Category: Patron Spotlights

Karen Starr is an interior designer and co-owner of Hazel Tree Design Studio. Co-founded in 2010, Hazel Tree has grown from a home-based custom picture framing and interior design business, to a showroom and gallery that features the works of local artists and home deco[...]

Justin Chenault is a Social Architect, trained as a journeyman carpenter, Justin thinks about the building process and the connection or, more often than not, the disconnection of that development process to the end-user. As he moved into the field of community developm[...]

Kevin Richards is an award-winning photographer, filmmaker, graphic designer, and DJ. He studied Fine Art Photography at the Myers School of Art at the University of Akron. His work has been seen in galleries, publications, and public art installations. He has previous [...]

Heather Meeker (Executive Director, Summit Artspace) is a results-driven nonprofit leader with a passion for achieving organizational vision in the arts, culture, and education fields. Her expertise includes strategic planning, team-building, partnerships, project manag[...]

Why is it so important to your family to support arts and culture? Why do arts and culture matter to you?“Personally, it brings me so much joy to see other people displaying their passion for creativity, especially since I have no artistic skills of my own, ”[...]

Why is it so important to you to support arts and culture? Why do arts and culture matter to you?Arts and Culture matter to me because the Arts saved my life and It allowed me to get out of sad places during my childhood. The Arts helped me learn the importance of shari[...]

What is your earliest memory of participating in arts and culture?  One of my earliest memories of absolutely loving the arts is going to shows at EJ Thomas with my parents and as class field trips. I think my first was Paint Your Wagon. The thrill of getting [...]

What is your earliest memory of participating in arts and culture?As a child, my mom (Kim Jacobs) would take me on a walk around the Nature Realm in Fairlawn, Ohio. It was always a cool experience getting to see the animals live in their natural habitat. Since then, I h[...]

What is your earliest memory of participating in arts and culture?I have countless childhood memories that included arts and culture. I am not sure which was my earliest. I grew up with the bike trail in my back yard, so it was the backdrop of my imagination and my road[...]

Earliest Art Memories:  I grew up in Pittsburgh.  My first nickname was “Leisel the Dancing Fool.” I could not stop dancing, or singing, or whistling. In public. Along with choreographing dances on roller skates to Blondie or Aretha Franklin song[...]