The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center is a multidisciplinary arts venue for all ages which provides theatre events, educational programs and art exhibitions to the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati community. The Carnegie facility reflects its threefold nature: within its 17,000 square foot facility are The Carnegie Galleries, crowned by a landmark Beaux Arts dome; the magnificent, newly renovated Otto M. Budig Theatre; and the Eva G. Farris Education center. The Carnegie is the largest arts venue in Northern Kentucky.

The Carnegie was established in 1972 in a former Carnegie Library which originally was constructed in 1904 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Carnegie is supported in part by the ArtsWave, the Kentucky Arts Council, Kenton County Fiscal Courts as well as by area businesses and corporations, from individuals and private foundation grants, membership dues and ticket sales.

The Carnegie is governed by a Board of Trustees, which includes leaders from the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati business, civic and philanthropic communities, and employees eight full-time and two part-time arts professionals to administer its programs to the region.