Artist In Residence: Originary Arts
The Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum’s new Artist in Residence program expands TCCCT’s community enrichment goals by partnering with professional artist educators. Originary Arts Initiative, founded by Dr. Sherry Cook Stanforth, supports this endeavor through creative emphasis on Appalachian migration heritage identity, which historically defines the immediate and surrounding communities. Programs will feature an experienced artist educator and other professional artists to develop multi-genre arts experiences, foster intergenerational artist collaborations, and promote genuine curiosity for Greater Cincinnati’s diverse cultural heritages. Each artist in residence will create collaborative programming for 2-3 years while supporting the mission of our organization. Dr. Stanforth has integrated creative writing, poetry, art, music and storytelling in her community programs.
The artist in residence will create community-based arts programs and workshops that embrace richly textured artist collaborations and arts content (literature, music, visual art, storytelling) reflective of place-based heritage and culture. For this first residency, Originary Arts Initiative (OAI) will emphasize diverse interpretations of “home places” and “heritage,” using historic and cultural inspirations from Greater Cincinnati’s diverse migration cultures. Additionally, OAI will cultivate affordable, intergenerational, and culturally dynamic arts programming for neighborhood residents and other attendees representing Ohio’s Greater Cincinnati communities.
OAI began collaborating with TCCCT in 2024, and the creative infusion has been successful and exciting for our community. We look forward to quality programming and unique forms of collaboration.
Meet Dr. Sherry Cook Stanforth
Poet, author, and musician Sherry Cook Stanforth holds Appalachian roots in North Georgia, East Tennessee, and Southwestern Ohio. She grew up in Clermont County, Ohio, earning a PhD in English from the University of Cincinnati. An emeritus professor of Thomas More University, she specializes in fiction, poetry, environmental and ethnic literatures, and folklore. Currently, she serves as the managing editor of the regional literary journal Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, a core member of the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, and the founder-director of Originary Arts Initiative, collaborating with non-profits to provide arts, culture, and nature-based programs for diverse communities. Themes reflected in her educational workshops, retreats, public showcases, and creative work emphasize values of cultural curiosity, place-keeping, story-listening, and creative empathy. Stanforth’s poetry collection Drone String (Bottom Dog Press, 2015) reflects the storytelling and music traditions of her Appalachian heritage; she has also produced waterway anthologies, including Riparian: Poems, Short Prose and Photographs Inspired by the Ohio River (Dos Madres Press, 2019), and Tributaria (Dos Madres Press, forthcoming in fall 2025). She’s spent most of her life playing in an intergenerational family band, and she currently performs folk music with Tangled Roots. Beyond her artistic pursuits, she enjoys hiking, beekeeping, and studying native plants. Originaryartsinitiative@gmail.com
Upcoming events
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2026 AIR Programs
at The Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum; 3738 Eastern Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45226
3/5 Homemade Jam
4/24 Poetry Jam:
4/29 Mission in Motion
5/22 I Remember Story Exchange
6/26 Spirit of Song
7/18 Homeshores Creative Writing Workshop
8/9 Arts Entwined
9/18 Jamboree and Brews
11/1 Appalachian Flow
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THE HOMEMADE JAM SESSION
Thursday, March 5, 6-8pm
Join Tangled Roots and Whistle Stop for a relaxed musical jam circle and community potluck. All are welcome to join in this evening of musical variety and camaraderie—professionals, beginners, aficionados; curious song seekers; singers and closet pickers; folks from the hill, valley, city, country, suburbs, and riverside; young’uns, elders, and in-betweeners, too. We’ll combine genuine all-community spirit and a high energy flow in The Homemade Jam Session. Free admission with donations greatly appreciated. In partnership with Queen City Balladeers & Originary Arts Initiative.
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UNITY EXPRESS OPEN MIC NIGHT
Friday, April 24, 6-8pm
. Calling ALL people – bring your poems, short prose, spoken word, original song, testimonies, and visual art to our stage to creatively express complex themes inspired by unity, coalition, and diversity. This program celebrates neighborhood storytelling in America’s 250th year, commemorates TCCCT’s Unity Tunnel Mural Project, and invites your ideas about collaborating on a Unity Poetry Path that heads through Columbia Tusculum’s pedestrian tunnel, connecting walkways along “both sides of the tracks” that run through our historical home place. One of the most powerful community resources we hold lives inside our dedicated moments of storytelling and story-listening. Let’s connect creatively in place-time, for community’s sake. Hosted by TCCCT Carnegie Artist in Residence Sherry Cook Stanforth. Free and open to the public. In partnership with Originary Arts Initiative
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MISSION IN MOTION: HISTORICAL HOME PLACES & STORYTELLING MOVEMENTS
Wednesday, April 29, 6-8pm
Experience a creative, memorable interpretation of how two collaborating non-profits are working to preserve historical home places alongside powerful acts of storytelling to celebrate our Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky’s diverse migration heritage. Writers, artists, musicians, and community leaders across generations and backgrounds will dynamically express the missions of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House and the Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum through poetry, fiction, music, dramatic readings, testimony, and visual art, followed by reflective interchange. Browse dynamic resource tables and enjoy homemade (tradition-inspired!) treats. People of all ages are invited join us for this festive gathering inspired by social justice, literary and community activism, and creative educational projects. In the words of Harriet Beecher Stowe, how might we be “a lighthouse symbolizing good will” in our everyday lives? Hosted by TCCCT Carnegie Artist in Residence Sherry Cook Stanforth. Doors will open at 6 pm for a welcome reception followed by a community program. Free admission with optional donations welcome. In partnership with Originary Arts Initiative & Harriet Beecher Stowe House.
