CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANTY

Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a resident ensemble theatre company bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages. We hold the mirror up to nature, fostering empathy in our audience, and feeding the dialogue in the larger community.

ABOUT THE PANEL

With collaboration from leadership within the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, the panel portrays literary parallels within the theme of “The Art of Conversation”

Classical literature and theatre, Shakespeare especially, can sometimes be difficult for modern audiences to relate to. However, classical characters and stories represent a significant reflection of contemporary society. Simple ideas such as lost love, the joy of music, the art of poetry, the thrill of adventure, childhood wonder, and a multitude of others, are human experiences that we all share regardless of our place in history.

Our ability to converse with such ideas and characters from an age beyond our own, and in turn acknowledge their similarities to ourselves, has the potential to open up larger conversations with the world around us. Discussions about classical fiction, its characters, and its implications, could lead to a larger acknowledgment about contemporary life that would have otherwise lacked a segue into the conversation.

Empathy is easy to lose, and sometimes indulging in a piece of Shakespeare could be all it takes to reignite someone’s spark of humanity towards their neighbor.

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO)’s mission is to seek and share inspiration. The CSO is a thriving, dynamic orchestra situated in the heart of a city on the rise.

About The Panel

In a sometimes polarizing society, music can function as a universal language, bridging cultural and social divides. As an arts organization, we use music to connect with our neighbors in the Greater Cincinnati community. Whether through school performances, performances in nursing homes or community centers, in parks or in Music Hall, music reminds us of our shared humanity. As one of our artistic partners, Brian Nabors, shared, “Music is a language that removes the illusion that we are too different to find commonalities. It is a direct line to our humanity and contains the never-ending potential to reflect our experiences, provide a nurturing environment of fellowship, and inspire the change we’d like to see in the world.” For the CSO, our goal is to use our shared love for music to join our neighbors in making Cincinnati a more inclusive and welcoming community.

This panel was created with the assistance of several community partners including Melodic Connections, West End Art Gallery, composer/pianist Brian Nabors, and students from Hays Porter School. Participants were asked to provide reflections on the way that music as a universal language inspires their connection with community. The panel is their artistic reflection of this theme.

Clifton Cultural Arts Center

Clifton Cultural Arts Center’s mission is to strengthen the critical link between participation in the cultural arts and successful, healthy children, adults and communities. CCAC advances education, urban quality of life, and sustainability among local arts organizations. Serving residents of all ages, socioeconomic capacities and ethnic backgrounds, CCAC nurtures the interests of youth who will become Cincinnati’s future community leaders and arts patrons, promoting a healthy, vibrant community and sustainability of Cincinnati’s rich arts and cultural heritage.

About The Panel

CCAC staff incorporated the artwork for the panel with the organization’s annual Refugees Welcome Community Potluck. Partnering with local organizations serving Cincinnati’s newest residents, the potluck brings together neighbors new and old over a shared meal for conversation and connection. For this year’s potluck, CCAC partnered with RefugeeConnect, which advocates for and provides education and connection services to refugees resettled in Cincinnati.

After sharing a potluck lunch, attendees were asked: what does community mean to you? Neighbors shared stories of the different communities they’ve found and been a part of, and the meaningfulness of those communities in their lives. Attendees young and old drew their responses to the question: these drawings were adhered to CCAC’s canvas to represent the different conversations from the potluck.

Congregation Beth Adam

Congregation Beth Adam is a unique community integrating Jewish tradition and humanistic principles. It is a spiritual home, a meaningful voice, and a humanistic resource for people worldwide, seeking a contemporary Jewish identity and experience.

About The Panel

Is Judaism a religion? Is it a nationality? Is it the customs and traditions we keep? Can you be more or less Jewish than another Jew? What are the boundaries of Judaism?

Conversation starts with curiosity and questioning. At Beth Adam we often explore, and have had many conversations about what it means to be Jewish and how Judaism is meaningful to us.

This piece invites the viewer to delve into Judaism and the boundaries they use to define it. Do our friends, family, and community members share the same boundaries? Are there degrees of Judaism? Does practicing any particular customs or traditions make us more or less Jewish? What assumptions or judgments do we place on ourselves and others? Are they accurate? How do we know? What purpose do they serve?

Are you Jewish if...?

Congregation Etz Chaim

Congregation Etz Chaim is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue, continuing a tradition of progressive Judaism which goes back more than a century. Rooted in a rich heritage of traditional Jewish values, Congregation Etz Chaim is committed to enhancing the religious, spiritual, educational and cultural life of not only its members but the larger Jewish community.

ABOUT THE PANEL

And God said: “Let there be light, and there was light.”

This year’s theme “The Art of Conversation” is depicted through the first chapter of the book of Bereshit – Genesis. The first conversation ever to exist was God bringing this world into existence through speech.

The Torah tells us that God vocalized each day as he crafted the world. So too at Congregation Etz Chaim we use speech to create our congregational world. We endeavor to use speech to speak words of love, encouragement, and comfort. These words build our community and support us during times of struggle and lift us up during times of joy.

Congregation Zichron Eliezer

Home to over 120 families, Congregation

Zichron Eliezer (CZE) is a vibrant and warm shul that provides its members with an environment that enables spiritual growth and builds bonds of friendship through Torah and mitzvot.