Category: Tom Katzenmeyer
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We are headed into 2020 with a clear vision
We are coming to the close of another year, and as we step toward a new decade I am feeling hopeful and full of gratitude. It took many years and many hands, but we head into 2020 with new revenue streams to support the arts in Columbus. This is monumental.
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The Columbus Arts Festival Celebrates Change and Partnership
As this post goes live, the Greater Columbus Arts Council staff, Columbus Arts Festival committee volunteers and I are busily preparing to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors to the downtown Columbus riverfront for the Columbus Arts Festival, presented by AEP. The Festival is celebrating its 58th year, and to…
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The Cultural Fabric of US
I continue to be inspired by the cultural fabric of our community. Every city strives to attract businesses, new residents, and visitors of all ages to their city. How we do that in Columbus is the secret in the sauce. In Columbus we have incredibly talented artists and world-class arts…
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Franklinton’s devastating 1913 flood inspires original, collaborative opera production
One constant in the history of humanity is our need to share our stories. Whether through oral traditions handed down from generation to generation, hieroglyphics on tomb walls, meticulously hand-painted vellum or podcasts, we share our stories, and through them our history, our culture and our humanity. This recent train…
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How Does Art Inspire Your Heart?
January 31 is National Inspire Your Heart with Art Day. It is a day to pause and reflect how art touches your heart—how it can move us to tears, cause us to bust out laughing, make us think, broaden our perspective and feed our humanity. To celebrate, let’s take a moment to…
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City Council developed a fair and equitable plan to stabilize arts funding in Columbus
Last week Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin unveiled a bold and forward-thinking plan providing revisions to the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s ticket fee proposal. I am immensely grateful to City Council for demonstrating their belief that public funding for the arts strengthens our city and neighborhoods. Columbus has grown…
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Stabilizing public funding for the arts = most important work of my career
Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to be part of collaborative efforts to develop public policy aimed at improving the quality of life for a specific stakeholder group locally, across the state and even nationally. But helping lead the endeavor that could stabilize public funding for arts in Columbus with…
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Columbus Open Studio & Stage
At the end of this month, more than 30 Columbus artists will open their studios to the public for an exciting weekend of tours and demonstrations. We’re all familiar with the final product of art — a painting, a book, a concert, a festival, a performance — but we don’t…
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The Arts Festival is Here!
One of our biggest weeks is here: the week of the Columbus Arts Festival. Thousands of hours of work by hundreds of people results in a memorable weekend of art, music, craft, food and family activities on the downtown riverfront. Both the presenting artists and Festival guests travel from…
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Columbus Arts Organizations Engage in Some Unexpected Places
I consider myself well informed about what our arts and cultural nonprofits are doing for the community, but even I was pleasantly surprised when I had the opportunity recently to read some more in-depth accounts of our cultural organizations’ access and outreach initiatives. I’d like to share what I learned.
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Reflections on the 2017 Community Arts Partnership Awards
One week ago today we hosted our annual Community Arts Partnership Awards and it’s still on my mind. During one luncheon I am reminded of everything I love about the Columbus arts community—the artists, the sense of family, the provocateurs and the advocates—and everything that I want for the Columbus…
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An Open Letter About the Big Give
If you’re reading this, my guess is you are a giver. As a person who cares about their community (near and far) hopefully you have heard about the Big Give and already have marked Oct. 10-11 on your calendar. On the off chance you haven’t heard of this event, consider…