The Center

Building

The Wyoming Fine Arts Center is located in the historic downtown district of Wyoming, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. The building is a beautifully restored 1850s home that once served as the Wyoming Masonic Lodge for much of the 20th century.

In the 1990s, local businessman Paul Bartel purchased the lodge with a vision of creating a community arts center. After renovations to the building were completed in 1995, he opened as the Cincinnati String Academy (CSA).  In 2000, CSA was renamed to the Wyoming Fine Arts Center when a full repertoire of fine arts programming was added. 

Since our founding, The Center has become one of the Cincinnati region’s premier community art centers.  Our Mission is to educate, create experiences, and nurture appreciation in music and other creative and performing arts across all ages, races, abilities and backgrounds. We do this through excellence in teaching, creative programming, interdisciplinary experiences, community partnerships and engagement.

We offer more programs to more students than virtually any other group in the Greater Cincinnati area. We believe our personal approach to each student’s success and the quality of our faculty, sets us apart.

Our Founder - Paul Bartel

Paul Bartel (b. 1952 - d. July 27, 2019) was a violinist, music educator, owner of the Baroque Violin Shop and founder of the Wyoming Fine Arts Center.

A 1972 graduate of Miami University and former music teacher, Paul established his Baroque Violin Shop with the vision of supporting school music programs by providing high-quality instruments at low cost.

In 1995, Paul purchased the 1850s-era former Masonic Lodge from the city of Wyoming, aiming to transform it into a community arts center. He conducted a massive renovation at his own expense for what would become the nonprofit Wyoming Fine Arts Center.

Paul loved playing his rare 1680 Stradivarius and is remembered by Cincinnati’s music community as being generous, humble and wanting to help young people.

In 1997, the Paul and Jan Bartel Scholarship Fund  was established to help underwrite music lessons for under served students. 

Bartel loved playing his rare, 1680 Stradivarius for schoolchildren. He was known for his quiet generosity. Memorials are designated to the Paul and Jan Bartel Scholarship Fund.

Paul

Caring for our Community

The Wyoming Fine Arts Center values the development of an individual’s full and unique potential through the arts and that this unique expression makes stronger, better communities. We aim to provide a vibrant community hub that enriches lives through the joy of learning, creating, and experiencing all forms of the arts, by and for all people of varied ages, races, abilities, and backgrounds. We seek to nurture these unique voices and be equitable in our decisions; being mindful of their impact on other groups and people. We expect our actions demonstrate our care for others and for our community as a whole. 

We strive for diversity in our programming to reflect the diversity of our students and the wider community at large. We are committed to building a culture of inclusion and belonging in our organization through our: 

  • Guests
  • Partners and relationships
  • Faculty/staff
  • Students
  • Board members
  • Programs and programming outreach
  • Vendors

We value:

  1. Diversity - the differences in our backgrounds, socioeconomic status, culture, gender, race, religions, ethnicities, and unique perspectives and talents.
  2. Equity - the fair treatment of all and abundance of opportunities, leveling the field for all populations.
  3. Inclusion - feeling welcome, a sense of belonging, where voices that have been historically excluded are heard and all feel a part of the creative community. 
  4. Access - being open to all regardless of differences such as socio-economic barriers and physical abilities.  Making it easy to reach, easy to use our spaces and easy to express unique voices.   

We expect to be treated and to treat others with respect and courtesy, regardless of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, national origin or ancestry, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, or status as a qualified disabled or handicapped individual. We respect the opinions of and the differences among individuals, including diversity among points of view. 

We will conduct our organizational and operational duties with positive leadership exemplified by open and candid communication, creativity, dedication, and compassion.

We will treat each other, and others, fairly creating a safe space where diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are encouraged and respected.  

Board Members

Meetings 3rd Thursday, 7:00PM
  • Bobbie McTurner
    Advisory Board
  • Elise Edelman
  • Jason Bartel
  • Wendy Dorn
  • Kyle Michael
    Board Secretary
  • Caroline Hyatt
    Board Vice President
  • Brad King, JD
    Board President
  • Amanda Baker
  • Kim Hennessy
  • Adam Wallace
    Board Treasurer
 

Committees

 

Development Committee

Events Committee

Executive Committee

Facilities Committee

Meetings: 2nd Thursday, 4:40pm

Finance Committee

Meetings: 2nd Tuesday, 1:00PM

Marketing/Communications Committee

Meetings: 2nd Tuesday, 7:45PM

Program Committee

Meetings: 2nd Wednesday, 3:30PM

Scholarship Committee