AKRON SOUL TRAIN
121 S MAIN STREET SUITE 500, AKRON, OH 44308 akronsoultrain.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: AKRON SOUL TRAIN IS AN ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM CONNECTING AND EMPOWERING THE COMMUNITY AND ARTISTS BY GRANTING RESIDENCIES THAT PROVIDE RESOURCES TO ALL CREATIVE DISCIPLINES, THEREBY FOSTERING A MORE VIBRANT DOWNTOWN AKRON. FOUNDED IN 2016 AS A RESULT OF WINNING A 2015 KNIGHT ARTS CHALLENGE GRANT, AKRON SOUL TRAIN PROVIDES ARTISTS WITH THE RESOURCES TO CREATE AND EXHIBIT NEW BODIES OF WORK. THE NAME WAS INSPIRED BY AKRON'S RICH HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INDUSTRY AND THE INSPIRATION FOR THE PROGRAM WAS DERIVED FROM REGIONAL ARTIST COMMUNITIES SUCH AS THE MATTRESS FACTORY IN PITTSBURGH.

AKRON SOUL TRAIN WILL BE A NATIONALLY RENOWNED NORTHEAST OHIO ART PROGRAM SERVING AS A MAGNET TO ATTRACT AND PROMOTE DIVERSE ARTISTS AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. WE WILL BE A CATALYST FOR THE ARTS, OFFERING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GREATER AKRON RESIDENTS TO ENGAGE WITH ARTISTS AND PARTICIPATE IN THE ARTISTIC PROCESS. IN ALLIANCE WITH OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, WE WILL INSPIRE THE MINDS AND LIVES OF ARTISTS AND OUR VARIOUS AUDIENCES.

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE PAST ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE INCLUDE; JOHN SOKOL, STEPHEN TOMASKO, JENNIFFER OMAITZ, MICHELLE DROLL, DANNY VOLK, GABE GOTT, EVA KWONG, DAVID SAPP, JOSHUA EISKAMP, CHARISSE HARRIS, CHRISTI BIRCHFIELD, AND CHRISTA EBERT/UNO LADY. 2019 ARTISTS INCLUDED ARABELLA PROFFER, ELIZABETH DALLAS AND BEN PATRICK IN APRIL, ALYSIA KLEIN AND ZELDA ZINN, DIANE BRITT, MICAH KRAUS AND MAGGIE DUFF. EACH OF THESE ARTISTS CONDUCTED A PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAM AND THEIR WORK WAS EXHIBITED OR PERFORMED. APPLICATION PROCESS AST HAS A RESIDENCY COMMITTEE FILLED WITH INDIVIDUALS WITH EXPERTISE IN THE VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES. APPLICATIONS ARE SUBMITTED THROUGH A FORMAL WEB-BASED PROGRAM. THIS ENSURES THE APPLICANTS ALL COMPLETED THE APPLICATION IN A UNIFORM MANNER MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE COMMITTEE TO REVIEW. APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2020 RESIDENCY SEASON WILL OPENED IN JULY 2019 AND ARTISTS WERE SELECTED BY NOVEMBER 1,2019. DIVERSITY IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THE AKRON SOUL TRAIN'S FOCUS IN 2020. WE ARE WORKING NOW TO EXPAND OUR RESIDENCY COMMITTEE TO INCLUDE ARTISTS OF DIVERSE ARTISTIC EXPRESSION ALLOWING US TO ENSURE EXPERTISE IN EACH AREA OF RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITIES WHILE ALSO INCREASING OUR EXPOSURE TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES. KEY COMMUNITIES NOT CURRENTLY REPRESENTED BY AKRON SOUL TRAIN INCLUDE WRITERS, DANCERS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS. IN ADDITION, WE ARE ENSURING DIVERSE REPRESENTATION BY ENACTING A NUMBER OF POLICIES. OUR FIRST ACTION ITEM IS IDENTIFYING COMMUNITY GROUPS WHO CAN HELP US INTRODUCE THE ORGANIZATION TO THE MANY COMMUNITIES IN AKRON INCLUDING URBAN LEAGUE, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE, PRIDE AND CANAPI, AND THE WOMEN'S LEAGUE. BY COLLABORATING WITH THESE GROUPS WE CAN GAIN ACCESS AND INTRODUCTIONS TO THEIR COMMUNITY ENCOURAGING THEIR ARTISTS TO APPLY FOR RESIDENCIES AND THEIR COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO ATTEND AND ENGAGE WITH THOSE ARTISTS THROUGH THEIR PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND EXHIBITIONS. TO EFFECTIVELY ENSURE WE ARE TRULY REPRESENTING THE DIVERSITY OF OUR COMMUNITY, AKRON SOUL TRAIN COMMITS TO A MINIMUM OF ONE ARTIST OF COLOR, ONE ARTIST FROM THE REFUGEE COMMUNITY, AND ONE ARTIST FROM THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY. AKRON SOUL TRAIN WORKS WITH A VARIETY OF ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT GREATER AKRON FOR PERFORMANCE SPACE, MARKETING ASSISTANCE, VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT, SPECIALTY STUDIO SPACES INCLUDING PRINTMAKING EQUIPMENT, RECORDING EQUIPMENT, AND KILNS. THESE ORGANIZATIONS ARE INSTRUMENTAL TO THE WORK OF AKRON SOUL TRAIN BY ENSURING OUR ARTISTS HAVE ACCESS TO THE MATERIALS THEY NEED TO COMPLETE THEIR PROPOSED PROJECT. IN ADDITION, AST EXHIBITS VISUAL ARTWORK AT THE BURTON MORGAN FOUNDATION EXHIBIT SPACE IN DOWNTOWN AKRON.

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Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202023009349301567_public.xml