It marks the first time the show filmed on location for an entire episode outside of its usual studio “loft,” according to ThinkTV producer Ann Rotolante.
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Rotolante said she first visited the Fitton Center for Creative Arts in August 2017 to cover its annual Season Launch party for The Art Show, and was “completely blown away by both the community turnout and the beautiful center itself.”
“Even though it’s just a short drive from both Cincinnati and Dayton, I feel that not enough people know about The Fitton Center and how wonderful it is,” she said. “When the production team came up with the idea to literally take The Art Show on the road, I knew that one of the first places we had to visit and highlight was The Fitton Center.”
Season 10 of "The Art Show" kicked off with new episodes Jan. 26. It airs its Southwest Ohio episode on CET at 8 p.m. tonight, with re-airings set for 8 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m. Monday on CET Arts. See more and find future airings on the CET website.
The episode debuts on ThinkTV (16 HD) at 5:30 p.m. today, then shows again at 11 p.m. Monday. Subsequent re-airings occur on 16 AGAIN. Check the ThinkTV website for future listings.
The episode starts streaming Monday on the websites of CET and ThinkTV.
The episode will feature “Art Show” host Rodney Veal interviewing Fitton Center Executive Director Ian MacKenzie-Thurley, plus shots of the center’s theater, gallery spaces, art studios and foyer for the start and finish of all pre-recorded segments, as well as the show’s opening and closing, or ‘wrap’ segment.
It also will feature segments about a female drummer who was a 2017 Ohio Arts Council Heritage Fellowship recipient, plus a portrait artist whose work has been included for the past two years in “swag bags” doled out to Academy Award nominees.
There’s a chance the episode garners national exposure for the Fitton Center and Hamilton, as all content created by CET/ThinkTV is uploaded for sharing with other PBS stations nationwide.
MacKenzie-Thurley said it’s “fantastic” to have the opportunity to present both the Fitton Center and Hamilton to a broader audience throughout the Tri-State area, and beyond.
“There is so much going on at the Fitton Center as part our 25th anniversary season and we look forward to the chance to show off all that we do here and throughout Hamilton and Butler County,” he said. “The word is getting out about Hamilton’s ongoing positive artistic, economic and social development and we are getting more and more requests like this, which we are delighted to encourage and be involved with.”
CET and ThinkTV are sister stations, as well as PBS stations, and both play an active part in producing segments about artists and arts organizations throughout the Southwest Ohio viewing area, Rotolante said.
The Art Show first aired in May 2014, producing two seasons a year with 2019 marking its fifth year of production and tenth season, she said.
For its upcoming 10th season, The Art Show decided to try some new things.
"We're going to produce one long season that airs throughout 2019, instead of two seasons," Rotolante said. "And we thought it would be fun to take host Rodney Veal on the road and film a handful of episodes on location. In the past, Rodney has traveled as far as northern Kentucky to film interviews on location, but we've always brought him back to our offsite loft set to film the remainder of the episode."
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