Here are the 2022 Best Of Cincinnati® Reader and Staff Pick winners for Arts & Culture.

As part of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Simply Brilliant: Artist-Jewelers of the 1960s and 1970s exhibit — which derived from a private collection — the institution added some splendiferous clothing from its own holdings, perhaps to offer ideas as to what one could wear with all the gold and silver on display. Or, maybe, for a change of pace. One showstopper was the positively hypnotizing Poster Dress by the late Harry Gordon that depicts a large eye in black and white on its front. It’s a product of the rebellious ’60s, when ideas about everything, including fashion, were radically changing the culture. Made from screen-printed tissue, wood pulp and rayon mesh, the eye was part of a 1968 series of five shift dresses (the museum also has a cat, a rocket and a hand held in a Buddhist peace gesture and overprinted with the Allen Ginsberg poem “Uptown”). The museum is still seeking the rose-depicting dress to have a complete set. Gordon started his Poster Dresses in 1967 with one depicting Bob Dylan. cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

As part of its CSO Proof new music initiative, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra co-commissioned an avant-garde and super-hip video production called The Meta Simulacrum Vol. 1, a look at the dangers and disorientations awaiting us in the future. The creation of composer/producer William Brittelle, filmmaker Isaac Gale and editor/computer coder Patrick Marschke and based on the environmental writing of William deBuys, it streamed for a short period last spring on the CSO website (and then moved on to the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis). If you were lucky enough to see it, it may still be messing with your head. With a musical score flitting between experimentalism and easy-listening New Age plus images that sometimes had the psychedelic deadpan of the Teletubbies and sometimes the look of a schlocky 1970s cop show, it was hypnotically disorienting. An unseen narrator revealed a secret history of our times that connected German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, cyberpunk sci-fi writer William Gibson and, repeatedly, television producer Steven Bochco. At the conclusion, singer Holland Andrews had a short song, performed as an ensemble played while wearing scary metal-like masks. It was breathtakingly beautiful. You can still find Meta Simulacrum on YouTube. cincinnatisymphony.org.

If you tell someone that the Taft Museum of Art won the 2021 American Alliance of Museums’ Excellence in Exhibition Label Writing Competition, you might get a laugh back. Outside the world of museum exhibition label writing, it wouldn’t seem to be of interest. Well, you should care a lot and be very proud of the commitment to inclusion shown by the Taft that resulted in the award. Spurred by Museum President/CEO Deborah Emont Scott’s urging to have the museum address the inequities of American history, part of a national effort that became urgent following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, curator Tamera Lenz Muente added “More to the Story” text to 16 labels for artwork in the Taft’s 2020-2021exhibit A Splendid Century: Cincinnati Art 1820-1920. The Taft said of the exhibit that “no century is ‘splendid’ for all people.” In particular, to accompany an 1840 self-portrait by18-year-old artist Lilly Martin Spencer, Muente explained how just 10% of women at the time were able to work outside the home, and then mostly in such jobs as teacher, nurse or domestic servant. Spencer, indeed, was a lucky exception to American norms for women. Of the 11 award winners from over 100 submissions, the Taft was the only art museum to be honored. That is a big deal. Watch for further “More to the Story” labels in future shows. taftmuseum.org.

In December, the Playhouse in the Park presented the final performances of its beloved, spellbinding production of A Christmas Carol. Between 1991 and 2021, it had more than 1,115 performances attended by 659,000 people. Actor Bruce Cromer played the miserly skinflint Scrooge for 17 years after spending eight seasons before that as Bob Cratchit. With its new mainstage Rouse Theatre under construction, the Playhouse plans to assemble a new production for the December holidays in 2023. No word on whether Cromer will return, but for generations of Cincinnatians, him hoisting Tiny Tim on his shoulder for one more round of “God bless us, everyone” has been a fond holiday memory. cincyplay.com.

Cincinnatian Jerald Cooper is a self-defined creative director who is best known for running the popular Instagram account Hood Century (@HoodMidCenturyModern). Hood Century is dedicated to revealing the architectural history and importance behind otherwise unassuming locations — libraries, dry cleaners, apartment complexes, abandoned buildings and more — in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Mexico, Paris and beyond. Billed as the “streets’ preservation society” in its bio (and with the tagline “Yes!! There is mid-century modern design in the hood!”), Cooper launched the Instagram account in late 2019. What started with him wanting to show his friends the architecture of his hometown became a community of more than 50,000 followers, garnering national recognition in outlets such as Vogue, Dwell and Architectural Digest. Today, Hood Century functions as more than just a slideshow — it’s an art gallery, blog, educational tool and cultural archive all rolled into a single vertical scroll. Other local architectural Instagrams that deserve honorable mention are Cincinnati Revealed (@cincinnati_revealed), which features images and stories of historic buildings to promote preservation; Covington Uncovered (@covington_uncovered), which shares images and tales of historic Northern Kentucky spaces; and Hamilton Architecture (@hamiltonarchitecture), which functions as a love letter to Hamilton and the unique buildings that populate it. instagram.com/hoodmidcenturymodern.

1. Cincinnati Art Museum

2. 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati

3. Taft Museum of Art

1. Cincinnati Art Museum

2. Contemporary Arts Center

3. Taft Museum of Art

1. “Fiona and Bibi at the Cincinnati Zoo”

2. “Cincinnati Toy Heritage”

3. “Charley Harper’s Beguiled by the Wild”

4. “Ezzard Charles: The Cincinnati Cobra”

5. “Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon”

6. “Democracy!”

