If you've ever looked at PAR's history online, you already know our journey to become a notable Cincinnati based, Black-Led and Black-Founded arts space has been complicated. From an illegal eviction in the private sector to purchasing our first property, only then to find out we needed a six-figure investment to reconnect it to the grid (water, electric, sewer), we've fought through many a battle over the years. As we work toward opening Northside's most extensive arts center which will include PAR's outdoor entertainment venue (1662 Hoffner Street), we are reflecting on our ten years in the Cincinnati arts community with joy and reverence.
Over the last ten years we've gone from a shipping container gallery, a dilapidated building and a dream, to OWNING and operating a full arts & education campus that sits on 3/4 acres of land in Northside 45223 — arguably Cincinnati's most creative neighborhood.
Here we host several artist studios including SunnyBlu Art Agency, SkyVengers Cartoon, Wolf Custom Tile, Sidney Cherie Studio, and Projection Connections. We also host a number of community programs at this location like Open Source Cinema - a group of local and regional cinephiles who do weekly independent film screenings in our gallery.
Looking back over the years, it's easy to see now that we've been growing slowly but surely, thanks to the help of some very talented and dedicated friends who answered the call to help us make some serious visual statements like Lisa Walcott, Rick Mallette and Christian Benefiel.
As we began settling into our expansion property in 2019, located at 1646 Hoffner Street, we've had the opportunity (and the pleasure) of expanding our list of exhibited artists to include nationally and internationally renowned artists like Mz. Icar, Raymond Thompson Jr., Austen Brantley, Brandon Hill, and Antonio McilWaine aka Arm of Casso. And while we've been able to curate shows by these incredible individuals, we have remained dedicated to our mission to empower diverse communities of people who believe in the arts by leveraging our facilities and our team to forward additional opportunities for local, emerging, and mid-career artists.
Fast forward to today, PAR- continues to utilize our campus for collaborative initiatives like our digital media internship program, a partnership led by Michael Molloy — Media Arts teacher and CTE Department Chair at Hughes STEM High School.
Launched in 2025, this program is a professional, portfolio-building internship designed for students interested in careers in media arts, filmmaking, graphic design, journalism, or cultural production.
Through the production of creative media, students will gain hands-on professional experience while contributing meaningfully to PAR’s mission and public-facing programming.
2026 marks another significant moment in PAR's story as we begin the second phase of construction on our outdoor space. Located at 1662 Hoffner Street, this plot will be the home of Northside's future outdoor entertainment venue which will include an outdoor movie theater and stage for live performances.
In conjunction with the work that will be happening on this space — starting fall of 2026 — PAR- will host its fall retrospective exhibition entitled Re:Group which will highlight PAR-Projects' ten-year history as an arts & education non-profit. This show will also feature original screen prints by artists who have previously exhibited at PAR-Projects.
Running from September 4th through November 7th in The Gallery at Studeō PAR, this exhibition will include a three-day celebration in October. Stay tuned for more event details!