In 2010, when I posted the Art Corner Toledo Manifesto (written by Emily Rippe Desmond) on Facebook, I got a message from then Editor Michael Miller within ten minutes offering me the opportunity to write a column for the Toledo Free Press STAR. That is not an exaggeration. Ten minutes. That’s how quickly the Toledo Free Press jumps to support and highlight the work of Toledoans. That is not to mention the cover story the Free Press offered Independent Advocates in 2009 when we were in the midst of our campaign to convince Toledo Municipal Court to create a Domestic Violence docket. In my experience, the Free Press is always on the right side of the story. I’ve worked with people on projects who were wary of media and am always confident to tell them not to worry. The Toledo Free Press would present an objective story and truly do their best to move Toledo forward from their position. When I heard that the paper was celebrating its tenth birthday, I was thrilled to have a chance to highlight their work and repay the favor. Of course, I’ve been asked to not do that but to, instead, focus on art in Toledo and how it has progressed in the past ten years because in true Toledo Free Press form, they’ve turned the attention away from themselves and on to Toledo. I continue to be immeasurably grateful to the paper for this habit of theirs.
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t paying much attention to art in Toledo ten years ago besides the jazz scene. Professionally, I was focused on victim advocacy for domestic violence survivors and my own career as a jazz singer. I heard rumblings of things like “Meet&Greets” and knew that galleries seemed to come and go. But, it wasn’t until the Arts Commission brought Artomatic 419 to town in 2006 that I felt like the local art scene was something I could participate in. Then, came Bozarts. Bozarts changed everything. Giving creative people a place to gather and learn about each other while providing local artists a place to show their work and collaborate on shows, opened so many doors for so many people. Independent Advocates became Art Corner Toledo there. The mission to promote Toledo as a city full of artists and activists was born out of the fact that every time I went to Bozarts I was surrounded by both and they were all willing to get involved in each others’ work. This atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration informed my attitude from that point forward.
Then, came the events. Event after event after event. Each one more and more focused on art in the community. The Arts Commission became a party machine and Toledoans began to participate in the arts whether they knew it or not, just by going to events downtown. People were probably going to Mud Hens and Walleye games too but given that I’m not much a of a sports fan, I saw the evidence more clearly as artwalks grew and took over areas other than the Warehouse District. Creative people saw that they could try their ideas, no matter how lofty, for an appreciative audience. We gained a circus, for crying out loud! Birds Eye View Circus space came to town and found its home at the Collingwood Arts Center, showing us things we had never seen before. I’m missing countless examples here between Artwalks and the circus but it would take an entire issue of the paper to list everything.
Most importantly, in the past few years, public funding has become available for the arts in Toledo for programs other than those housed by large institutions. Fledgling organizations have been given the necessary resources to impact the community in ways that had not yet been tried in Toledo. Art has made its way into neighborhoods and into the infrastructure of the City. It has been recognized as a tool for community organizing. It has brought together business owners, neighborhood residents, City Council people, building owners, developers, and artists in a way that, until now, had not taken place in this City. It adorns large outside walls of buildings that sat empty until its arrival. Those buildings are now being bought, developed, and renovated. And to its credit, City government has recognized the value and importance of this work. That is a major development that those of us working in the field are grateful for and will not take for granted.
