You don’t have to travel to New York or Paris to live a life immersed in creativity—it’s all happening right here
By Rodney Veal, host of The Art Show
One of the greatest joys of being the host of The Art Show is that I have been afforded what can only be described as a life fully immersed in the arts. Not simply observing creativity from a respectful distance, but living inside of it, day after day, conversation after conversation, story after story.
In many ways, that journey began with the very first drawing I can remember making, a bird of paradise in kindergarten. From there, the path kept unfolding: dancing in beautiful works of classical and modern dance, discovering the discipline of the body in motion, and eventually having my first solo museum exhibition at the Springfield Museum of Art. Today, that same creative current continues through the work of producing media segments each week for ThinkTV, celebrating the virtue, power and joy of regional artists. From sunrise to sunset, it seems, creativity is always somewhere in the room.
A life this fully immersed in the arts might not seem unusual in New York, Los Angeles, London or Paris, but what makes it extraordinary is that this abundance is happening right here in Southwest Ohio. This region, so often underestimated, holds one of the most deeply rooted arts and cultural ecosystems anywhere. It may fly under the radar, but make no mistake, the talent here is profound. The depth is real. The work being made here can stand proudly beside the cultural centers of the world and often does.
I think of our arts community as beautifully symbiotic. It begins with young people discovering their voices in public school arts programs like Stivers School for the Arts. It continues through fine and performing arts programs at Wright State University and other institutions of higher learning. It is strengthened by internationally renowned artists like Willis “Bing” Davis and organizations like the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. And it grows every day through musicians, filmmakers, dancers, visual artists, writers, comedians, designers and makers at every stage of development.
There are so many offerings, so many invitations to be moved, challenged and transformed. Recently, for two weeks straight, I attended a different arts or cultural event every evening, That is not scarcity. That is abundance.
In a recent issue, T Magazine of The New York Times posed the question, “How to become cultured?” My personal answer is simple: Start where you are. Get out of your comfort zone. Take a chance on an art form you would not normally seek out. See a dramatic play. Attend a contemporary dance performance. We have an irresistible smorgasbord of offerings at every price point, in the unlikeliest of places and venues. Fill your time with the life-affirming power of the arts, whether as a patron, participant, student or practitioner. To live in a region with this much artistic vitality is both a blessing and a responsibility. To ignore it is, in many ways, a failure of imagination. The arts offer us an off-ramp from the ordinary and an invitation into the grand adventure of being fully alive.
Rodney Veal is the host of The Art Show on CET and ThinkTV, as well as an independent choreographer, interdisciplinary artist, educator and producer. He is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a B.S in Political Science and Visual Arts and The Ohio State University with an MFA in Choreography. Rodney currently serves as president of the board of trustees of Ohio Dance and on the boards of Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, Westcott House and Homefull.
