Photograph by Patrick Raneses
For two decades, Greater Cincinnati nonprofit The Well has brought art and wellness practices to the area through its youth art programs, stress management workshops, community mediations, and more.
Its latest project, My River, My Roots, My Freedom, brings together youth artists to examine the impacts of the Ohio River and create artwork celebrating the culture of America’s riverside cities. The project will be on display at America’s River Roots Festival from October 8 to 12.
“The news of the world continues to get more harrowing, and it can be really overwhelming to figure out; What do you? How do you?,” says Stacy Sims, founder and executive director of The Well. “Our team [shows] up here and we do our work, which is to try to help humans across all spectrums feel seen and heard and regulated. If we can regulate, then we’re going to have more capacity for social cohesion, sense making, and empathy.”
Each summer, The Well partners with public art nonprofit ArtWorks to execute a major youth art project. This year, the partners were inspired by the area’s upcoming America’s River Roots Festival—a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States and the inland river culture of the Ohio River Valley.
The organizations brought together 11 local artists for a paid apprenticeship program to research and create art projects honoring the past, present, and imagined future impacts of the Ohio River. The project’s outcomes include an educational zine, a web comic, a newspaper, an EP, two short films, and two public art installations showcasing the ways artists have interpreted the cultural, historical, and environmental significance of the Ohio River. The culmination of these pieces make up My River, My Roots, My Freedom.
Additionally, The Well put together an educational mindfulness workbook in an effort to help students connect with themselves and find comfort in the river.
Photograph by Patrick Raneses
“We’re really hoping that whether you’re watching one of the beautiful films online or wondering if you could have somebody come to your school or your workplace to bring the river alive, that that’s what it does,” says Sims.
Through their creative process, apprentices learned not only about the river’s history but also about themselves, their community, and their artistic practices. “We know that when you can deepen the relationships and spend time together and work on a project over time, it can create friendships, it can create a lifeline for someone,” says Sims. “The youth are learning how to be creative, learning that how they experience the world matters and can be turned into an art expression.”
While each piece was idealized and created by the 11 apprentices, lead teaching artists Elan Schwartz and Andrea Sisson acted as mentors for the youth artists throughout the summer.
Photograph by Patrick Raneses
Local interdisciplinary artist Schwartz guided apprentices through the research and creation process, helping them to execute whatever vision they had. “I hope they got a sense of community, I hope they got a sense of how to reach out to people when you don’t really know the answer,” he says.
By the end of the seven-week process each youth artist had turned all they had learned into a creative expression of the river’s impact.
Returning artist Ashe Gruenhagen was excited to work with the organization for a second summer. As a student at Miami University studying environmental earth science, a project highlighting the impacts of the Ohio River seemed fitting for her expertise.
Photograph by Patrick Raneses
Her contribution to the multimedia project is a hand-drawn, self-produced zine, “What the River Carries.” The educational zine highlights the ecosystems that live in the Ohio River, the impacts of industrial and runoff pollution on the river, and how readers can combat it.
Though she grew up in the Cincinnati area, Ashe says she never had a strong connection to the river. Working on this project has redefined the way she views the Ohio River. “After doing this project, whenever I’m down near the river I always acknowledge the river’s there and I know a lot more about it now than I used to,” she says.
Other contributing artists to My River, My Roots, My Freedom are Finn Blust, August Brown, Ash Carroll, Jayson Drew, Violet Holland, Elke Hounshell, Regan Jordan, Josiyah Mateo, Desmond Reeder, and Max Rush.
The final projects will be showcased at America’s River Roots Festival from October 8 to 12. The public art pieces will be displayed on and around the Purple People Bridge. The newspaper and zine will also be on display on the bridge. The projects are available to preview now on The Well’s website.
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