Zaha Hadid's building for the Contemporary Arts Center rises ahead of you in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is one of the first contemporary art institutions in the United States, a non-collecting museum devoted to new developments in painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, performance art and new media. The CAC prides itself on programming that reflects "the art of the last five minutes", and over the years it has shown the work of many artists early in their careers — including Andy Warhol.
Walk through its history with me: it began here as the Modern Art Society in 1939, founded by Betty Pollak Rauh, Peggy Frank Crawford and Rita Rentschler Cushman, who raised funds through donations to display modern art at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Early encouragement came from Edward M.M. Warburg and Alfred H. Barr. That first exhibit, Modern Painting from Cincinnati Collections, opened in December 1939.
In 1954 the society adopted the name Contemporary Arts Center, and in 2003 the CAC moved to a new building designed by Zaha Hadid. Founded in 1939 by Cincinnati women and renamed in 1954, this Zaha Hadid building still champions the art of the last five minutes for you.