Poems

While You Wait

About

Stationed within the gallery, writers from thePoems While You Wait collective at the Art Academy of Cincinnati connected with visitors through meaningful conversations about “Untitled” (L.A.). Using typewriters, they wrote individualized poems based on each visitor’s experience, reflecting their thoughts and feelings about the work. They signed and dated the poems and then gave them to the participants to take home.

Intended Outcome

With this activity, the Contemporary Arts Center hoped to reach 800 visitors and increase community engagement and participation.

Actual Outcome

This program reached 275 visitors, helped connect visitors to the art, and encouraged them to discuss and document their experience in a new and creative way. Attendance and the level of engagement for this program and other “Untitled” (L.A.)-related programs were carefully tracked and showed strong participation.

Advice Post Project

To foster deeper engagement, consider programs that invite visitors to interact directly with artists or writers in the gallery space. Personalized responses, such as poems created through conversation and inspired by individual reactions to an artwork, can transform a museum visit into a meaningful, memorable experience. These intimate exchanges celebrate personal interpretation and strengthen the connection between visitors, art, and the institution.