PAR-Projects Celebrates TEN Years as a 501(c)3!

In early 2015, if you had asked us what the next ten years would hold, you probably would have gotten an answer like "Ten years? Let's get to day one first." 

We had been hosting pop-up exhibitions and public-facing community projects since 2010. But after applying for nonprofit status in 2014, we were still waiting for the IRS to confirm our application. The problem? ... In our application, we felt it was important to state our intention to help sell the artwork of mid-career artists, as a way to support their commitment to their personal creative practice(s). This would not be the primary goal of our nonprofit. But if we were not able to legally sell artwork — particularly work that appeals to our nation's collectors — we felt it would be nearly impossible to truly  fulfill our mission to empower diverse communities of people who believe in the arts!

Thankfully, after a few rounds of back-and-forth with the IRS, we were approved and off to the races! To celebrate, we threw  a party in one of the HUGE empty spaces at The American Can lofts. DJ Pillo was there. DJ Sabastooge was there. But maybe more importantly a number of people we didn't really know showed up. Game on!

As far as history is concerned, we had just purchased a piece of land that included a dilapidated property that we hoped to one day redevelop into a gallery and community space. So from day one, we reached out to artists who could help us make some serious visual statements. Lisa Walcott  was the first artist to give us a shot. And while we ran into some pretty serious complications getting the building ready, her "Making Room" exhibition — which was literally powered by generators — helped us set the bar, creativity-wise. Rick Mallette and Christian Benefiel  had solo shows shortly after. Then Sita & Mike from dpict, and Stephen Slaughter from UC  ran our first education programs out of the space. We were officially off to the races ... or at least that's what we thought.

If you've ever looked at our journey — posted online at https://hq.parprojects.com/pages/ourgrowth — you already know our initial delays & complications were just the first of many many setbacks that we've had to fight through over the years. From purchasing that first property, only to learn we could not fully activate it without another six figure investment, as it had been disconnected from the grid (water, electric, sewer) while it sat vacant; to taking out a mortgage on our HUGE, 15,000 Sqft. expansion property, just a few months before COVID-19 shut down the world; it's been a wild ride to say the least.

Fast forwarding to today, we couldn't be more excited about our journey — not because of the difficulties, but because of where we are today! 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 eight artist studios, a second gallery space, as well as a number of community programs and public-facing events, much like this year's block party hosted in collaboration with The Underworld Black Arts Festival.

In short, we're ten years in, our stage is set, and we're looking forward to continued growth as we settle into our expanded home — 1646 Hoffner Street, Cincinnati, OH 45223.  Please join us Wednesday, December 10th as we celebrate another incredible milestone in our unpredictable journey!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/10-year-anniversary-champagne-toast-tickets-1924506062439

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Pictured below:

An installation shot from our current exhibition Funky Ride: The South's Still Got Something To Say
by Arm of Casso (Atlanta, GA) and Brandon Hill (Baltimore, MD)

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