Cincinnati Business Courier: CCM Arts Admin alumna creates and inspires

The Cincinnati Business Courier recently featured UC College-Conservatory of Music alumna Kathy Wade (MM Arts Administration, '81) and her upcoming ArtsWave-commissioned project "Story Quilts."

Wade received a $10,000 grant from ArtsWave as part of the "Truth & Reconciliation" project grants for Black and Brown artists. Funded by the City of Cincinnati, Duke Energy and ArtsWave, the grants were awarded to 27 artists in January 2021. 

Wade's "Story Quilts" project will include discussions and activities centered around immersive experiences, which includes creating individual stories on quilt squares that speak one's truth and moves toward reconciliation and resilience. The initiative is created under the curatorial direction of Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, Women of Color Quilters Network founder and a member of Textiles Center's National Artist Advisory Council. The program bookends with an exploration of reconciliation through the journey of jazz with Wade's own "Black Anthology of Music," exploring the origins and history of jazz and its story of resilience. "Story Quilts" is part of a national Truth and Reconciliation pilot project in partnership with the Center of Community Resilience, George Washington University and Cincinnati Children's Joining Forces for Children.

A successful business owner and an entrepreneur in arts and education, Wade is an accomplished jazz singer and a Cincinnati Sister City ambassador. She spoke to Cincinnati Business Courier reporter Janelle Gelfand about her career and the inspiration behind her "Story Quilts" project, sharing that after decades of working in the arts, she still sees few people of color leading arts organizations as administrators. 

"That for me, was one of the reasons this project was so important," Wade said in the story. "It gave me the opportunity to pull together African American artists and arts administrators. It's important that we be seen and heard."

Featured image at the top: Kathy Wade. Photo/Leigh Taylor for ACBJ