June Arts Off 75: A Summer of Wanderlust

Summer asks us to wander. It is the time to step outside of our usual routines and explore new spaces. June marks the season of porches, patios, backyard conversations and the occasional attempt to slow the pace of life just a little bit. People often assume that summertime also brings a slowdown in the arts, but creativity is not confined to a season, a building, or a calendar. It is alive, moving, shifting and constantly asking us to pay attention.

Over the past year, CET and Think^TV have had the great fortune to collaborate with the Dayton Society of Artists, the oldest existing arts organization in Dayton. Founded in 1938 as the Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors, the organization changed its name in 2016 to better reflect the arts scene and its breadth of mediums. Today, executive director Tamiko Stump brings an effervescent spirit, a collaborative generosity and a clear sense of purpose to the organization. She is the kind of leader who understands both the history she has inherited and the future she is helping to shape. It points to a strong and growing future for this wonderful historic Dayton institution.

Their current exhibition, “The Future of Females,” is a vivid example of that forward motion. The exhibition features an eclectic and diverse array of talented female artists, and the result is nothing short of astounding.  Individually, each piece offers moments of intimacy, complexity, beauty, provocation, humor, memory and truth. Collectively, their work asks us to consider who has been seen and who has been overlooked in the industry. Alongside familiar names are new and fresh voices, artists whose work invites us into different ways of seeing and thinking. The exhibition shows there is space for both to exist alongside one another.

One of the great surprises and pleasures of seeing this exhibition was realizing just how many of the artists represented have been featured on The Art Show and Rodney Veal’s Inspired By. That recognition brought a real sense of joy, reminding me that our work in public media is not only about documenting great work, but about getting to know the artists more deeply. Southwest Ohio is full of artists and organizations doing extraordinary work, often just slightly off the beaten path. This summer is the perfect time to embark on your voyage of discovery. The arts are awake and still present, waiting to be encountered.

Rodney Veal
CET and Think^TV Producer and Community Arts Liaison