CINCINNATI — The Red Door Project and the Art Academy of Cincinnati will officially celebrate both organizations' new partnership starting at 6 p.m. Friday with a public exhibition of artwork.
"What better partnership to celebrate the Red Door Project with the Art Academy of Cincinnati than to collaborate with the Cincinnati Art Museum and their newly unveiled Art Climb?" said Joe Girandola, president of the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
The organizations will line the new Art Climb, located at the corner of Gilbert Avenue and Eden Park Drive, with more than 40 pieces of art submitted by local artists. Each piece of art also will be available for purchase through a silent auction.
"Each piece will have a sheet with it and you can put a bid on it and at the end of the evening you can pick up the piece or you will be called and you can pick it up at the Art Academy on Monday," said Barbara Hauser.
Hauser launched the Red Door Project as a series of pop-up art shows hosted at different locations in 2014.
"Anyone can be an artist," she said as to why she initially created the Red Door Project. "Anyone can share their artwork and also to make art accessible to the community."
Hauser approached Girandola in January with the idea of handing the project over to the art academy in January. Girandola said the idea was an ideal fit for his organization that helps artists flourish.
"How can we get more community members involved and showcase their creative practice?" he said. "And what Barbara Hauser has done is enable those who might not think they are quote-unquote artists to exhibit their work."
After the decision to bring the Red Door Project in-house in March, the art academy also created a scholarship for non-traditional students to attend the school. A portion of each sale of artwork during Friday's Red Door Project will help fund the scholarship.
"We even had artists who are donating their pieces a hundred percent, which will go toward a non-traditional scholarship for students at the Art Academy of Cincinnati," Girandola said.
Hauser and Girandola had planned to host the inaugural exhibit at the Art Academy of Cincinnati in March, but then were delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
"For the best interest and safety and the health of the whole community and the artists, we decided to postpone," Girandola said.
The outdoor venue for Friday's show ended up being the perfect venue, Hauser said, pointing out social distancing protocols and masks will be mandatory during the outdoor exhibition.
"In kind of our COVID existence, there's no better place to come out, be socially distanced, wear your masks and buy great art and come together and kind of celebrate our existence as a community," Girandola said.
For more information about the Red Door Project visit its page on Facebook.
