Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra To Present Toilynn O'Neal Turner With The MAC Award

On Saturday, April 6, the Multicultural Awareness Council (MAC) of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) will present Toilynn O'Neal Turner with their highest honor: the MAC Award for Diversity and Leadership in the Arts. The award recognizes local artists, administrators and visionaries who have forged paths for the inclusion of underrepresented communities in the arts.

The award will be presented to Ms. Turner by Master of Ceremony Alexis Rogers and MAC Chair Daphney Thomas during Fiesta!, a concert given by the CSO Nouveau Chamber Players. The performance and awards ceremony will begin at 4 PM on Saturday in the Wilks Studio at Music Hall. This non-ticketed event is free and open to the public.

Describing why Ms. Turner deserves the MAC Award, committee member Beverley Lamb stated "Toilynn has demonstrated leadership by being active in both the cultural arts and education communities all of her life. Her passion for the visual arts led to ownership of the New American Art Gallery II which gives voice to African-American artists in our community."

Ms. Turner's father, the Cincinnati artist and activist Robert O'Neal (1940-2018), founded the first New American Art Gallery and was instrumental in the creation of the Cincinnati Arts Consortium.

Greatly influenced and inspired by her father, Ms. Turner is a passionate advocate for diversity and the arts with over 25 years of experience in audience development, education, and community engagement in non-profit organizations. This includes 11 years at the Art Consortium of Cincinnati and 5 years at the Cincinnati Art Museum. She currently serves as the Director of Diversity at her alma mater, Saint Ursula Academy, promoting the school's mission of inclusion and academic excellence.

Ms. Turner is also Interim Executive Director of the Queen City Foundation and serves on numerous boards and committees throughout Cincinnati, including the Building Diverse Audiences Advisory Committee of the Cincinnati Arts Association, the City of Cincinnati Gender Equality Task Force, and the Freedom Center's Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast and Legacy Program Committee.