7. “Dream Big and Fly High”

8. “Homecoming (Blue Birds)”

9. “Swing Around Rosie”

10. “Mr. Dynamite”

1. Cincinnati Pride

2. Flying Pig Marathon

3. Cincy Beerfest

1. Panegyri Greek Festival

2. St. Cecilia Festival

3. Immaculate Heart of Mary Festival

1. Gee Horton: Coming of Age Chapter I – In Search of Self…Identity (Weston Art Gallery)

2. Panorama of Cincinnati Art (Cincinnati Art Galleries)

3. SPACE: A Solo Show by Tenzing (DSGN CLLCTV)

1. Reds Opening Day Rally on the Square

2. Ice Rink on Fountain Square

3. Salsa on the Square

Stroll through Glendale and you might notice the town’s rambunctious mascot — the black squirrel — scurrying up trees or across lawns. According to legend, businessman Thomas Carruthers III brought back two black squirrels from Harbor Springs, Michigan, in the 1940s, and those squirrels had a bit of a baby boom. Since then, Glendale has paid tribute to the critters with 5-foot-tall fiberglass squirrel statues throughout its streets and yards. During the village’s 2005 sesquicentennial celebration, 25 squirrel statues were revealed; today, 13 can still be viewed on public property. Head to Glendale’s old town square to spot an easy handful and get a map and more history from the Glendale Heritage Preservation Museum. glendaleheritage.org.

Victoria Morgan has led the Cincinnati Ballet for a quarter century, one of just three women to direct a big-budget American ballet company. She has been a dynamic leader, championing classical and contemporary works and choreographing some of the company’s most beloved productions, including King Arthur’s Camelot, The Nutcracker, Cinderella and Snow White. Before arriving in Cincinnati in 1996, Morgan was resident choreographer for the San Francisco Opera and a principal dancer for San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West in Salt Lake City. Her tenure locally has inspired phenomenal growth both artistically and organizationally; she spearheaded fundraising for the company’s new Walnut Hills dance center. Her accomplished successor, Jodie Gates, who arrives in August, will surely build on Morgan’s remarkable foundation. cballet.org.

Cincinnati’s freshly rebranded Hard Rock Casino (formerly JACK Casino) opened in July 2021. And, yes, that means you can get your official Hard Rock Cafe Cincinnati shirt from the in-house eatery. Bonus: Hard Rock in fact “rocks” with plenty of live concerts. As with other locations of the chain, the Cincinnati casino is full of celebrity memorabilia. Inside you’ll see iconic keepsakes worn or owned by a wide variety of artists, including outfits from Stevie Nicks, KISS and Lady Gaga, plus you can get a look at Eddie Van Halen’s 1996 933 Porsche. Local artist Jenny Ustick also created a vibrant mural for the space, representing famous Ohio musicians. ​​hardrockcasinocincinnati.com.

There’s a new bank in Cincinnati but it doesn’t deal in dollars, instead it deals in books. Located in a 20,000-square-foot headquarters in Queensgate, Queen City Book Bank aims to provide 10 books per year to underserved children in the Greater Cincinnati area, for a total of 350,000 books donated annually, as well as provide supportive literacy programming to Greater Cincinnati K-6 students. QCBB members — educators, advocates and other partners — can go online to see what books are in stock and select them based on “proficiency, theme, languages, backgrounds and interests.” The organization takes monetary donations to purchase books, as well as physical book donations at the Queensgate building. It also provides tutoring and plans to host author and reading events and even credit-based book fairs. queencitybookbank.org.

Cincinnati continues to up its reputation as a moviemaking city, and those strides haven’t gone unnoticed. The Queen City has once again snagged itself a top spot on MovieMaker magazine’s list of the “Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker.” The magazine ranks us at No. 11, moving up two spots from last year’s showing. The magazine highlights Cincinnati’s downtown skyline and low cost of living — along with Ohio’s 30% motion-picture tax credit — as chief among the reasons for the city’s emergence as a stalwart that has lured films such as 2015’s Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara; 2017’s Killing of a Sacred Deer, starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell; and 2019’s Dark Waters, starring Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway. And we saw plenty of celebrity action in 2021, including Academy Award-nominated dream team Luca Guadagnino and Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name) filming Bones & All and Oscar winner Regina King filming Shirley, the story of America’s first Black congresswoman.

Late last summer, the great Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire extended his reach to the land just north of Cincinnati. The charismatic 12th- and 13th-century leader was known to crush all resistance in his path as he added conquered peoples to his empire. There was no actual threat to residents of Butler County, of course, but theater fans had the opportunity to see an outdoor production of Mongrel, a one-man show written and performed by actor Adam Tran and presented by Know Theatre of Cincinnati at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum. Around a campfire in the sculpture park, Khan’s most trusted lieutenant offered some advice to those in attendance. The show has subsequently been offered as video-on-demand. knowtheatre.com.

As one of the largest dictionaries in the world, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary periodically adds words to its considerable archives, updating as definitions change or something becomes part of the zeitgeist. In its October updates, Merriam-Webster added a term that Cincinnati is all too familiar with: “Goetta.” The German dish appears on menus all around Greater Cincinnati, is a fixture during Oktoberfest events and even has its own festival, so locals can rejoice that the keeper of American-English language finally has deemed Goetta — with a capital G — to be archive-worthy. Here’s how Merriam-Webster defines it: “meat (such as pork) mixed with oats, onions, and spices and fried in the form of a patty.”