Today, we are announcing our new weekly contest: Culture Maker of the Week.

So… what is it?

CityBeat’s Culture Maker of the Week celebrates the people shaping Cincinnati’s culture, loudly or quietly, center stage or behind the scenes.

That could mean artists, DJs, chefs, bartenders, muralists, musicians, nonprofit organizers, community builders, fashion creators, venue owners, event producers, skaters, writers, drag performers, comedians, activists, educators, weird little-party throwers, neighborhood champions, or anyone making Cincinnati more interesting, connected, creative, joyful, thoughtful or alive.

Big impact counts. Small impact counts too. If they make this city feel like this city, they belong here.

Nominees should:

  • Be connected to the Greater Cincinnati region.
  • Be actively contributing to local culture, arts, nightlife, food, music, community life or creative expression.
  • Be living humans. (Sorry, Harambe.)
  • Not currently work directly on the CityBeat editorial staff.

People can be nominated more than once.

Each week, CityBeat editors will choose three nominees from the submissions.

We’re looking for people making Cincinnati culture more vibrant, inclusive, creative and connected. Editors will also aim to feature a broad mix of:

  • Neighborhoods and geography
  • Creative disciplines and industries
  • Backgrounds and perspectives
  • Levels of visibility, from established names to under-the-radar contributors

Not every nominee will have a massive following — and that’s intentional. Some of the people shaping culture most deeply are doing it quietly.

Nominations open today. Fill out the nomination form here.

CityBeat reserves the right to edit nominations for length and clarity, disqualify fraudulent voting activity, and make final decisions regarding eligibility and selection.

Please include:

  • The nominee’s name
  • What they do
  • Why they matter to Cincinnati
  • Specific examples of their impact
  • Social handles, website or project links if available

Each week’s winner will receive:

  • A featured CityBeat story
  • Social media recognition
  • Eternal neighborhood bragging rights*

*Not legally binding, but spiritually true.

New nominees will be announced every Friday. Voting opens as soon as the story publishes. Voting closes the following Friday at noon. Winners will be announced Friday afternoon.

Vote as often as you want throughout the week. Share the link everywhere: group chats, Instagram Stories, Discord servers, family texts, neighborhood Facebook groups, venue bathrooms, wherever your people are.

Culture doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and neither does this contest. Half the fun is seeing communities show up for the people who make Cincinnati special.

CityBeat reserves the right to remove spam or automated voting activity if necessary to keep things fair. Find all of the rules here.