Last Spring the Cincinnati Art Museum introduced a new executive director, Christina Vassallo. Since then, Vassallo has unveiled a new strategic plan for the future of the museum that aims for it to be “a lab for understanding ourselves, others, and the world around us through the experience and creation of all contemporary art forms,” according to a press release. Vassallo announced in that same press release that the CAC will start revealing more of the artistic process of the artists highlighted in the museum’s upcoming season with the hope that visitors will feel more connected to the exhibitions.
“We thought about our greatest assets, what’s happening in the world around us, and how to best express developments in the ever-evolving field of contemporary art. From these conversations, we understood that our purpose is to build empathy,” Vassallo said in a recent press release. “Our upcoming exhibition season reflects this commitment by showcasing established and emerging artists who are chronicling the ideas of our time.”
The CAC opens a new exhibition season this September with two shows in partnership with FotoFocus, a Cincinnati nonprofit that aims to initiate dialogue about modern lens-based art and historical photography.
In October, the CAC will be teaming up with SOFTlab, a New York-based design studio to activate the glass facade of the Dr. Stanley & Mickey Kaplan Hall Lobby of the Contemporary Arts Center. The installation will be centered around lightweight structures that will be suspended from the ceiling.
The CAC’s January 2025 exhibit is in partnership with The Phillips Collection, located in Washington D.C. This project will be the first comprehensive museum exhibit of American artist, activist and educator Vivian Browne. The project will consist of over 40 paintings, prints and ephemera from Browne’s 30-year career.
April 2025 will welcome Only In Ohio, which highlights Ohio-based artists. This exhibit was co-organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland and focuses on important aspects of Ohio’s identity. Only In Ohio will feature 15-20 artists from across the state and their work related to the theme or utilizing natural and repurposed materials.
The CAC’s 2024-2025 season will conclude with a solo exhibition dedicated to the work of Brooklyn-based self-taught figurative painter Marcus Leslie Singleton. Marcus Leslie Singleton: New Steps will run from June 20 through Oct. 5, 2025, and explores intimate paintings displaying Black American communities.
- Chip Thomas and The Painted Desert Project
Sept. 6, 2024–Jan. 5, 2025
Chip Thomas combines photography and street art celebrating Navajo culture while drawing attention to the negative impacts that capitalism has on the environment and people of the Navajo reservation. Curated by Kevin Moore, FotoFocus Artistic Director and Curator. - Barbara Probst: Subjective Evidence
Sept. 27, 2024–Feb. 9, 2025
This exhibition features the work of German photographer Barbara Probst, whose work questions the notion of truth against multiple perspectives. Curated by Kevin Moore, FotoFocus Artistic Director and Curator. - SOFTlab
October 2024 through October 2026
Taking inspiration from the spherical shape and surface tension of bubbles, the colorful palette will have great contrast against the neutral-colored atmosphere of the CAC. Curated by Alice & Harris Weston Director Christina Vassallo. - Vivian Browne My Kind of Protest
Jan. 31–May 25, 2025
Vivian Browne My Kind of Protest is the first-ever museum showcase of Vivian Browne’s art and activism, which helped form discourse regarding race, ecologies and intersectional feminism. Curated by Amara Antilla and Adrienne L. Childs, guest curators, and co-produced by The Phillips Collection. - Only in Ohio
April–August 2025, (Winter/Spring 2025 at moCa, Cleveland)
This exhibition exclusively consists of Ohio-based artists and focuses on the important aspects of Ohio’s identity, natural resources, beauty and resilience in a changing climate. Produced in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art (moCa). - Marcus Leslie Singleton: New Steps
June 20–Oct. 5, 2025
The first solo museum exhibition of self-taught painter Marcus Leslie Singleton, who creates figurative paintings with inspiration from notes, sketches, photos and recordings of his surroundings in Brooklyn. Curated by Theresa Bembnister, CAC Curator.
