The museum offered many in person and online opportunities to bring people and art together in the last year, seeking to provide refuge and inspiration amid a time of challenges for all. Let’s look back on some unique and noteworthy achievements and accomplishments of 2021.

January

• Thanks to the passion of a Cincinnati community member and museum docent, the museum launched the Flo Koetters Cincinnati Public School (CPS) program to connect all CPS 4^th grade students to Cincinnati’s rich history in the arts. The program ensures that more than 3,000 children in the region have access to multiple arts opportunities each school year
• The museum gained national attention after a Robert S. Duncanson painting was chosen for the Presidential Inauguration ceremony. Learn more about Duncanson’s Cincinnati from Covington, Kentucky in this CAM Look.

February

• The museum announced a return to its traditional operating days—Tuesdays through Sundays–after a year of limitations to support community wellness.
• We celebrated Black History Month with an in-museum guide to works by Black artists and an online feature of Black artists through our Facebook Group CAM Connect.
• The CAM-created video An Archaeologist Reacts to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey received nearly 500,000 views on CAM’s YouTube Watch it here.

March

• The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced that the museum is among 30 finalists for the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The museum celebrated with an event on the Art Climb featuring music, food trucks, and giveaways in May.
• Pinocchio (Emotional)—the 12-foot-tall bronze sculpture by Cincinnati native Jim Dine—was reinstalled after a six month break due to grounds construction.

April

• The museum worked closely with the Queen City Pollinator Project to install beehives filled with 60,000 bees on the museum’s grounds in support of sustainability and community wellness. Supporters participated in the Adopt-A-Bee program and raised close to $7,000 for programming and site improvements at the museum.
• We announced the winner of our first Top Dog of Art Climb photo contest on April 30. The winner received a one-year family membership to the museum, as well as treats for the canine member of the family.

May

• The museum was ranked #4 “Best Free Museum” in the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
• The museum added Picnic in the Park dining options which gave guests an easy and delicious way to dine al fresco while enjoying the Art Climb and recently added large-scale sculptures.
• The museum was approved for a $36,000 National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Projects Award to support special exhibition Paintings, Politics, and the Monuments Men.

June

• In honor of Juneteenth, the museum celebrated the historic end of slavery in America with a flag raising ceremony on the Art Climb. The event included remarks by Bishop Todd O’Neal; Dr. Catherine Roma; the Unity Celebration Choir; and Eric Kearney, President and CEO of the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce.
• A Happening, a CAM Catalyst/Philanthropy fundraising event, celebrated the arts with live music by the Young Heirlooms and DJ Mowgli and performances by Pones.

July

• The museum, Art Climb and Cincinnati were recognized in this piece in Forbes on “The Best Road Trips of 2021: 3 Top Destinations for A Socially Distanced Vacation.”

August

• Online, CAM reached more than 200,000 social media followers (Facebook + CAM Connect, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn) and generated engagements in the millions.

September

• Rance G. Duke became the first Black President of the museum’s Board of Trustees.
• The museum unveiled the outdoor, large-scale Wind Sculpture IX, a new acquisition by British and Nigerian multidisciplinary artist Yinka Shonibare.
• The museum announced its groundbreaking A New View campaign—a comprehensive fundraising campaign. While some projects are completed or underway, others are poised to begin within the next year, including the completion of a new front drive. The goal is to elevate the museum’s service and reach to the furthest corners of the community.

October

• The museum’s Rosenthal Education Center (REC) is included in a national Money Inc. article about the “Best Things in Cincinnati.”

November

• CAM hosted its second Hoxworth Blood Drive in partnership with the Playhouse in the Park and Taft Museum of Art, generating donations to help save 186 lives.

December

• The museum’s newly reimagined Ancient Middle East gallery reopened to public, showcasing works from across the ancient Middle East, including the most significant collection of Nabataean art in the United States.

In addition to CAM’s amazing permanent collection, we also showcased a vast array of special exhibitions and features last year, including:

Kara Walker: Cut to the Quick, Nov. 5, 2021–Jan. 16, 2022

American Painting: The Eighties Revisited, March 12–Oct. 11, 2021; Nov. 20, 2021–Jan. 30, 2022

Simply Brilliant: Artist-Jewelers of the 1960s and 1970s, Oct. 22, 2021–Feb. 6, 2022

The Jewish Holidays by Chaim Gross, Aug. 24–Dec. 12, 2021

Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America, July 9–Oct. 3, 2021

Stepping in Style: Evening Shoes of the 1950s, March 20, 2021–March 27, 2022

Future Retrieval: Close Parallel, Feb. 26–Aug. 29, 2021

Anila Quayyum Agha: All the Flowers are for Me, Dec. 5, 2020–May 30, 2021

The Grand Experiment in Italy: Etchings by Duveneck and His Students, Dec. 5, 2020–March 28, 2021

Frank Duveneck: American Master, Dec. 18, 2020–May 9, 2021

Bold Gestures: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics, Dec. 15, 2020–Jan. 2, 2022

Black & Brown Faces, Oct. 24, 2020–Jan. 3, 2021

Women in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design, Nov. 29, 2019–March 27, 2022

Women Breaking Boundaries 2.0, Oct. 11, 2019–Jan. 10, 2021

None of the museum’s successes would be possible without you! We sincerely thank you for being with us throughout 2021 and we look forward to seeing you in 2022!

Upcoming Exhibitions

David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History, Feb. 25–May 15, 2022

Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop, Feb. 25–May 15, 2022

One Each: Still Lifes by Cézanne, Pissarro and Friends, March 11–May 8, 2022

Paloozanoire’s Black & Brown Faces: Pays Homage To, March 25–June 19, 2022

Henry Mosler Behind the Scenes: In Celebration of the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial, June 10–Sept. 4, 2022

Unlocking an Art Deco Bedroom by Joseph Urban, July 8–Oct. 2, 2022