Young Artists at Work (YAAW) is a six-week paid summer employment opportunity for youth ages 14-18 in Toledo and the surrounding areas. The apprenticeship teaches professionalism and introduces participants to careers in creative industries.
Learn MoreCongratulations to the 2021 Merit Award Recipients – Hoseok Youn (Visual Arts, Glass), Kimberly Mack (Literary Arts), Ashley Pryor Geiger (Visual Arts, Collage), and Brenda Singletary (Visual Arts, Mixed Media).
Read MoreDonors like you enable The Arts Commission to continue to provide innovative programming, public art, artist services, inclusive youth programs, and community events that inspire a vibrant Toledo.
Learn MoreThe Arts Commission advocates to Inspire a Vibrant Community in Toledo. We believe support for artists and creatives in our region is essential to the greater Toledo area's revitalization, sense of place, and commitment to a brighter future. Through collaboration and community conversation we achieve innovative resources and programming that serve Toledo.
The arts are the heart and soul of our community. By fostering access to arts, creativity, and professional development for all artists and creatives in our area, at all skill levels, and from all walks of life, we encourage a more honest, diverse, and engaging interaction with our city, for residents and guests alike.
Our work is vital to helping build a new and better future for our city. From creating a more fertile ground for the arts to grow and develop, to providing access to fun, creativity, and new opportunities, Toledo's art and artists are at the center of driving a sense of community and enriching our neighborhoods, while fostering a creative economy that contributes to our sense of revitalization.
The Arts Commission strengthens our community, fosters creativity and celebrates life through art.
The Arts Commission has been selected to receive an American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to help the arts and cultural sector recover from the pandemic. The Arts Commission is receiving $500,000 to save jobs and to fund operations in arts and cultural sectors which have been the first to close and last to open as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the continued investment in downtown Toledo's infrastructure, there are ten new murals that were completed in the summer of 2021 and the fall of 2020. Three of the murals are located in the Toledo Citiwalk Concourse system of tunnels that run from the Vistula Parking Garage to Imagination Station. Artists include Ken Dushane (Toledo, OH), Timothy Smith (Los Angeles, CA), Leah Tumerman (Vallejo, CA). Seven of the murals are located along Water St. and feature work by Maya Hayuk (Brooklyn, NY), Louise Jones (Detroit, MI), JUURI (Oklahoma City, OK) Yusuf Lateef (Toledo, OH), Arelindo do Oliveira (New York / São Paulo), Bradley Scherzer + Jacob Parr (Toledo, OH), and Tony Touch (Toledo, OH).
As part of continued education efforts The Arts Commission’s Art in Public Places program two new books have been published and are now available for public request and pick up. Both books are available for free to the public as both printed and digital versions. The Art in Public Places Field Guide, designed by Madhouse Creative, features nine zones and over eighty works of art to explore. The ABC’s of Public Art, illustrated by Merrill Rainey, is geared toward ages 3-5 as they follow Artimus the Owl throughout Northwest Ohio from A-Z. This is the second edition of the popular book. Both editions have now been distributed to over 15,000 children in the area.
As COVID-19 changes the landscape for many working artists, we have compiled a list of relief funding and resources.
All content on this site is presented in support of Toledo's creative community and is made available as such.
The Arts Commission strives to provide programming and events in an inclusive manner in accessible spaces and venues. Should you wish to visit or participate and need accommodation, please contact us at 419-254-2787.
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