Producer’s Blog: A Mission Worth Showing Up For

It’s hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since I received the call from Colin Scianamblo, CET and Think^TV chief content officer, offering me the position of Producer and Community Arts Liaison at the station. At the time, I was already feeling extraordinarily grateful, reveling in the embarrassment of riches that came from having hosted The Art Show for nearly a decade. (Yes, a full decade. Time really does fly when you’re immersed in the beauty and brilliance of Southwest Ohio’s creative communities.)

Serving as host of The Art Show has given me a front-row seat to witness and celebrate the full spectrum of artistry in our region. From major museum exhibitions to grassroots performances tucked into intimate venues, the opportunities to witness artistic expression here are abundant. And for a self-proclaimed art nerd like me? It’s heaven. But this new role? This was an invitation to go deeper. It felt like stepping onto a new stage — one where I could stretch, reach and tap into talents I hadn’t fully explored in my day-to-day artistic life.

I knew I’d be challenged to synthesize a lifetime’s worth of experiences: my training in academia, my decades of choreography and collaboration and the web of deep-rooted relationships built over years of living and working within this region’s artistic ecosystem. I’d be producing content that reflected total immersion of storytelling in the service of community, with the goal of deepening the cultural connections that already make our area so vibrant.

Then, barely three months into the job, came a seismic announcement: Dayton would host the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in the spring of 2025. Suddenly, that dusty political science degree I’d long considered my “plan B” (in case the art thing didn’t work out — imagine that!) was brought to the forefront.

I was tapped to co-produce Dayton: City of Peace 2025, a half-hour televised special filmed before a live studio audience. Now, let me be clear: I’ve had plenty of experience in front of the camera—The Art Show is generous in allowing multiple takes (someday, someone will release a blooper reel of my fumbled intros and flubbed outros). But live-to-tape? With stakes this high? This was a whole new level of intensity.

I wrote in an earlier blog post about the emotional gravity of interviewing Bosnian-Herzegovinian refugees and hearing firsthand accounts of the Dayton Peace Accords from people like General Wesley Clark, Ambassador Christopher Hill and Kati Marton, the widow of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Sitting with those raw, human and resilient stories underscored how vital our role was in capturing and sharing them with care.

The feedback from Dayton: City of Peace 2025 was overwhelmingly positive from those who attended the taping and those who watched later on broadcast. It reminded me why this work matters.

One of the unexpected delights of the NATO Assembly was the robust schedule of arts and cultural programming designed for the international delegates. Not only did this provide content for future episodes of The Art Show (stay tuned!), but it also deepened our collaborations, especially with the stellar team at the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. They helped broker critical connections, including access to General Clark’s office and Ambassador Hill. That relationship also led to one of the more surreal invitations I’ve ever received: a dinner and panel discussion atop the tallest building in Dayton, Stratacache Tower.

Now, I’ve attended my fair share of galas, openings and cocktail receptions — occupational hazard when one has a closet full of stylish ensembles begging for a night out. But this was something else entirely. The dinner was scheduled for the evening before the Assembly’s official opening, with access tightly controlled. We were instructed to meet at the University of Dayton Marriott parking lot at exactly 5:45pm, photo ID in hand. As I pulled in, I saw a line of RTA buses beginning to fill with the city’s most well-heeled power players taking public transit reimagined as diplomatic shuttle service.

The route into the NATO Village, a cordoned-off six-block zone of downtown Dayton, took us through multiple checkpoints and into a heightened security environment that felt oddly cinematic. As our bus rolled down Patterson Boulevard, I sensed we were about to enter a truly singular moment in Dayton’s long and storied civic life.

The Stratacache Tower, once named for Charles F. Kettering, loomed above us — an industrial titan’s monument now transformed into a gleaming stage for global dialogue. The old Racquet Club at the top, dormant since the COVID-19 years, had been revived in elegant style. The room buzzed with conversations in a dozen languages, flowing drinks and an energy I can only describe as invigoratingly optimistic.

The guest list was eclectic and intentional: artists, civic leaders, delegates, cultural icons. The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and yes, the incomparable Willis “Bing” Davis and Audrey Davis, our own version of cultural royalty, were all represented.

As the sun began its golden descent over the Miami Valley, we sat down to a beautifully curated dinner. At my table were members of the Portuguese delegation as well as former Ohio Governor Bob Taft, and as it turns out, I share a mutual friend with him (because of course I do). Artist James Pate and his wife Shola sat nearby, discussing his work with Icelandic guests. These were the kind of conversations that reminded me why the art of the soft gesture can often speak louder than any headline.

The evening’s panel was rich with insight, featuring General Clark, former Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and expertly moderated by Carla Anne Robbins of the Council on Foreign Relations. They discussed Dayton’s legacy as a peace-brokering city, the enduring relevance of the Accords and the lessons to be applied in the present geopolitical climate, particularly regarding Ukraine. As fireworks burst over the skyline to close the evening, the room swelled with unity.

On the bus ride back, I found myself deep in conversation about music, from Funk from Dayton to Björk and Sigur Rós from Iceland, and the shared language of creative expression, which made for a joyous bus ride back to the hotel. These fleeting moments of joy and understandingare soft diplomacy in action. That’s art doing its quiet, world-changing work.

Driving home that night, I reflected on what it means to live at the intersection of culture and civic life. Dayton, often underestimated, is playing host to a global assembly, and doing so with grace and creativity. Our artists showed up. Our institutions showed up. Our stories showed up.

We know that the arts can serve as a powerful mirror to society, but they can also be the connective tissue between seemingly disparate worlds. Whether it’s the Monuments Men preserving cultural heritage during World War II, a contemporary arts center on Chicago’s South Side or a dinner atop a Dayton skyscraper, these moments of cultural exchange matter.

The delegates I met that night repeatedly expressed surprise and admiration at the depth and quality of our cultural offerings. More than one commented that the experience directly challenged the tired stereotypes of “flyover country.” In short: a trope was dismantled.

As someone who has always believed in the power of cultural ambassadorship to create real, lasting change, this year has affirmed that belief a hundred times over. The work we do, from children’s programming to local documentaries to our own Brick by Brick and, of course, The Art Show, all serves the same purpose: to illuminate, connect and deepen our collective understanding of one another.

It might not look like diplomacy in the traditional sense, but I would argue it’s even more essential. Because in an increasingly divided world, stories rooted in culture, empathy and shared humanity can bring us together. And that, my friends, is a mission worth showing up for—day after day, frame after frame, story after story.

Rodney Veal
CET and Think^TV Producer and Community Arts Liaison