Arts + Culture : Development News

On April 3, former Montgomery knitting store Fibergé moved to 1407 Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine. It will be hosting its grand opening event May 17.
 
In September of 2010, the year Fibergé owner Norma Lawrence Knecht moved to Cincinnati, she left her corporate job and opened the Montgomery location. She decided to move her store to OTR because she wants to contribute to the revitalization efforts in the neighborhood, says Margaux Ayers of MCA Marketing.
 
“Norma wants to contribute to the arts community in OTR,” Ayers says. “She likes OTR because of the established arts community. People already have an appreciation for the arts here.”
 
Lawrence Knecht started to knit a few years ago and found she was good at it. The artsy craft also helped her better control her anxiety and quit smoking, Ayers says.
 
Ayers says Lawrence Knecht is excited to bring beginning knitters into Fibergé and help people understand the art of knitting. Beginning knitting kits start at $20.
 
Fibergé sells Spud & Chloe, Blue Sky Alpacas and Rowan yarns, and offers hundreds of patters for one-of-a-kind garments and accessories. Lawrence Knecht also offers knitting classes, private lessons and daily project assistance—no appointment needed.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Many locals are familiar with Taste of Cincinnati, but for the 35th year, there are a few changes to the event. New features include the Taste of Cincinnati Experience; Tastings, Tappings and Tours by Christian Moerlein; and Food Truck Alley.
 
“For one weekend, Taste of Cincinnati is the biggest nightclub in town,” says Patrick Sheeran, VP at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. “With food, drink, music, rides and games, there’s truly something for everyone.”
 
Taste of Cincinnati will be held May 25-27 along Fifth Street from Vine to Broadway, and will feature food and drink from 45 area restaurants as well as 70 live entertainment acts. There will also be various rides and games; admission to the event is free.
 
Taste will feature 10 of Cincinnati’s signature restaurants, including 20 Brix, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Daveed’s, Orchid’s, The Palace, Tano and Graeter’s, which will feature intimate dining and live music. Chefs from participating restaurants will be on-site for three-hour increments each day, and representatives will also be in the area with samplings and cooking demonstrations. Taste will be located in P&G Gardents at Fifth and Sycamore streets.
 
Christian Moerlein is now the official beer of Taste of Cincinnati. The brewery will be serving up a handful of its signature beers at the Moerlein Beer Garden on Fountain Square, plus specialty kegs of dry hopped cask-conditioned ales—“Pins and Firkins”—that will be tapped every two hours. Taste of Cincinnati visitors will be offered free one-hour tours of the Christian Moerlein Production Craft Brewery at 1621 Moore Street in Over-the-Rhine.
 
“Christian Moerlein has deep roots in the city, and has become a resurgent brand,” Sheeran says. “It fits with the event, plus the city is in the midst of a resurgence itself.”
 
Taste of Cincinnati is also adding food trucks to the event—local food trucks will be taking over North Broadway just off of Fifth Street. Food Truck Alley will feature food from Café de Wheels, C’est Cheese, EAT Mobile Dining, Gold Star Chili Mobile, Mellow Mushroom and Sugarsnap!
 
Apart from adding new events, Taste of Cincinnati will be making a $10,000 donation to the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State to refurbish its teaching kitchens. The money for the donation will come from the fee local restaurants pay to be part of Taste of Cincinnati, and the event will then match that amount.
 
“Here in Cincinnati, many of the city’s best restaurants employ graduates of Cincinnati State,” Sheeran says. “We want to help the school, so we can continue to have the great food we have here in town.”
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Art appraiser and entrepreneur Morgan Cobb has a vision to turn innovation into an art form. What does that look like?

Imagine a sort of startup pitch day held at an art gallery with photo portraits of entrepreneurs overlaid with QR (Quick Response) codes that link viewers virtually to company founders. Imagine the real-time exchange of art, business and support.

