
The Underworld Black Arts Festival is a community-based project that celebrates Black creatives from around the world. Launched in Cincinnati, our festival acts as an incubator for experimental work, innovation, and intergenerational dialogue. We unite lovers of movement, music, art and creativity.
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WE OUT HERE.
OCT 19
THURSDAY
OCT 20
FRIDAY
OCT 21
SATURDAY
2023 Line Up
- Thu, Oct 19Contemporary Arts CenterOct 19, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDTContemporary Arts Center, 44 E 6Th St. Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Thu, Oct 19Contemporary Arts CenterOct 19, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDTContemporary Arts Center, 44 E 6Th St. Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Thu, Oct 19Contemporary Arts CenterOct 19, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDTContemporary Arts Center, 44 E 6Th St. Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Thu, Oct 19Contemporary Arts CenterOct 19, 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM EDTContemporary Arts Center, 44 E 6Th St. Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Fri, Oct 20Aronoff Center for the Arts - Black BoxOct 20, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM EDTAronoff Center for the Arts - Black Box, 650 Walnut St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Fri, Oct 20Contemporary Arts CenterOct 20, 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM EDTContemporary Arts Center, 44 E 6Th St. Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Sat, Oct 21Evanston Recreation CenterOct 21, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EDTEvanston Recreation Center, 3204 Woodburn Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45207, USA
- Sat, Oct 21Music Resource CenterOct 21, 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM EDTMusic Resource Center , 3032 Woodburn Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45206, USA

The Underworld Jazz Festival was launched in 2018 to amplify rich, colorful and nuanced Black art traditions. We use the word "underworld" because despite the revenue it generates, Black art remains marginal to mainstream society. We use the term "jazz"; less as genre and more as a way to think about approach to music, creativity and life. In 2022, the Jazz festival was crowned as The Black Arts Festival to truly demonstrate our dedication to 360° of Black Creativity.

The Underworld Black Arts Festival exercises traditions such as the Mobilization of Congo Square [Pop Up Improvised Jazz] and the cultivation of collaborations between Cincinnati based, regional and International artists.
2023 SPONSORS