Friday, May 19, 2000
Art Academy moving to Over-the-Rhine
By Marie McCain
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Art Academy has been in Eden Park since 1887.
(Ernest Coleman photo)
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In a move that administrators hope will bring modern amenities, greater convenience for its students and more prestige for the institution, the Art Academy of Cincinnati announced plans Thursday to relocate to Over-the-Rhine.
The change won't happen for five years and many of the details still have to be ironed out. However, officials are targeting two buildings at 12th and Jackson streets within walking distance of the Aronoff Center, the Main Street art galleries and the city's business district.
Academy President Gregory Allgire Smith said Thursday that one of the buildings will have to be purchased.
That building, 22 E. 12th St., is home to the Barrel house Brewery. Exactly what would happen to the brewery if the academy becomes its landlord is un known.
But Mike Cromer, co-founder of the popular night spot, said his business has 14 more years on its lease and no plans to go anywhere else.
“We're happy here and business is booming,” he said Thursday.
Mr. Smith declined to say how much the academy will pay for the 12th Street property because the transaction may not close for several weeks.
The second building, a warehouse at 1216 Jackson St., is owned by the Cincinnati Museum Association (CMA).
The CMA, which oversees the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the academy are talking about trading buildings, Mr. Smith said. The museum would gain needed storage and display space, while the academy would get 120,000 square feet of space in the CMA warehouse to use as it sees fit.
Ultimately, the academy will have to raise at least $6 million to renovate both buildings, a project that will include a cafeteria, more classrooms and studios, improved faculty and staff offices, central air conditioning, on-campus studio space for 150 students, and room for expanded galleries to display professional and student creations.
Its Eden Park facility, opened in 1887 for about 100 students, has about 26,000 square feet, while its Mount Adams location, acquired in 1979, has 28,000 square feet of space.
The space improvement at a new site alone is reason enough to move, said Sarah Stolar, a senior painting major who resides in Glendale.
“The Art Academy needs a large, raw warehouse space to encourage students to create bigger, larger, more ambitious work,” she said.
She also said students would get more out of being in an urban setting.
“This is very far away from (downtown). It's more enclosed and set apart,” she said. “We'd be near the art galleries and cultural attractions.”
Both Tracey Pennell, 28, of Clifton, and Nicole Staun, 20, of Mount Adams, were apprehensive about the academy's proposed new location.
“I don't want to lose the (Eden Park) building. It has such history and tradition,” Ms. Pennell said.
Ms. Staun's concerns ran toward security. “(Eden Park and Mount Adams) are safe. Now we aren't concerned about being here too late,” said the Mount Adams resident.
Mr. Smith said he expects the academy to grow to about 300 students — enrollment now is about 200 — when the new facilites are completed. However, he does not anticipate any change in one-on-one attention between faculty and students. “We are small, informal and not bureaucratic.”
In addition there has been some discussion about the benefits of being located in Cincinnati's “cul tural district.”
So far, there is no official art district in Cincinnati and nothing centralized enough to be considered the main artistic spot in the city, officials said.
There is a significant number of art galleries and theaters near what would become the Art Academy's new digs, but officials say it is only coincidental.
“It is a very fortuitous situation ... But that was not what dictated the need to relocate,” said Theodore H. Emmerich, president of the Art Academy's board of trustees.
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