That’s the idea behind “Disruptors, QRtifacts by Peiter Griga,” curated by Cobb, which opens April 26 at Covington’s Artisan Enterprise Center.

“The whole event was designed to encourage collaboration, participation and appreciation,” says Cobb, 28, who founded Newport’s Bryson Appraisals four years ago.

The exhibit started with a conversation between Cobb and fellow curator Cate Yellig, who took over as the city of Covington’s art director earlier this year. Yellig, who works at the intersection of economic development and arts programming, was in search of a way to bring together local entrepreneurs and artists, groups she believes have much in common.

“It was really kind of serendipitous,” Yellig says of the exhibit, which features 10 local startups that have a total of 12 founders, including nugg-it, BlackbookHR, Earthineer and GirlDevelopIt.

Cobb, who has degrees in art history and economics, had become engaged in the local startup ecosystem. She welcomed a chance to connect her two passions.

“Entrepreneurs face the same challenge as contemporary artists,” Cobb says. They strive to remain creative, relevant and “hip.” 

The startups featured in 'Disruptors' are in various stages of development. Some, like We Have Become Vikings, have achieved a level of notoriety, while others, like GamiGen, are less known. 

“They haven’t arrived yet, but they have all this potential to be cutting edge,” Cobb says.

In order to fully experience the opening, Cobb urges potential visitors to bring their smartphones. It will also help to visit
'Disruptors' online in advance and to download QR and Twitter apps. The event also includes a projection of a live Twitter feed.

“The Twitter feed is to encourage feedback and to broadcast the event to an audience that can’t be there,” says Cobb, who has invited venture capitalists and angel investors, as well as a DJ and performance artists, to the opening. 

Even as she works to give entrepreneurs a new platform to communicate their ideas, Cobb also incorporates artistic innovations that have already drawn interest from venues in Austin, Texas. Photographer Peiter Griga, a personal friend, started by photographing each of the entrepreneurs the old-fashioned way—on film.

He then prints the images by mixing silver nitrate with organic honey, which is, at the microscopic level, a living thing. The print process then mirrors how technology and life intertwine. “The media was an important component to the concept,” Cobb says. “It’s an artifact, but it’s still a living thing.”

Most of all, Cobb hopes the exhibit helps foster an understanding of the struggles and challenges faced by both artists and entrepreneurs, and an appreciation for their work.

“At the end of the day, isn’t that what we all want?” she asks.

When it came to starting a career, Mary Helen Boeddeker, 24, knew exactly what she wanted to do. As soon as she graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program in June 2012, she started her own clothing line for kids.
 
“I knew I wanted to start a brand in Cincinnati to make kids feel great, make moms happy and to bring manufacturing and design back to the United States,” says Boeddeker.
 
Today, much of the clothing bought and sold in the U.S. is created overseas, but Boeddeker didn’t want that for her clothing line, Mary Helen Clothing. She does everything from designing the garments to sourcing fabric, to patterning and creating the clothing.
 
Boeddeker was inspired to start Mary Helen Clothing by her late grandmother, Mary Helen. “She was all about being positive and being yourself,” she says.
 
Mary Helen Clothing isn’t sold in stores. It’s available online and at trunk shows, where Boeddeker goes to customers’ houses and puts on fashion shows with their children.
 
“I love when the girls put on my clothes and their faces light up,” Boeddeker says.
 
Right now, Boeddeker’s main focus is clothing for young girls. But in March, she started a small collection for boys, and she has plans for a collection for moms as well. She also has a collection of unisex clothing in the works.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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With more than 15,000-square-feet of living space, a new Edgewood, Ky., home promises palatial touches during Northern Kentucky’s Home Builders Association’s Cavalcade of Homes, which will be held May 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19 from noon to 5 p.m.
 
“There is no house around like this one,” says Linda Cochran of Tim Burks Builder, Inc., the house’s project manager. “We’ve done things for this home that haven’t been done in this area before, such as the 30-foot wall of glass doors that fully retract from the house’s lounge onto the outdoor covered porch.”
 
