Holding Space for Grief, Art, and Connection.

Over the past weekend, Studio Kroner was transformed.

The gallery was filled with nearly 100 works of art created by children and young people who have participated in Fernside, Cincinnati’s center for grieving children. The exhibition was part of Fernside’s 40th anniversary celebration, and I was honored when Beverly Thomas and Roy Robbins, whose generous sponsorship made the weekend possible, approached me months ago about hosting it at Studio Kroner.

The work took many forms—drawings, shadow boxes, clay pieces, graffiti boards, memory stars, mandalas and cracked pots. Across them were worries, memories, hopes, fears and messages to people who were no longer here.

Individually, they were moving. Together, they filled the gallery with something much larger.

Giving Grief a Voice

The weekend began Friday evening with a celebration of Fernside and the people who have sustained its work over four decades. On Saturday, we heard directly from children and adults whose lives had been touched by the organization.

There were stories of fathers, grandparents, uncles and other loved ones who had died. Some speakers had gone through Fernside many years earlier and returned to talk about what the experience had meant to them. One young woman who came to Fernside after losing her father is now a counselor there herself.

One moment in particular has stayed with me.

A young woman tried several times to speak about the uncle she had lost and the artwork and letters she had created for him. Each time, her grief overwhelmed her. Sally, one of Fernside’s counselors, stood beside her, gently helping her find her way through it.

Then, in the middle of all that emotion, the girl looked at Sally and said, “You’ve got lipstick on your teeth.”

The room erupted in laughter.

For a moment, grief and humor, sadness and joy, vulnerability and connection all occupied exactly the same space.

What I Want This Gallery to Be

That moment captured something I have increasingly come to believe about Studio Kroner.

I want this to be more than a place to exhibit art. I want art to hold space for what happens between people—to create opportunities for conversations and connections that might not otherwise happen.

We experience grief, love, fear, happiness, loneliness and loss in deeply personal ways. But the emotions themselves are universal. When we find the courage to bring those private experiences into the world—to make something, write something, say something, or simply allow another person to see what we are feeling—we begin to understand that we aren’t experiencing them alone.

And when one person is willing to be vulnerable, it gives someone else permission to do the same.

That exchange was everywhere in the gallery this weekend.

It has been a remarkable year at Studio Kroner, filled with exhibitions, artists, conversations and celebrations. But hosting Fernside affected me on a different level. It came very close to what I ultimately hope this gallery—and, at its best, my own artwork—can do.

Art does not have to solve grief. Sometimes it can simply give grief somewhere to go.

Ending with Joy

On Sunday, Cincinnati artist Cedric Michael Cox brought a very different energy into the gallery. Cedric, who has exhibited at Studio Kroner and has worked extensively with young people throughout the region, led an art workshop for more than 20 children and adults.

With small canvases, paint and brushes, everyone participated in an exercise Cedric called Know Your Name. The room was suddenly filled with color, spontaneity and laughter.

Cedric has an infectious generosity, and it was wonderful watching him move among the children—talking with them about their paintings, pointing out what they were doing well and encouraging them to keep creating.

It felt like exactly the right way to end the weekend.

Friday celebrated Fernside’s 40 years. Saturday gave voice to grief, memory and vulnerability. And Sunday reminded us that healing can also make room for creativity and joy.

Grateful to Have Been Part of It

I am grateful to Beverly for trusting Studio Kroner with this exhibition and for everything she did to make the weekend possible. I’m also grateful to my partner, Elaine, who has worked with Fernside on its graphic design and branding for much of the organization’s history, and to the entire Fernside team for the care they brought to every part of the weekend.

Most of all, I am grateful to the children, young people and adults who allowed us into something so personal.

Of all the things that have happened within these walls, this felt important. I am humbled that Studio Kroner was able to hold space for it. — Paul Kroner