Among the masses at this year’s South By Southwest, the yearly Austin festival, (the music portion of which ran March 13-18) were several of Cincinnati’s hometown favorites, marking the largest turnout yet for Cincinnati-based bands at SXSW.   

Artists have to come from somewhere, I suppose. Still, it’s remarkable how many of the giants of Pop Art came from and/or matriculated in our stretch of the Midwest — Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, Robert Indiana in the Hoosier state, Roy Lichtenstein studied at Ohio State and Jim Dine and Tom Wesselmann both were born in Cincinnati.   

Zola Jesus likes to have a lot of space. Born Nika Danilova in Wisconsin, Jesus recounts a childhood spent running around her slice of the Midwest with ample amounts of freedom and independence. She credits this freewheeling upbringing with helping her find out who she was at a very young age.    

There’s an important mantra in a recent film: “Anyone can cook.” Amy Hunter believes that wholeheartedly. She also believes everyone can get better — and enjoy it more — with a little help. Enter the Creations Community Cooking Classes at the Midwest Culinary Institute (MCI) at Cincinnati State, for which Hunter is the coordinator.