At the turn of the 20th Century, when a woman's most acceptable occupation was motherhood, Bessie Potter Vonnoh succeeded professionally as a sculptor, flouting convention by focusing on a career instead of raising children. Her success as an independent working artist rested on subject matter that supported traditional notions of women, which makes the Cincinnati Art Museum's current exhibition of her work all the more fascinating.

The 2009 Cincinnati Fringe Festival wrapped up on June 6 with approximately 200 people jammed into Know Theatre's bar space, the Underground. It was a festive finale to the sixth annual event's successful 12-day run. Two days before the Fringe was over, the festival’s ticket goal was met; final attendance was approximately 6,600, spurred by a 140 percent increase in pass sales over 2008.

“They wanted (those of) us who got to the finals to pitch how we would combine the Lincoln years in Indiana with his presidency, so those two would weave together.” Jones decided to start with Lincoln’s assassination and work backwards.

After a long time renting space in Hyde Park, Sylvia Rombis has invested $1 million in building and owning the new Malton Gallery, an airy and modernist building on Edwards Road across from the Rookwood Commons shopping/office complex. It opened this month, brightening a busy street to immediately become one of the most impressive-looking stand-alone galleries in the city, with its glass-and-metal exterior promising a new experience to passersby.

Anri Sala's solo exhibition fills two floors of the Contemporary Arts Center with sound, light and tactile objects. One work in particular confuses and simultaneously conflates the others. It's a small kinetic sculpture: a pair of hands sheathed in purple latex gloves, index fingers pointing toward each other, revolving slowly around an axis.

The guy can talk. Words fly from his mouth at an anxious, wildly accelerated rate, which is ironic given that his writing is distinct for its clear, razor-sharp voice. Chuck Klosterman's hilarious and oddly touching Heavy Metal memoir 'Fargo Rock City' catapulted him from unknown newspaper journalist to Spin magazine staff writer seemingly overnight.

From the glut of reality shows and the Peoples’ Choice Awards to blogging and Twittering, now more than ever audience members feel entitled to voice their opinions.