The identity of the home’s owner is under wraps, but when Tim Burks Builder was awarded the project in 2011, they were presented with a wish list, which included a limestone façade, a slate roof, water features, a pool and pool house and a lounge bar.
 
“It’s been an exciting project,” says Tim Burks of Tim Burks Builder. “Everyone is doing a great job, and it’s going to be fantastic when it’s finished.”
 
There are only a handful of “estate-type” homes in Edgewood, and the 15,950-square-foot home on Turkeyfoot Road towers above its neighbors. It sits on seven acres, and is inspired by turn-of-the-century classic French Chateau estates.
 
Although the house is brand new, the owner wanted many of the details to give off the feel of a 200-year-old home. The wood beams in the lounge ceiling were hand-distressed to look like they’re hundreds of years old, says Grace Jones of Dwellings in O’Bryonville, the house’s interior designer.
 
The house boasts a home theater, billiard room, home gym, Bacarat crystal faucets in the master bathroom, Swarovski crystals on the custom foyer staircase and gas outdoor lights, just to name a few.
 
The Cavalcade of Homes is in its 50^th year. It will feature tours of a handful of new-build homes in Northern Kentucky, and a few of the builders will be available for questions. The event is free and open to the public.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Dance, art and music fill the Emery Theatre in Over the Rhine this weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Contemporary Dance Theatre as well as the return of MusicNOW.

The theatre, which was donated to the city in 1908 thanks to the charitable trust of Mary Emery, is currently owned by the University of Cincinnati and leased to the Emery Center Corporation, which manages the Emery Center Apartments. The theater, a replica of Carnegie Hall, is one of only three remaining halls in the nation designed with perfect acoustics. The Requiem Project: The Emery, a site-specific 501c3 founded in 2009, is working to re-establish the historic space as an event venue and interdisciplinary arts and education center. 

After going dark for the winter months as negotiations continue over the building's future, the theater hosts two major public events this weekend.

MusicNOW's first-ever art show runs in the Emery's gallery spaces through the weekend. It features pieces by Cincinnati natives Jessie Henson and Nathalie Provosty, both of whom currently work out of New York. Sunday, MusicNOW founder and The National member Bryce Dessner makes a special appearance at the Emery for a performance during a gallery party from 4-6 pm.

In addition to the MusicNOW events, the Emery also welcomes the April 13 anniversary gala for the Contemporary Dance Theatre, which was founded in 1972 by current artistic director and local dance icon Jefferson James. David Lyman plays host during the celebration, which features video, photography, costumes and more. 

While the future of the Emery and efforts to revive it remain unclear, at least for this weekend, there's a chance to enjoy an amazing local space being used for all the right reasons--to celebrate the local arts community and its connection to the broader artistic and cultural landscape of our time.

The MusicNOW exhibit and Bryce Dessner performance are free and open to the public.

Tickets for the CDC gala available here.

By Elissa Yancey
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The Cincinnati Preservation Association will be hosting Preserving Modern Architecture, a two-day symposium on April 24 and 25. The event is being held to celebrate the gift and restoration of the Frederick and Harriet Rauh House in Woodlawn.
 
CPA began to restore the Rauh House in Sept. 2011 with funds provided by Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Frank and Harriet's daughter. The house, which was built in 1938, is one of the country's first examples of the International style of modern architecture.
 
When CPA acquired the house, it was a cinderblock shell with plants growing through it, says Paul Muller, executive director of CPA. It had been slated for demolition—twice—but CPA felt it was a building that needed to be restored rather than destroyed.
 
“Preservation of the recent past is an emerging issue in the world of historic preservation,” says Muller. “The public has an interest in mid-century modern and modern architecture because buildings that were built in 1964 are now eligible for the National Historic Register, and they’re not considered ‘old’ to us. But once people start looking at what motivated the architects and owners of those houses, then it’s interesting.”
 
