CANTON − Janet Weir Creighton dusted off her Canton Arts District portrait from more than a decade ago when she was asked to loan it out for an upcoming exhibition recognizing the downtown movement.
It had been in storage because displaying it at home seemed too egotistical, she said with laughter.
Once the chuckling subsided, Creighton, who was the city’s mayor when the Arts District was established in 2006, grew more serious and reflective.
“The arts contribute to the vibrancy of a community and most medium-size cities depend on the arts for a lot of reasons,” she said.
Invigorating downtown with public art began small, Creighton said of the Arts District’s inception. Colorfully painting trash containers was one of the earlier projects.
“You’ve got to start somewhere,” the former ArtsinStark board member said. “But like anything with legacy, someone has to keep it going, so I encourage the citizens to support their local artists and the different events and venues because we need a community with culture.”
That legacy is being honored with “Portrait Redux − The Original Gang of the Canton Arts District.” The exhibition showcases 25 portraits that Canton-based artist Heather Bullach painted of key figures in the development of the arts scene for a 2014 show.
Portraits will be on display 5 to 9 p.m. June 5 at BZTAT Studios, 320 Cleveland Ave. NW, during Canton First Friday, which has a chalk art theme. Colorful art will be created on sidewalks throughout downtown.
‘Where do we take it?’
Vicki Boatright, a Canton-based artist and owner of BZTAT Studios, said the arts continue to be integral to downtowns across the country as they face challenges with reduced populations.
“And the ones that come back are the ones that have a focus around the arts,” she said. “And with doing this art show, this is a good way to remind people these are the folks who got the Arts District going. Now, where do we take it?”
‘Critical to Canton’
Creighton was quick to credit former ArtsinStark CEO Robb Hankins for his downtown vision.
“In my mayoral term, that is when Robb Hankins came to town, and I believe the arts bond was established,” she said. “He was excited, I was excited. He is an outstanding arts leader and developer, and because of him and because of the momentum he built with the arts community, I think that’s why they have been so successful.”
Hankins headed ArtsinStark from 2005 to 2020. He previously had managed an arts district in Long Beach, California, and created another one in Hartford, Connecticut.
“I believe creating the Arts District inspired Canton to start believing in its downtown again,” he said.
And that spirit hasn’t stopped, Hankins said.
“I’m impressed with all the new restaurants and public art,” he said, which includes a series of 11 NFL-themed art pieces. “I see great leadership at ArtsinStark, Visit Canton, City Hall and the Downtown Canton Partnership totally determined to keep reinventing the heart of our city.”
And “it’s courageous artists and daring entrepreneurs of Canton that keep downtown growing.”
Maureen Ater, CEO of ArtsinStark since June of 2024, said the success of downtown is partly owed to the efforts and drive of Hankins and other leaders and advocates in the arts scene of the 2000s.
“The Arts District helped put creativity at the forefront of downtown’s identity,” she said. “And that impact is still very much felt today.”
Mayor William V. Sherer II agrees.
“Art is always going to be critical to Canton,” he said. “Studies show that communities with a vibrant cultural scene are more vibrant to live in and more attractive and create a greater economic stability.”
Murals continue to adorn downtown area buildings, and more are planned, including in the 11th Street SE and Cherry Avenue Bridge area, Sherer said. The future mural will celebrate “what I would call the rebirth of the southeast end and one of our better neighborhoods in the city,” he said.
Stark County-based artist Dirk Rozich’s new mural on the restroom building at 408 Court Ave. NW near Centennial Plaza will be unveiled at 4:30 p.m. June 5 prior to First Friday festivities.
Another example of emphasizing the arts is The Arts Academy at Summit School, Sherer said.
“I think it’s critical,” he said of art in the city. “I think we have a great relationship with (Ater) and ArtsinStark, but it’s just one aspect of moving our community. There’s no doubt about it.”
A collective effort
Expanding the arts downtown took a collective approach, Creighton said.
That included art-minded property owners like Mike King and artists like Tim Carmany and Boatright.
Boatright has been a resilient champion of the arts, relocating her art studio multiple times without departing downtown. Carmany owns and operates both The Hub Art Factory and Second April Studios. Second April is named in a homage to the former Second April Galerie, which was an integral part of the initial downtown arts push.
Second April Galerie was owned by Brennis Booth and Todd Walburn, who are both portrait subjects in BZTAT Studio’s exhibition, along with Carmany, Boatright, King and Hankins.
“They inspired me,” Boatright said of Booth and Walburn. “They were originally on Sixth Street, and that was the first place I showed my art in town at a studio. I think they were critical to the whole (arts movement) getting started.”
Skylark Bruce, 43, of Canton, said the Arts District has enhanced downtown greatly.
“Growing up downtown in the ’80s and ’90s, I remember what it was like before there was an intentional arts district,” she said. “There was very little to do here.”
Bruce misses former art spaces like the original Second April and the former Lynda Tuttle’s Art Center & Gallery, which closed in 2015. Bruce is a poet and was a resident artist at a former downtown studio.
“It was a challenge for artists when I was there to pay their rent,” she recalled. “When the rent is actually more affordable, that’s when the artists will flourish.”
‘Arts District Heroes’
Boatright referred to the portrait subjects as “arts district heroes.”
Many of those depicted are still active artistically, including retired Repository entertainment writer Dan Kane, who curates and presents art shows at local galleries, and Christian Harwell, owner of Cyrus Custom Framing & Art Gallery in Canton, which regularly hosts art exhibitions.
Others include John Strauss, owner of Strauss Studios, part of John Strauss Furniture Design on Walnut Avenue NE downtown. Strauss hosts exhibitions by artists both from inside and outside Stark County.
Patrick Buckohr, a central figure in the early days of First Friday events and the arts landscape, still creates commissioned metal sculptures for public display.
Other portraits in the exhibition include Craig Joseph, Elec Simon, Emil Alecusan, Jay Spencer, John Boyett, Kevin Anderson, M.J. Albacete, Sheri Morckel, Sara Shumaker, Don and Marti Dixon, Tricia Ostertag, Tim Belden and Tom Wachunas.
“They’re amazing portraits,” Boatright said of Bullach’s oil paintings. “She does have a very unique style; it’s very photo realistic.”
Bullach, 37, said she created 50 portraits of the local arts leaders for her first solo exhibition after graduating from Malone University.
“I had become interested in the newly growing Canton Arts District and wanted to capture the energy of that time by creating portraits commemorating those who were instrumental in that growth,” she said.
The original exhibition was in 2014 at the former Translations Art Gallery, where Joseph was the curator. She painted the 50 portraits over the course of 18 months. