People of different backgrounds broke down racial and ethnic barriers this weekend and saw the world through someone else's eyes.

        An estimated 5,000 took advantage of free admissions to view works of art and listen to jazz at the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center and the Taft Museum.

FREE ATTRACTIONS

Free concerts and tours will run through Sept. 2 at the Cincinnati Art Museum.   The lineup:   • Alex Smith Quartet, July 1   • Pat Kelly Quartet, July 8   • William Menefield, July 15   • John Zappa, July 22   • Time Market, July 29   • Marc Fields, Aug. 5   • Sound Body Jazz Quartet, Aug. 12   Ann Chamberlain & Eddie Morgan, Aug. 19   • Scotty Anderson, Aug. 26   Rick Greiwe, president of the Downtown Council Inc., said local artists will display their works at a free showing at the Pendleton Art Center, 444 Reading Road, Over-the-Rhine, on Friday.   “Celebrity chefs” will cook at a free demonstration at Findlay Market the weekend of July 14.

        The events were coordinated by Downtown Cincinnati Inc. and other civic organizations as part of a campaign to persuade Greater Cincinnatians to come downtown on weekends.

        Rick Greiwe, president of DCI, said "We wanted to use six weeks of free attractions to give people access to downtown culture.” He said the first weekend in June, free admissions to the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal drew 13,000 people.

        The events started June 1 with free advertising in local media, to offer free entertainment and discounts in an effort to attract suburbanites reluctant to visit downtown and Over-the-Rhine since the riots in early April.

        The riots followed the police shooting of an unarmed black youth.

        At the Cincinnati Art Museum, David Byrge of Westwood and Tandia Dossett of Dayton, Ohio, found peace and comfort in the music of the Sandy Suskind Jazz Trio Sunday afternoon.

        They were among those who attended the free concert and free tours at the museum over the weekend. Those started June 16 and will run through Sept. 2.

        They are sponsored by the Patricia A. Vance Education and Community Outreach Endowment.

        “I think this is definitely something to bring people with diverse backgrounds together,” Mr. Byrge said. “I feel comfortable coming in downtown Cincinnati to this. I wasn't too comfortable during the riots because I try to avoid any kind of confrontations.”

        Mr. Byrge, who studied guitar under jazz guitarist Cal Collins, sees music as a way of bringing races together. He teaches guitar at the Brian Gordon Music Shop in Westwood.

        “I think this is a place we can start racial healing,” said Ms. Dossett.

        John Seifert, a guard at the museum, thinks the attendance will get better. As he checked the time at 2:45 p.m. Sunday, he said: "It is gradually picking up. We had 950 yesterday and we have had 500 today.”

        At CAC, Darlene Kanu of An derson Township looked at the Adrian Piper exhibitions and said: “This is an ideal setting to have people to come together and reflect on issues at hand while viewing our culture.”

        The Adrian Piper show, which opened Saturday and will run through Aug. 26, deals with the problem of interracial communication. The New York artist spans the years 1965 to 2000, using photography, paintings, drawings, collages and multi-media to offer insight into defeating racist and sexist attitudes.

        Ms. Kanu saw the sensual images of Brooklyn painter Paul Henry Ramirez and how Brooklyn artist Phyllis Baldino analyzes human perceptions of reality, time and color through three video works at the center.

        “We have had a very good diverse crowd this weekend,” said Dana Ward, assistant gallery coordinator. “This is a great show. It is a perfect setting for interracial communication.”

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