Summit Artspace Provides Studio Space and More for Artists

Summit Artspace, a nonprofit located in downtown Akron, connects artists and artist-serving organizations to the resources they need to thrive professionally, creatively, and financially. This support comes in many forms, from exhibitions to coaching sessions to studio rentals. Artists of all disciplines are welcome, filling the building with visual art, music, theatre, and more. Residents and visitors alike enjoy the […]

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Summit Artspace Launches Gallery Alignment Plan

Summit Artspace’s art deco building, commissioned by John S. and James L. Knight in 1927 to house the Akron Beacon Journal, has abundant space to showcase art and engage the public with local artists. The historic edifice boasts five galleries and over 25 resident artist studios within its 55,000 square feet. Summit Artspace’s professional leadership recently created a strategic vision […]

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Artists Catalyze their Businesses at Summit Artspace

To the casual observer, it might seem as though artists spend their days locked in a studio, absorbed in creating their latest masterpiece. Peer closer and one discovers a hidden truth about successful professional artists: that in addition to artmaking, they engage in a high-level combination of managing finances, marketing their work, and networking with peers and the community. Summit […]

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Summit Artspace Kings and Queens Mural Initiative Celebrates Kirk Mangus’ Legacy and Akron’s Beautiful People

For over a decade, Summit Artspace’s visitors have been welcomed to the building by Kings and Queens, a 225-feet-wide by 9-feet-high mural depicting faces representing diverse ethnic groups living in Akron. Internationally-renowned artist and Kent State University (KSU) faculty member Kirk Mangus (1952–2013) and 25 Summit County teens painted the mural in 2006, with funding from Summit County, the National […]

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An Unlikely Trio: Summit Artspace Partners with Courthouse and Summit DD 

  The spirit of collaboration is part of what makes Akron extraordinary. Recently, three county-supported organizations partnered to help invigorate the lives of community members through the arts, specifically advocating for artists with disabilities. ART FOR ALL ABILITIES Summit Artspace—headquartered in a historic building owned by Summit County—is an arts organization dedicated to connecting artists with the resources they need […]

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Fresh: 18th Annual Juried Exhibition at Summit ArtSpace

Being a recent transplant from Greater Cleveland to the Akron area, I was unfamiliar with most of the artists in Summit Artspace’s annual FRESH exhibition. Now in its 18th year, the juried show is open only to artists in Summit, Medina, and Portage counties. This year’s iteration presents 31 works selected from a total of 155 entries by Jared Ledesma, […]

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