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THE “I REMEMBER” STORY EXCHANGE
Friday, May 22, 6:30-8pm
This relaxed community sharing circle celebrates the informal storytelling moments that give our lives meaning. We’ll ponder what we carry with us in memory and heart -- family anecdotes, generational memories, life lessons to pass on, handed down heirlooms, recipes and their origins, unusual encounters or experiences, local legends, scraps of life wisdom, commemorations of heroes, connections to history, and of course, our poetry, spoken word, prose, songs, visual art.
Our storytelling matters. Story exchanges weave us together, asking us to experience wonder. A simple story can shape (or even save) a life. Your expression, however intriguing, funny, scary, inspiring, jolting, relatable, surprising, sorrowful, imaginative or true adds energy into the world. A story that is part of your being is worth sharing with other people. A FREE "all generations" event sponsored by Urban Appalachian Community Coalition. Refreshments will also be served! Generously sponsored by Urban Appalachian Community Coalition in partnership with Originary Arts Initiative.
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SPIRIT OF SONG – LYRIC WRITING WORKSHOP & ALL-COMMUNITY OPEN MIC
Friday, June 26, 6-9pm
Spend an uncommon evening exploring the songscape. First, we’ll practice musical storytelling in a supportive, interactive lyric writing workshop led by Carnegie Artist-in-Residence Sherry Cook Stanforth featured musician-songwriters. Join this circle to seed new song projects through a unique set of prompts, expanding your creative inspiration and community connections. Around 7:45, we’ll move to the Carnegie ballroom for a community songwriter open mic night. Affordably priced ticketed workshop event, including light refreshments and take-home prompts. Registration information to follow. Open mic night is free and open to the public. Generously sponsored by Urban Appalachian Community Coalition in partnership with Originary Arts Initiative.
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Home Shores Creative Writing Workshop
Saturday, July 18, 1:30-3pm
Spend an afternoon with TCCCT Artist in Residence Sherry Cook Stanforth and a surprised featured guest in a supportive, high energy creative writing circle inspired by kitchen table wisdom and backyard nature lessons. We'll provide guided writing prompts that invite new projects, also honing special craft techniques. Cost $25. Complimentary coffee, tea, and snacks. Registration instructions to follow. Generously sponsored by Urban Appalachian Community Coalition in partnership with Originary Arts Initiative.
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Moving Stories – A Picture Book & Zine Making Workshop
Sunday, August 9, 1:30-4pm
Storybook and zines blend writing and visual imagery into a simple but compelling little package. They give people a reason to put “busy” on pause in order to imagine and reflect about the human experience. And they are so fun to create. Energize your creative spirit. Gather with us to explore special drawing and writing techniques to make your own zine or storybook draft. You can bring along rough ideas – or bring your already-created poems, songs, non-profit missions, and story narratives to tuck into a colorful new package. Our prompts will guide you, and we’ll supply the materials, too. We are excited for you to try this unique intergenerational or friends-day-out activity! Led in lively fashion by Arts Entwined (TCCCT Artist in Residence Sherry Cook Stanforth and fabric artist Jody Knoop) and The Magik Awakening (Froggie Leman). Our workshop best fits adults and high school age participants. We also welcome committed creatives in the 11-14 age range to register if they are also accompanied by a registered adult. In partnership with Originary Arts Initiative, Arts Entwined & The Magik Awakening.
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JAMBOREE & BREWS
Friday, September 18, 6-9pm
Join Tangled Roots, Raison D’Etre, & ___ for a festive concert trio night that featuring three bands, three local craft brews, and crunchy snacks. Hosted by TCCCT’s Artist-in-Residence Sherry Cook Stanforth, this new annual gathering celebrates Greater Cincinnati’s uniquely supportive and creative music scene. Bring friends and the whole family for a memorable evening. And – be sure to bring your ID if you plan to enjoy a brew or two. Affordably priced ticketed event. Registration information to follow. In partnership with Tangled Roots & Originary Arts Initiative
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BRAIDING COMMUNITY FLASH MEMOIR WORKSHOP
Sunday, November 1, 1-3:30pm
Our lives hold snapshots asking to live on the written page. Today’s world craves flash memoir for its power to capture memories, experiences, and personal truths through sensory details. And – receiving another person’s earnestly expressed story invites us to weave our individual selves more intentionally into the communities that hold us. Explore your life experiences through this intense, sensory genre, guided by Carnegie Artist-in-Residence Sherry Cook Stanforth and a surprise featured author. We’ll provide helpful writing prompts, technique tips, and creative examples, crafting and sharing our own flash memoirs. Publication resources provided, along with light snacks. Registration instructions to follow. In partnership with Originary Arts Initiative.
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APPALACHIAN FLOW MOVING STORIES SHOWCASE
Sunday, November 1, 4-6pm
Bring friends and family for an unforgettable afternoon of intergenerational storytelling, spoken word, poetry, folk music, historical reflection, visual and traditional folk arts inspired by our journeys to and from a home place. Our diverse home traditions, places, and stories form the threads of our community tapestry, inviting us to move toward one another. Includes rising talent and award-winning performers…heritage food-tasting…community resources. Hosted by Carnegie Artist-in-Residence Sherry Cook Stanforth Affordable registration instructions to follow. Generously sponsored by Urban Appalachian Community Coalition in partnership with Originary Arts Initiative.