Updates from Heather Meeker at Summit Artspace

The local arts community is well-positioned to tackle the challenge of re-creating its creative community as it comes out of the pandemic, according to Heather Meeker, executive director of Summit Artspace.

The nonprofit organization connects artists and artist-serving organizations to the community and to the resources they need to thrive professionally, creatively and financially by providing galleries and studios in Summit County and surrounding areas.

Over the past year, with the support of the Akron Community Foundation and other funders, the group has been able to provide rent subsidies to some of its resident artists.

Although being a place for the creative might have meant something very different over the past year, Heather believes that Summit Artspace can get out in front of the situation. 

To that end, in the next fiscal year (which runs July 1 through June 30), they plan to bring back the Artist as Entrepreneur program and recruit a new class of instructors.

Another component of Summit Artspace is its galleries. Heather says they can do a lot to articulate how they run their galleries with their mission in mind. Given that they are an organization dedicated to helping artists thrive on all levels, then the artist has to be centered in what their galleries are doing.