Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio Profiles the Best in Today's Art

The Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio is a non-collecting museum dedicated to profiling the newest developments in a variety of genres, including painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, and performance art. Established in 1939, it is now housed in an ultra-modern building known as the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art, designed by Zaha Hadid, a British-Iraqi Deconstructivist architect who has been the winner of many international architectural prizes.

The museum was originally founded as the Modern Art Society and was one of the first museums in the nation that was dedicated specifically to the display of contemporary art. It began its life on the bottom floor of the Cincinnati Art Museum and later moved to Women's Exchange Building in the downtown area. It assumed its current location in 2003.

The mission of the Contemporary Arts Center is to present the "art of the last five minutes'', with displays focusing on art and artists that appeal to a diverse group of viewers. Space inside the Rosenthal Center is provided for temporary exhibitions and site-specific installations and performances. This museum, unlike many art museums, does not have a permanent collection of works. Rather, its 80,000 square-feet of space is ever-changing, making it a particularly intriguing museum to visit on a regular basis. The exhibitions that land here generally stay for anywhere from 2 months to a year and focus on a wide variety of mediums.

The Contemporary Arts Center's education department hosts many activities throughout the year, including Family Sundays, which include activities suitable for a variety of ages, and Thursday Art Play, a program designed for children ages 3 to 7 and their caregivers, all held at the facility's UnMuseum, labeled as "a groundbreaking new concept in museum education for children, schools and families.'' The UnMuseum is a gallery full of participatory art that allows for interactive experiences for all ages including hands-on art projects, interpretive tours, after-school clubs, and much more.

For adults, the Contemporary Arts Center offers the Milestones Lecture Series with local and national experts in art, Artist Talks, special exhibition programming, and much more, including opportunities to volunteer at the museum and the accompanying UnMuseum.

A program known as "44'', the center's lunchtime performing arts series, invites local and regional artists seeking new audiences to display or perform at the museum. Performances at "44'' range from dramatic readings to large full-scale productions of a variety of genres.

The museum also has an onsite and online store where they sell a variety of merchandise, including books or recordings from the "44'' arts series. Parts of the Contemporary Arts Center are also available for rent. One of four different areas are available, accommodating as many as 200 individuals for gala events such as weddings or other celebrations.

Visitors can enjoy self-guided tours of the museum or groups of 10 or more may make reservations for a guided tour of the Contemporary Arts Center. The museum is closed on Tuesday but offers extended hours on Monday. Admission is free on Monday evenings.