our bio!

📷 Installation view, “Gee Horton: Chapter 4, In Another Lifetime.“ Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2026.
Image courtesy of Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati.

Tiny hands, big ideas. Saturday is for getting messy, making things, and trying something new!Here are some of the activ...
06/09/2026

Tiny hands, big ideas. Saturday is for getting messy, making things, and trying something new!

Here are some of the activities we have planned for Artful Adventure this Saturday. Explore hands-on artmaking, creative challenges, and playful ways to make and discover together. Whether you stay for one activity or spend the whole day at CAC, there’s plenty to jump into!

Tickets:
cincycac.com/artful

Gee Horton utilized “Chapter 4: In Another Lifetime” as a way to expand his artistic practices. Alongside inkjet prints ...
06/08/2026

Gee Horton utilized “Chapter 4: In Another Lifetime” as a way to expand his artistic practices. Alongside inkjet prints and mixtures of cyanotypes and charcoal drawings, the exhibition showcases installations that highlight the narrative of Freeman Little.

Horton’s worldbuilding in “Chapter 4” begins with the waking dream of Freeman Little, whose hereditary sleep disorder “Guent Bu Wa” is characterized by lucid, prophetic dreaming, mild dissociative episodes, and a heightened sense of symbolic perception.

The installation, “And the bed grew…” invokes the childlike curiosity of someone seeking to return home again, reclaiming innocence as an approach to reckon with colonialism’s traumatic impact on personal and collective lineages.

See, “And the bed grew” within Horton’s “Chapter 4: In Another Lifetime” at Contemporary Arts Center through August 30.

📷 Gee Horton, “And the bed grew....” 2026, Mixed media installation. Installation view, “Gee Horton: Chapter 4, In Another Lifetime.” Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2026. Image courtesy of Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati.

Gee Horton, “Freeman Little - The Dreamer,” 2026, Charcoal, graphite, pastel pencil, and cyanotype on Stonehenge paper. Installation view, “Gee Horton: Chapter 4, In Another Lifetime.” Photo: Wes Battoclette, 2026. Image courtesy of Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati.

Address

44 E 6th Street
Cincinnati, OH
45202

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12pm - 7pm
Thursday 12pm - 7pm
Friday 12pm - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+15133458400

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