The symposium features two days of papers, case studies and discussion sessions about modern architecture, plus a tour of the Rauh House and another house in the neighborhood. A lecture by Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and architectural critic, will conclude the event.
 
“We hope that the event will increase people’s awareness and appreciation for the incredible modernist legacy,” says Muller. “We want people to realize that a lot of modernist buildings need to be preserved, and can add something to our culture.”
 
Tickets to Preserving Modern Architecture and the Goldberger lecture are $125 and $35, respectively; tickets for the Rauh House tour are available by emailing info@cincinnatipreservation.org or by calling 513-721-4506. The event is sponsored by Architects Plus, and the house tours are sponsored by Kroger and Crapsey and Gilles Contractors, Inc.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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About six years ago, the owners of Over-the-Rhine’s oft-frequented MOTR began looking for a larger space for concerts. And they found one right across the street: the Woodward Theater.
 
“When we brought MOTR to OTR, we wanted to insert the local music community into the arts and culture discussion in Cincinnati,” says MOTR co-owner Dan McCabe. “By expanding across the street, that discussion gets a little louder.”
 
MOTR has been the OTR hotspot for free music for the past few years, and the Woodward will help attract larger bands that are too big to play MOTR. The concerts at the Woodward will be ticketed, with advance tickets available.  
 
“We want to see people from outside Cincinnati to see what OTR is,” says McCabe. “Musicians that play the Woodward will be coming from cities like New York, where the cost of living is high. They might consider relocating to Cincinnati, which has a great support base for musicians and the platform to build a crowd base. It’s also centrally located for touring.”
 
The Woodward’s new owners also want it to be used as more than a music venue. “I’d love to show films and host private events too,” says McCabe. “OTR is an event-driven neighborhood, and we want the Woodward to be a resource to the community.”
 
The Woodward has been used in recent years as an antiques warehouse, and hasn’t been an active storefront for a long time, says McCabe. In the next few weeks, construction will begin on the theater’s façade, including getting the lights on the outside working.
 
McCabe and his business partners are still working on plans for the inside. “We basically have a white box on the inside with a balcony, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”
 
This year is the Woodward’s 100^th birthday—it opened on June 18, 1913. The guys of MOTR have a big event planned for the building’s birthday, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for more information.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Five years after the destructive fire that left Old St. George Church in Clifton Heights dormant, plans are now surfacing to convert the historic building into a boutique hotel.

The fire, which destroyed both of the church’s steeples, occurred Feb. 1, 2008. With restoration underway, it’s clear that the building’s future incarnation will take it far from its past.

“We put about $600,000 into improvement,” says Matt Bourgeois, director of the Clifton Heights Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CHCURC), a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing Clifton Heights. “We want to make sure the building is preserved so we can pursue [construction of the hotel].”

Repairs and improvements are only the first steps to restoring Old St. George, however.

CHCURC plans to have a full understanding of a time frame and funding by late summer, with hopes to start construction of the hotel soon after, says Bourgeois, who estimates the space will include 60 to 70 beds.

While he can’t estimate room prices yet, Bourgeois hopes the project help attract more visitors to the surrounding developments and redefine the neighborhood’s dynamic.

Making Clifton Heights a destination is one of CHCURC's major goals—to bring more people to the neighborhood and see what it has to offer, Bourgeois says.  

Construction of the hotel will follow the opening of U Square at the Loop, Old St. George’s neighboring multi-story development, where businesses are scheduled to open in March and apartments in July.

By Kyle Stone

Since it was built in 1847, the St. Michael’s complex has been a cornerstone of the Lower Price Hill community. But in 1998, the church was vacated; in 2007, the Lower Price Hill Community School moved into St. Michael’s space and became tenants of the Archdiocese. Within the first month of occupancy, the Archdiocese decided they no longer wanted to be landlords, and they donated the entire complex to LPHCS.
 
