About ish
ish brings artists and communities together to explore Jewish and Israeli cultural heritage through the arts, and is best known for producing Cincinnati's biennial Jewish and Israeli arts and culture festival.
Given Cincinnati's history as the oldest Jewish community west of the Allegheny Mountains, we believe Cincinnati presents an ideal platform to celebrate and transform art and Jewish life. While most Cincinnati Jewish institutions today are located north of the city-center, ish activates downtown venues to return Cincinnati Jewish programming to its roots in the urban core.
ish engages diverse participants to learn something new and experience Jewish and Israeli culture in an approachable way. Using art as a common language, ish provides choices for Jewish engagement that go beyond religious experiences, increasing accessibility and reaching new audiences, to build a more connected community.
WHY ish?
ish explores the wide spectrum of what it means to be Jewish and Israeli, and presents a dynamic selection of artists, vendors, works of art, food, music and cultural activities from traditional to contemporary, religious to secular, Jew-ish to non-Jewish. Through a community cultural festival and auxiliary arts programming, ish celebrates Jewish and Israeli heritage outwardly with pride, connecting local Jewish and Israeli-identifying artists with community members and curious culture-seekers from around the region, country and globe. By highlighting diverse Jewish and Israeli voices, identities, traditions, and arts disciplines, ish seeks to authentically represent the complexity of the Jewish/Israeli experience, and responds to Cincinnati’s changing Jewish demographic.
Given Cincinnati's history as the oldest Jewish community west of the Allegheny Mountains, we believe Cincinnati presents an ideal platform to celebrate and transform art and Jewish life. While most Cincinnati Jewish institutions today are located north of the city-center, ish activates downtown venues to return Cincinnati Jewish programming to its roots in the urban core.
ish engages diverse participants to learn something new and experience Jewish and Israeli culture in an approachable way. Using art as a common language, ish provides choices for Jewish engagement that go beyond religious experiences, increasing accessibility and reaching new audiences, to build a more connected community.
WHY ish?
ish explores the wide spectrum of what it means to be Jewish and Israeli, and presents a dynamic selection of artists, vendors, works of art, food, music and cultural activities from traditional to contemporary, religious to secular, Jew-ish to non-Jewish. Through a community cultural festival and auxiliary arts programming, ish celebrates Jewish and Israeli heritage outwardly with pride, connecting local Jewish and Israeli-identifying artists with community members and curious culture-seekers from around the region, country and globe. By highlighting diverse Jewish and Israeli voices, identities, traditions, and arts disciplines, ish seeks to authentically represent the complexity of the Jewish/Israeli experience, and responds to Cincinnati’s changing Jewish demographic.
ish programs are a non-political celebration of arts and cultural heritage. We aim to celebrate the diversity and differences of many identities, beliefs, cultural heritages and experiences, and welcome participation from non-Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Palestinian and other culturally-identifying artists, artisans, vendors, and organizations. While ish is a non-political organization, we invite artists to express diverse viewpoints and beliefs through their work. Partner organizations are asked to be nonpartisan, and should limit promotion of partisan opinions while participating in ish programming.
ish Festival is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. EIN-83-2433747. Donations are tax deductible.
ish Festival is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. EIN-83-2433747. Donations are tax deductible.
"Jewish Cincinnati: A Walk Through History"
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Jewish Cincinnati: A Walk Through History, historic Jewish walking tours
For our second biennial event, in 2019 ish partnered with Cincinnati Skirball Museum and local artist, J. Miles Wolf, to premier "A Walk Through History" historic Jewish walking tours. Building upon assets from the 2018 FotoFocus exhibition "Jewish Cincinnati: A Photographic History", created by Wolf in partnership with the Skirball, "A Walk Through History" features current, former, and now extinct places of worship in Cincinnati's West End neighborhood and Downtown core. Learn more & download the self-guided tour map! |
About The ish Festival Location
Cincinnati boasts the oldest Jewish community west of the Allegheny Mountains. Our Downtown is schmeared with remnants of historic Jewish life. With its proximal location to historic Plum Street Temple and Chestnut Street Cemetery, the "Old Jewish Cemetery" (to name a few), Washington Park presents an ideal location for ish Festival.
While many Cincinnati Jewish agencies are located north of the City center, ish activates Downtown venues with Jewish arts and cultural programming, effectively returning Cincinnati Jewish programming to our roots in the Downtown core. We choose to host ish Festival in Washington Park, a popular downtown park with a strong reputation for hosting arts and cultural events, to better promote exposure, access, and engagement with the broader Cincinnati community.
Please visit our GET INVOLVED page for more info on participating or contact us.
While many Cincinnati Jewish agencies are located north of the City center, ish activates Downtown venues with Jewish arts and cultural programming, effectively returning Cincinnati Jewish programming to our roots in the Downtown core. We choose to host ish Festival in Washington Park, a popular downtown park with a strong reputation for hosting arts and cultural events, to better promote exposure, access, and engagement with the broader Cincinnati community.
Please visit our GET INVOLVED page for more info on participating or contact us.
Read about the inaugural 2017 ish
WCPO Cincinnati
Soapbox Media
Movers & Makers
The American Israelite
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
Soapbox Media
Movers & Makers
The American Israelite
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati