The Ohio Artist Registry (OAR) is an exciting opportunity for artists to share their work, connect with the creative community, and establish an online presence—all on a free, virtual platform! The OAR encourages artists working in all art forms, throughout Ohio and beyond, to create a profile, which allows them to better promote themselves and their work. Being listed in the OAR provides artists with new opportunities to share their work with clients, galleries, patrons, and audiences. A listing in the OAR does not confer an endorsement, approval, or verification by the Ohio Arts Council.
For more information, contact Kathy Signorino, artist programs director, at kathy.signorino@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-6140.
2025 Ohio Artist Registry Juried Exhibition
Chris Swanson
PlaywrightBio
Chris Shaw Swanson is an Ohio playwright whose comedies and dramas have been honored in more than thirty national competitions and seen on more than one hundred stages in the U.S. and abroad. Her first full-length comedy MEASURED HONESTY was produced by the Interborough Repertory Company in New York City. THE HEROINES OF CENTRAL OHIO, a full-length comedy/drama produced in California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Colorado, is published by Next Stage Press. Chris has also written numerous ten-minute and one-act plays. Her short OUT FROM UNDER WITH MARY was chosen as one of the six best plays produced by Colorado’s Six Women Playwriting Festival during its ten-year history. That script won the Goshen College Peace Play Prize as well. Chris’ work has also been published by Smith & Kraus, Meriwether, and the International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP). A member of the Dramatists Guild of America and the ICWP, she is the recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for Playwriting. In addition to writing, Chris has enjoyed teaching playwriting at schools and universities in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
Artist Statement
Both my comedies and dramas explore the nature of human connections and those gray areas surrounding personal and social issues. My passion for playwriting is likely most evident while conducting workshops for children and adults. Writing fills my days with discovery and wonder, a journey I relish sharing with others.