St. Michael’s Art Sanctuary

I LOVE LOVE LOVE for this place!
Diamond in the rough is very apropos in describing this beauty of a community resource.
From the website at
«St. Michael the Archangel Church was a Roman Catholic church closed by the archdiocese in 1998. Until 2011, it sat empty and was scheduled for demolition until it was rescued to be turned into a community resource for the underserved of Lower Price Hill.»
Here are the problems some folks will admittedly have upon coming here:
* It’s in a neighborhood that has had its share of tough times
* It was an abandoned Catholic church, school and rectory and it shows
…Now to me, neither of these are a bad thing, if anything an incredible opportunity to help others…
But here are the GREAT things about this place:
* Currently has after-​school programs supporting the local neighborhood kids
* It’s an artist’s community with renovation plans that include having a low rent/​work-​trade residences for artists
* Community outreach programs that include bringing the transformative power of art to the underserved
* The old Sanctuary has been holding events from concerts to retreats, TEDxCincinnati to Cincinnati Film Festival (#InsertShamelessPlug) and will continue to be a multi-​use venue after renovation
* Could be seen as an extension of the good things happening behind it at Oyler School
* Michael Altman’s inspirational vision for this gem
Only reason I am giving it 4 stars is because I can’t wait to change it to 5 after the renovations next year.
*Disclosure: As a committed partner of SMAS, I am looking forward to the day when we can move the Cincinnati Film Festival offices in :)