In June 2010, the Knight Foundation awarded the Akron Area Arts Alliance a generous $200,000 grant allowing this non-profit, arts advocacy organization to take an important next-step in converting a historic building into a headquarters for the local arts community. Today AAAA director Jessie Raynor checks in with an update…
The 55,000 square-foot building, which is owned by Summit County, was originally built by father and son Charles and John Knight in 1927 to house the Akron Beacon Journal newspaper. In 2002 county leaders allowed AAAA to open a much-needed gallery on the first floor to display the talents of local artists. At that time the building was long-vacant, neglected and in a neighborhood primarily frequented by the homeless. Now called Summit Artspace, the growing art center has changed the face of the neighborhood. Arts activities have attracted artists, actors, lawyers, professors, business people and students to the area. Neighborhood renovations and new businesses have followed. Summit Artspace currently houses a second gallery, AAAA offices, classrooms and several third floor studios for artists working in diverse media and styles.
The Knight Foundation funding allows us to renovate the building’s second floor for economical, shared office space for arts organizations plus incubator and small performance/rehearsal opportunities. Originally the second floor housed the newspaper’s editorial offices, wire services, composing room and stereotype department. The handsomely paneled offices of the two Knights will be refurbished as a shared conference area.
The Knight grant has allowed AAAA to create a new marketing/programming manager position and hire its third staff member, Diana Watt. She is overseeing the project build-out and developing a business plan to attract tenants. Diana has a wealth of experience in the arts and business through past positions with Red (an orchestra) in Cleveland, Myers School of Art at University of Akron and Eaton Corporation in Cleveland. She is already working with the Knight Foundation’s new Director of Business Consulting Ben Wirz, who is helping AAAA research similar facilities across the country. She will also be consulting with Beth Boone of the innovative Miami Light Project.
AAAA is devising a needs survey of our arts community. We already have a number of small theatre and musical groups interested in the new second floor performance space. Our AAAA Facilities Committee, headed by board member Sylvia Johnson of the Hower House Museum, is working on rent rates and building policies for the collaborative offices.
We have had several meetings with our project designers at Akron’s Jones Design Group. Except for the Knight offices, our second floor is 5,500 square feet of open space. To help visualize what our collaborative offices will look like, they took us to an existing shared commercial office, which is comparable in square footage, to see how our space will come together using cut dry-wall dividers, portable office units, carpeting, furnishings, combination drop ceiling and unfinished ceiling space, storage units, business center, etc. The designers’ rough project schedule has finish renovation in the Knight offices starting September 15 and
minor demolition, HVAC/electrical work plus perimeter office wall build-out starting mid-October. Overall project time estimate is six to eight weeks.
We already have a marvelous event scheduled in the new performance space for the First Night© Akron celebration on New Year’s Eve. Artist/professor Mark Soppeland will present a black-light art installation that explores the science of bubbles including hands-on activities. AAAA will host a community open house in January, requiring Knight VP/Arts and Miami Program Director Dennis Scholl to once again brave the icy Akron winter weather.
AAAA is also expanding our artist studios on the third floor. We recently renovated three new spaces and are exploring funding to build out four more. Talented fabric artist Connie Bloom moved in this month, joining other studio tenants — award-winning portrait artist and plein air painter Carolyn Lewis, contemporary painter Katina Pastis Radwinski and the Akron Society of Artists. We have been interviewing several prospective tenants per week for the remaining spaces. AAAA is looking for a diverse mix of media and styles plus established and emerging artists. It is all very exciting and energizing for AAAA and the entire community.
