ArtsWave tells council committee Cincinnati arts generate major economic returns, asks city to link app and bolster grants

Alicia Kettner, president and CEO of ArtsWave, told Cincinnati’s Economic and Cultural Opportunities Committee on Monday that ArtsWave’s century-long community campaign has been central to the city’s cultural and economic vitality and asked the city to partner with the organization on promotion and grant support ahead of its 2027 centennial. Kettner described ArtsWave as the city’s designated local arts agency and cited past roles distributing CARES Act and ARPA funds during COVID.

Kettner said ArtsWave has mobilized public contributions for nearly 100 years and cited recent economic-impact figures, telling the committee “Every $1 invested in Arts Wave generates $43 in activity by our arts partners.” She summarized a Cincinnati Chamber study showing $751 million invested in capital improvements since 2015 and said the sector’s annual operations contributed an estimated $1.6 billion in 2019–2022. Kettner also highlighted that ArtsWave’s community campaign remains people-driven: workplace giving and large employers supply a major share of donations even as donor counts have fallen since the pandemic.

Why this matters: The presentation framed the arts as civic infrastructure that supports jobs, tourism and neighborhood vibrancy, and asked the city to help amplify events and to consider modest additional investments in targeted equity programs. Kettner asked the city to add a link or widget to municipal websites for the ArtsWave mobile app (which she said has more than 25,000 downloads and about 500 daily users) and to continued coordination on Inspire grants and the Black and Brown artist commissions.

Committee members praised the presentation and pressed a few operational questions: Council member Seth Walsh called the economic-impact numbers “phenomenal” and Council member Anna Albee asked what other cities do differently to rank higher on an arts-vibrancy index. Kettner pointed to revenue streams such as dedicated regional arts taxes in other cities, and to day- and night-time festival strategies that can boost profile and visitation.

Kettner also described ArtsWave’s school partnerships under the “More Arts, More Kids” program, saying it coordinates grade-specific field trips so every first through sixth grader at participating districts receives the same arts experience; she told the committee it costs about $20 to send a child on a field trip. She said ArtsWave’s sustainment grants provide three-year operating commitments to about 47 organizations and that the broader grant suite serves roughly 150 organizations and artists.

Committee action and next steps: Vice Mayor Kearney moved to place the two presentations on the public record, and without objection the committee agreed to file the presentations so they are available to the public. The presentation materials will be filed for the record and committee staff will follow up on the city website widget request and on any budget or leverage-fund considerations ahead of formal budget decisions.

Details and clarifications: Kettner said ArtsWave and Hamilton County designated ArtsWave as the official local arts agency in 2020, enabling the organization to distribute federal CARES Act and ARPA relief funds; she said ArtsWave distributed nearly $14 million to dozens of organizations and more than 100 independent artists during COVID. Kettner estimated the ArtsWave campaign target should be in the $16 million–$20 million range to keep pace with inflation, compared with roughly $12 million currently.