On June 14, renovations will begin on the five-building complex, with the help of the 2011 Historic Preservation Tax Credit from the Ohio Department of Redevelopment. The total project will cost $7.6 million; LPHCS is working to raise $2.2 million to leverage the $5.4 million historic tax credit—they’re about halfway to their goal.
 
The project will create 50,000 square feet of community gathering space, performance venues, art studios and a sanctuary for at-risk individuals—the Center for Education and the Arts.
 
“We wanted to give the space originally built for the neighborhood back to them,” says Jen Walters, executive director of LPHCS.
 
LPHCS knew from the start that the complex was too large for them—they were only using one floor of one building. So they sought out a partner that could also utilize the complex and share the burden of upkeep with LPHCS. They found a few organizations that didn’t fit with the their mission or the neighborhood, but then Lower Price Hill’s community council president suggested LPHCS talk to BLOC Ministries, and a partnership was born.
 
“We felt called to go to Lower Price Hill,” says Dwight Young, BLOC’s executive director.” “We felt like we were supposed to be there.”
 
BLOC’s eight staff members live in BLOC-owned spaces in Lower Price Hill. BLOC will work toward LPHCS’s adult education mission and help the people of Lower Price Hill further their education, but not in the traditional way, Young says.
 
When LPHCS was first given the St. Michael’s complex and realized the cost of upkeep and repairs, the organization asked neighbors what services already existed, what services they used and what their vision for Price Hill was. The message was clear: the residents wanted them to stay.
 
“People come to us for legal services and housing assistance, not just for education reasons,” Walters says.
 
Neighbors also wanted more options for their kids. BLOC’s after-school program provides art and music programs that young people might otherwise not have access to.
 
There’s an artist on staff who oversees the Center’s pottery studio and T-shirt press. “We want to create rooms for artists who can do their business on property and teach kids in the area to do their trade,” Young says. BLOC is also working to develop a photography studio for the Center.
 
“The City of Cincinnati is going through an exciting time of positive growth,” Walters says. “This project will help change the landscape of the neighborhood and the city, but it doesn’t stop here. It continues—it’s a natural progression of positive things that are happening.”
 
A breakfast session on March 13 from 8 to 9 a.m. will provide information about the project and its vision to prospective donors and community leaders; it will include tours of the facility and time with the site plans. To RSVP, call 513-244-2214 ext. 202.   
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Residents of Columbia Tusculum have pride in their neighborhood, and to showcase that, they hold the Columbia Tusculum Home Tour every two or three years. This year, the tour will be held Oct. 6 and will feature about 15 houses, a handful of businesses and a few historic buildings in the neighborhood.
 
Columbia Tusculum was established in 1788, making this year its 225^th anniversary. It’s a relatively small neighborhood that thrived in the 1700s, but has seen its share of decline and dilapidated and run-down buildings.
 
“Columbia Tusculum has been in a state of transition over the past few decades, and residents have made it a mission to restore the beautiful homes,” says Janette Yauch, the chair of the home tour.
 
Yauch and the tour want to showcase the work and beauty of the original houses and the effort the homeowners have invested in ensuring long-term sustainability of their homes.
 
Most of the houses in Columbia Tusculum were built between the late 1700s and late 1800s, and are Victorian (also called “painted ladies”) in style. As of now, there will be one craftsman style house included in the tour. The houses included in the tour aren’t for sale, but Yauch is looking into partnering with local realtors to include a few open houses.  
 
The tour includes homes throughout the neighborhood. All of the houses are within walking distance, but there will be a trolley running for those who don’t want to climb the steep hills, Yauch says.
 
