SOS ART Artist in Residence
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This program is offered in memory of the late Gloria McConnaghy,
a long time supporter of SOS ART.
SOS ART, in collaboration with the Fitton Center, encourage Greater Cincinnati Creators engaging with themes of Peace and Justice in their artistic practice to apply for our Artist in Residence Program.
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Selected artists will spend three months creating, curating, and collaborating on a project to share with our community with support from SOS ART and the Fitton Center.
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​Open to creatives of all types including (but not limited to) visual artists, filmmakers, curators, writers, and community activators. Artist collectives/groups are also welcome to apply.​ For more information, click the link below to download the info packet.​
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Applications are now open for the Spring cycle (April - June 2025)
Deadline: February 1, 2025
Current Artist in Residence
Current SOS ART Artist in Residence, Subhasini Buttiyanda Appaiah, is producing a documentary film that explores the struggles of immigrants on dependent visas in the US, who face work restrictions and limited rights. Through self-chronicled stories, the film highlights their personal journeys and search for self-worth, raising awareness of the burden placed on this overlooked population by government and policy makers.
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Her residency will culminate in a film screening at The Fitton Center for Creative Arts, followed by a panel discussion with documentary participants. Guests will then adjourn to our Community Gallery to view a series of portraits of the documentary's subjects, taken alongside the recorded interviews,
July – September 2024: OLEA
Our Artists in Residence for July – September 2024 were a chamber music ensemble called OLEA. The group, composed of Kate Kilgus (clarinet), Alayne Wegner (violin), and Marissa Kerbel (piano), spent their residency preparing a program entitled “Contemplations on Democracy” that used chamber music to explore themes related to the 2024 presidential election. Themes included Climate Change, Women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, Immigration/Refugees, War/Foreign Conflicts, and Income Inequality among others. The music was accompanied by literary and visual works by Greater Cincinnati artists, relating to the same themes.
OLEA concluded their residency with a rehearsal performance during which they explained how music is used to convey the composer’s ideas, along with two final performances, and an educational school-based performance, all held in October 2024.
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OLEA conducted their program like a town hall, in which audience members selected issues relevant to the 2024 election, and OLEA performed works inspired by those topics. Information about the voting process in America was also shared at these performances. ​
Oak Hills High School
Oak Hills High School
Mt Auburn Presbyterian Church
Oak Hills High School
April - June 2024: Chrissy Collopy
Our inaugural artist in residence was artist and educator, Chrissy Collopy. For her residency, Collopy created a series of still-life paintings featuring stigmatized foods, and taught a free community workshop where students created collages centered on that same concept.
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Collopy and her collage students’ work received its first public viewing Tuesday, May 28, as part of the SOS ART World Hunger Day observation at the Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, where Collopy also participated in a panel discussing concerns about food insufficiency and nutrition.
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From there, the paintings and collages were exhibited at the Fitton Center. For the opening event, we teamed up with several local organizations to amplify the message behind the art.
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Among them:
- Shared Harvest collected canned goods for donation and shared information on area food pantries;
- Butler County Board of Health provided information on food insufficiency and nutrition;
- Lane Library staffed an information table, offered books on gardening and handed out seed packets for guests to grow their own vegetables.
Fitton Center for Creative Arts
Fitton Center for Creative Arts
Mt Auburn Presbyterian Church
Fitton Center for Creative Arts