With the general election quickly approaching, you can help CreativeOhio to share the importance of civic engagement at the polls – and beyond.

As the November 3 general election approaches, CreativeOhio is joining partners across the state in encouraging arts organizations and creative-sector workers to participate in the civic process, while helping make it easier to do so.

CreativeOhio’s voter-engagement initiative, ArtsVote Ohio, a nonpartisan statewide effort launched by CreativeOhio and the Greater Columbus Arts Council in 2024. The initiative provides Ohio’s creative sector with practical information and resources to participate in democracy, including information about how and when to register and vote, along with a digital toolkit featuring talking points, social media resources and shareable artwork created by Ohio artists.

ART, HISTORY & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

That intersection of creativity and civic participation is also at the heart of Witness to the Journey: Matt Herron and the Deep South, 1965, on view through November 8 at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati. The exhibition features 28 photographs by renowned civil rights photographer Matt Herron documenting the Selma-to-Montgomery March, and includes contemporary perspectives on the continuing work for voting rights and voter equity.

The exhibition also features interviews with Ohio civic-engagement and voting-rights leaders, including CreativeOhio’s Sarah Sisser, as well as yard signs created by Ohio artists as part of the 2024 ArtsVote Ohio campaign.

On September 24, the Freedom Center will host a free program in collaboration with the Nathaniel R. Jones Center for Race, Gender & Social Justice at the University of Cincinnati, “The Vote, The Map, and The Law: What’s at Stake in Ohio’s Election,” exploring the history of voting rights and gerrymandering in Ohio and their significance for the 2026 election.

weaving arts + civics together

On September 29 from 6–7:30 p.m., CreativeOhio will also participate in “Weaving Arts + Civics Together,” a free, nonpartisan virtual town hall hosted by Cleveland VOTES. The conversation will explore the connection between creativity and civic engagement, including ways arts organizations can get their communities vote-ready and participate in meaningful civic engagement.

MORE ARTSVOTE RESOURCES

CreativeOhio members can also tap into the national ArtsVote campaign from Americans for the Arts and the Arts Action Fund. The nonpartisan initiative offers downloadable social-media graphics, posters, messaging, activation ideas and other resources designed to help arts organizations and creatives encourage civic participation.

For CreativeOhio members, voter engagement is another way we can use our collective creative voice to strengthen civic participation and ensure that Ohio’s creative sector is engaged in the decisions that shape our communities and our state.