Like last year, the tour committee hopes to partner with the Riley School of Irish Music and have live Celtic and Irish music in every house. Day-of ticket sales are sold in front of the Green Dog Cafe, and the committee hopes to partner with them to create food specials for tour-goers.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Imagine the walls from Professor Dumbledore’s office in the Harry Potter movies—space covered with framed photographs. That’s what the four walls of Over-the-Rhine’s newest business, Frameshop, will look like, but they’ll be covered in framed posters, neon signs, taxidermy and other oddities.
 
“We want customers to get creative, and we’re trying to do that with a more creative space,” says Frameshop co-owner Jake Gerth.
 
Frameshop happens to be across the street from Gerth’s apartment. “I wanted a business that would be part of the community,” he says. “We want to let Cincinnati know that people are moving to OTR, that it’s a good place to be.”
 
The storefront was in pretty good shape when Gerth and his business partner, Jake Baker, rented it—the floors, walls and hand-painted ceiling tiles are all original. The front of the store is the retail floor, where Baker and Gerth will showcase their talents, and their shop is in the back of the building.
 
While Frameshop isn’t quite finished, Gerth and Baker are excited for their Final Friday opening Feb. 22. They’re going to have a grand opening party that night, and start taking framing orders from customers.
 
The two Springdale natives have been friends since first grade. After college (Baker went to Ohio University; Gerth went to AIC College of Design in Springdale), they decided to open a business together. They had lots of ideas, but their experience in framing lead them to Frameshop—Baker worked in retail framing for a brief time; Gerth has a creative background.
 
“You can’t get what we do at Michael’s,” Gerth says. For example, they have an OTR print in a black wood frame made from 100-year-old reclaimed wood from OTR.
 
All Frameshop pieces will be custom, and the owners plan to turn around orders faster than a typical frame shop that takes about two weeks to complete a job—Baker and Gerth will have orders finished in about an hour.
 
“Our goal is to have customers come in, drop off a piece, go have dinner and then come pick it up,” Baker says.
 
Frameshop opens at 6 pm on Final Friday. There will be a DJ, food and tours of the store. Plus, customers can start placing orders that day.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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The Original Makers Club is a fairly new startup from Louisville—it was founded in 2011 by photographer Josh Merideth— but it already has branches in Lexington, Cincinnati and Brooklyn. OMC is an aesthetically minded brand and publication that curates, highlights and looks to elevate the culture, society and local business scenes of cities.
 
“A few years ago, Louisville was going through a similar revitalization to Cincinnati’s current one, which makes it a prime time to celebrate local culture,” says Mike Brady, managing partner and events director of OMC.
 
Comprised of design-conscious, forward-thinking local businesses, Cincinnati’s branch of OMC has about 60 members, including A Tavola, Ensemble Theatre, Sloan Boutique, 21c Museum Hotel, 3CDC, Smart Fish Studio, 5 Dot Design, Bakersfield OTR, Paolo Modern Jewelers, Japps, 4EG, MiCa, Taste of Belgium, DIGS and Jaguar Land Rover.
 
“We are less about adding anything than we are about showcasing the culture and talent that exists here,” Brady says. “We want to insure that those visiting the city get a real taste of her. We also wish that those currently living in Cincinnati are experiencing it to the fullest.”
 
On Feb. 8, OMC is hosting its launch event for the Cincinnati branch. Members of OMC will be providing appetizers, drinks, music and neat things to look at—including A Tavola, 5 Dot Design, Marti’s Floral Designs, Parlour, Christian Moerlein, Matthew Metzger and Jaguar Land Rover.
 
Besides the launch event, OMC is working on creating a mural with help from Artworks and hopes to co-host larger events like a Dinner Series, which would showcase member chefs and entertain a group of people in an exotic location in or near the city, Brady says.
 
There are only a handful of tickets available for the launch event for non-OMC members, so get them while you can.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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When it was founded in 2005, Barking Fish Lounge focused mostly on corporate internal and external videos. There was more focus on post work, such as editing and graphics, but the company did offer some production services at the time.
 
