Before ArtsNow was ArtsNow, it was an idea—an initiative bubbling with potential and promise. I still remember it vividly: a series of meetings called together under what I believe was the Arts & Culture Initiative (I’ll double-check the name, but it was something close to that). I was in grad school at the time, earning my master’s at the University, and whenever I came home on breaks or weekends, I’d find myself in these convenings, called there by the inimitable Janus Small of Janus Small Associates.

Janus didn’t just invite me to sit in. She called on me to engage. I’d help scribe the conversations, write on whiteboards, facilitate discussions, and hold space for a growing movement of artists and advocates who believed in the power of the arts in Akron. At that time, the arts were present in the community, but there wasn’t the same connective tissue that began to form through these meetings. That initiative became something real. It became ArtsNow.

It’s an honor I carry proudly—I was a founding board member of ArtsNow, alongside the fearless Nicole Mullet. It was my first board position ever, and I soaked up every minute of it. At the time, I was still building out my private voice studio, squeezing in meetings between clients and rehearsal blocks. But the work we did on that board—those early conversations and commitments—taught me how to love the arts more broadly. I came in as a musician, but I walked away with a deeper reverence for all artistic disciplines: literary, visual, dance, design, and beyond.

That lens of artistic inclusivity and community engagement didn’t just shape how I teach—it helped shape my legacy.

The spirit of those early ArtsNow meetings inspired me and my brothers to launch the Flossye J. Bass Foundation for the Arts—a scholarship fund created in honor of our grandmother, Flossye J. Bass, a lifelong lover of the arts. Our goal was (and still is) to support students of color pursuing the arts in college and beyond. That foundation would not exist without the seeds planted during those early days with ArtsNow. The initiative sparked something in me: a vision of arts as community-building, as advocacy, as a way to reach across differences and nurture something lasting.

Now, as ArtsNow celebrates 10 years, I feel a sense of gratitude and joy. I remember marking 10 years in my own business in 2023—it’s no small milestone. It represents consistency, growth, and faith in the work you do. ArtsNow has become a beacon for artists and culture-makers in Akron and Summit County. Its light reaches farther than many may realize.

I’m so proud to have been there at the start—no longer just the teenage performer from Akron, but a grown artist stepping into community service, collaboration, and leadership. Those are memories I’ll never forget.

Congratulations to ArtsNow. Here’s to the next 10!