News & Updates

What we’re building, where we’ve been featured, and what’s coming next.

This is where you’ll find the latest from the Cincinnati Artist Network—new features on the site, big announcements, media coverage, and updates on how we’re backing local artists and building something bigger. We keep it real and relevant, so you always know what’s in the works and how to plug in.

Want updates delivered to your inbox? Join the CAN mailing list and be the first to hear what’s new.

Make Your Business Part of the BLINK Experience

BLINK is about to transform Greater Cincinnati, and your business can be part of what people discover along the way.

Video by Mariana Ianovska

For four nights, a projected two million people will move through the city to experience art, light, and our city in a completely different way. BLINK creates a rare opportunity for restaurants, retailers, hotels, offices, nonprofits, and community spaces to turn that increased foot traffic into a reason to come inside, share the moment, and come back.

Even if you’re not an official sponsor, collaborating with a local artist can turn your business into part of the BLINK experience. Cincinnati Artist Network makes it easy for you to find local artists to transform your space into a creative destination.

Just imagine: 

A musician can turn your lobby into a lively stage. 

A light-up window display can transform your space into a visual moment people remember. 

A live illustrator can give visitors an experience to share with their friends. 

A teaching artist can create a family-friendly activity connected to the energy of the festival.

And you don’t have to build something huge to make an impact (leave that to the expensive official BLINK installations)! Hiring an artist for a creative collaboration is an easy way to introduce your business to new customers in town for the event.

Want to do something creative during BLINK? Explore Artist Collaborations

Light Activation by Ericson & Talbott

As a bonus, local artists bring their talent and more to the table: They know our city. They live in your neighborhood, lead creative communities, and influence Cincy’s culture. Many bring their own audiences with them, and they can help create experiences that feel connected in a way that keeps people coming back.

That matters during BLINK, when people are already in the mood for discovery:

• When you introduce someone to your restaurant during BLINK, they may come back for dinner. 
• When you get people into your store, it might become their new favorite place to shop (just in time for the holidays!) 
• When you give a hotel guest a cool experience, it could turn a one-time stay into recommendations and long-term brand loyalty. 
• When you invite employees to an artist-led activity, you're creating an experience that connects them to your organization. 

Plus, when you hire a local artist, your investment stays local. You’re partnering with an entrepreneur, supporting the creative economy, and contributing to the cultural vibrancy that makes this region attractive to visitors, residents, businesses, and talent.

That’s the real opportunity. BLINK can bring new people to your doorstep. A local artist can help give them a reason to stop in, learn more, and keep coming back–long after the lights go down.

Want to browse ideas or let local artists come to you? Explore BLINK Artist Collaborations

Say Hello! CAN Welcomes New Team Member

Brittany stands in front of her oil painting "Grace" at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center New Woman show, 2026

CAN is Growing Our Support!

Cincinnati’s arts scene is growing and thriving, and CAN is working hard to get local artists the resources, connections, and visibility they need to build a sustainable artistic practice. In support of that mission, we’re excited to introduce Brittany Mathis, the newest addition to the Cincy Artist Network team! 

A lifelong Cincinnatian (with a brief stint in Boston that sent her running back for Graeter’s and Glier’s goetta), Brittany joins CAN after leaving a 10-year corporate career to support Cincinnati’s creative community through communications and marketing.

Don’t let those corporate trappings fool you, though– Brittany is an artist and maker who studied Fine Art at Berea College and recently exhibited her work at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center’s New Woman show. 

“I am so thrilled to join the CAN team,” Brittany shares. “The Cincinnati Artist Network is building something vital, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”

When she’s not scouring the internet and coffee shop bulletin boards for opportunities and events to share with CAN members, Brittany can be found embroidering clothing patches, painting murals on the walls of her home, or constructing weird things out of cardboard (like a multi-story kitty cottage for her two cats). 

In other words, she fits right in at CAN— and she can’t wait to champion the performers, artists, and makers who make Cincinnati such a colorful place to live.

Artists Are Entrepreneurs. It’s Time Our Systems Caught Up

Supporting artists’ work and lives is essential to Cincinnati’s creative economy

When people think about artists, they usually picture the finished product: the performance, the mural, the song, the photograph. What we don’t see as clearly is everything that happens before and after—the planning, the coordination, the costs, the paperwork, the follow-up.

That invisible work is exactly why the Cincinnati Artist Network (CAN) exists.

Artists are entrepreneurs. Whether they call themselves that or not, they are managing clients, contracts, schedules, expenses, and income streams—often while holding multiple roles at once. They are running small businesses that contribute directly to Cincinnati’s economic and cultural vibrancy.

And like any business owner, artists need real infrastructure to sustain their work and their lives.

Romain Mayambi - Photographer

The Business of Making Art

“I didn’t think I was running a business at first,” said jazz drummer Cole Baker. “I just wanted to play music with other people.”

That realization—oh, this is actually a business—is something many artists experience after they’ve already taken on financial and professional responsibility.

There are material costs, insurance, and supplies, not to mention the cost of living. Those costs aren’t optional, either. They’re the baseline requirements of doing professional creative work. And they exist whether an artist is painting, performing, writing, filming, or designing.

For performing artists, the labor extends far beyond the moment an audience sees.

“There may be several rehearsals... And then paperwork that goes into that—creating agreement forms and making sure costumes are secured. And all of the back and forth… before the performance event even happens.”- Camille Jones, Dancer & Choreographer

This is project management, operations, finance, legal…This is business ownership.

Artists Power the Creative Economy—And the Broader One, Too

Artists don’t just create culture. They contribute to how cities grow, attract talent, and tell their stories. When artists are supported, everyone benefits.

That’s why CAN was created as a partnership between the Cincinnati Regional Chamber and the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation—to integrate artists into the broader business community, not treat them as separate from it.

“It’s really important that we start prioritizing artists as part of the business infrastructure of our cities.”
- Cal Cullen, Program Manager at the Haile Foundation

Cole Baker - Musician/Drummer

Supporting the Work and the Person

The reality is artists don’t just need opportunities to get hired. They need support systems that make it possible to keep doing the work, like access to healthcare, business tools, professional development, and leadership training.

These aren’t extras; they’re the same kinds of resources any entrepreneur needs to stay healthy and financially secure enough to make a living and a life.

So we’re gathering input directly from artists about which member benefits would make the biggest difference in their lives and careers.

If you’re an artist, we want to hear from you! Take the CAN Member Benefits Survey and tell us what kinds of support would actually help you build a sustainable creative business in Cincinnati.

Your feedback will shape what CAN prioritizes next—from healthcare options to business tools and beyond.

Take the 2-minute survey

CAN Featured in REALM Magazine

Tamia Stinson - Executive Director 

CAN's Executive Director, Tamia Stinson, has been featured in Realm Cincinnati. The article explores the mission behind the Cincinnati Artist Network and the role it plays in connecting local artists to paying gigs, corporate partners, marketing opportunities and more—spotlighting what we’re building, where we’ve been featured, and what’s coming next.

Check out the full article.