Jackie Danicki

…despite the horrific weather. (Well, I find torrential downpours, thunder, and lightning rather lovely, but not when you have to brave all that just to get somewhere good.)

I have to confess, I have been totally wiped out since I arrived home from New York, so I was feeling less than energetic yesterday. But Nick Paddock of Nicholas Gallery did a great job of getting me fired up! He gave a really engaging talk to a group that included Lucid Magazine editor Ehi Akwara, a Nigerian emigré who had a very unique perspective on our local arts scene.

One point which came up was that the sheer volume of good stuff to do in Cincinnati means there is a lot of competition for events like Final Friday. There was also some grumbling about a lack of clarity in terms of who is even in charge of Final Friday, and why they are not doing a better job of making sure people know about it. (A friend of mine who makes it his business to know about downtown events was under the impression that Final Friday only goes through the summer months - and he’s not the only one who’s in the dark about that.) Nick said he has been amazed at how well put-together similar events in Covington are in comparison to here in Cincinnati.

I learned a lot from this salon about the local arts scene, who the names are and how the different hierarchies operate. We also got some hot tips on which Cincinnati artists’ work would make good investments. I’m not telling, though.

BTW, Nick’s latest show, Urban Obsessions, opens tomorrow night for Final Friday. I’ll definitely be there to check it out - go along and say hello to Nick if you’re downtown. He’s a no-nonsense, smart, driven art entrepreneur, and one of the city’s best human assets.

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