Since then, Barking Fish has expanded its entertainment production and content development divisions. Some of the company's recent projects include the 2010 Pete Rose documentary 4192: The Crowning of the King and 7 Below, which is a psychological thriller starring Val Kilmer and Ving Rhames.
 
“We’ve become more recognized for this type of work, which is great, but we didn’t want to lose our core business and clients,” says Aymie Majerski, producer and one of the co-founders of Barking Fish. “That’s why we’re expanding and promoting this side of the company more than ever in 2013.”
 
In addition to continuing to grow the entertainment side of Barking Fish, Majerski and her team will be working with existing and potential clients to expand the commercial side of the business. This means offering more creative services than before, as well as more production services.
 
“We’ve hired an amazing production manager who will head the production side of the business,” Majerski says. “We’ve always been known for doing things ‘outside the tank,’ and we want to continue to push the boundaries and create experiences for our clients and partners.”
 
Founders Majerski, Terry Lukemire (senior editor) and Joe Busam (design director) have more than 30 years of combined experience in creative production and post-production services. Barking Fish was founded on their desire to work on a more intimate level with clients in order to create and produce quality content that animates, elevates and motivates.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Yoga is usually accompanied by soothing background music, but at OMYA Studio in Northside, that background music is an important aspect of every class.
 
Co-owners Hollie Nesbitt and Mark Messerly both have musical backgrounds. Nesbitt is a former music teacher, and Messerly is a music teacher at the Cincinnati Gifted Academy and plays in several bands, including Wussy and Messerly and Ewing.
 
About four years ago, Nesbitt started Little Yoga Sunshine, a yoga program for children. She has taught yoga to Girl Scout troops and church groups; she also used to teach yoga to students at Cincinnati Public School’s after-school program. Over the years, Nesbitt has taught yoga at Wyoming Youth Services, The Women’s Connection, Lighthouse Youth Services, the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati, United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Museum Center.
 
OMYA, which stands for Outreach, Music, Yoga and Arts, offers yoga classes for children, adults, families and those with special needs. “Yoga gets the body moving and helps with concentration and calming down,” says Nesbitt.
 
Yoga can teach children with autism the skill of stopping with the four “Bs” (brakes, brain, body, breath). It can also help non-ambulatory people with muscle tone and physicality, and those with Down syndrome with strengthening their joints and muscles.

“We offer lots of kid, family and special needs classes, which is something that many yoga studios don’t have,” says Nesbitt.
 
Messerly doesn’t teach yoga classes, but he’s planning to offer several music classes at OMYA. In the future, he plans to offer an early childhood music class for children with autism and ADHD. He also wants to start a guitar club for beginning and intermediate guitar players and a songwriting class for older children and adults. He’s also in the process of developing a six-week course for kids with autism, a program that doesn’t exist elsewhere.
 
“It’s always struck me that kids love music, but adults say they can’t carry a tune,” Messerly says. “I want to give music back to people. Not everyone will be a musician, but they should have music in their lives.”
 
Not only will Messerly teach a few music classes at OMYA, but he has incorporated yoga breathing and movements into the music classes that he teaches at Cincinnati Gifted.
 
OMYA also has a working relationship with WordPlay, which is housed in the same building as the studio. “We want to do some cross-curriculum work with WordPlay, where kids will write poems or song lyrics and then I’ll teach them how to add music,” Messerly says.
 
OMYA is right across the street from Yoga-Ah, the yoga studio where Nesbitt learned to teach yoga. She says they do lots of cross-promoting for the studio. “While your child is taking a class at OMYA, you can take one for adults across the street.”
 
Currently, OMYA offers one or two classes per day, with no classes held on Tuesday. Nesbitt is one of two yoga teachers, and Robyn Holleran, a professional belly dancer, teaches belly dancing classes for girls ages 12 and up; April Eight also teaches Songs of Peace classes. Classes are $10 for adults, $8 for kids and $15 for families.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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