Creative Arts Collaborative Center Offers Holistic Programs in Highland Square

Watch the Video by Bobby Selvaggio

By Grace Carter: Creative Arts Collaborative Center (C3) at HÜG is Akron’s new arts hotspot. HÜG stands for Highland Square Universal Gathering Space. Local developer Tony Troppe, the mind behind Blu-Tique Hotel and Blu Jazz+, has reimagined the former Temple Israel on Merriman Road to be a space for performing and visual arts. The historic, 46,000-square-foot building has been restored so that it can be enjoyed by the community for years to come.

C3 presents the arts alongside educational opportunities for students, professionals, and community members so that they can come together and experience the arts in a holistic way. In particular, youth can meet with artists, actors, and musicians to learn more about the arts as a career path. "Every performance we put on will have an educational component," executive director Bobby Selvaggio told the Akron Beacon Journal. "We are not putting gigs on here. We are putting on cultural events here."

Bobby Selvaggio is a renowned jazz musician and an Associate Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at Kent State University. “C3’s slogan, ‘Live in the Arts, Lead in the Arts,’ is to help young artists understand all the various aspects of being a performer, an entrepreneur, and an educator so that they can be future arts leaders and make real impactful change in their communities,” Selvaggio said.

The building offers multiple areas to rehearse, gather, learn, and perform, and includes an auditorium that seats 250. C3 will offer studio rentals, community gatherings, auditorium rentals, art exhibitions, and meeting spaces. 

C3’s purpose links to many priorities of the Akron Cultural Plan, including equity and access, education, talent, engagement, connections, economic impact, resources, and placemaking. In particular, C3 helps advance the Akron Cultural Plan by ensuring that the arts reach Highland Square, and provides a hub for artists and the community to connect. To learn more about the Akron Cultural Plan’s ten key public priorities, click here.

To learn more about upcoming events and programs at C3, visit akronc3.org.

By: Grace Carter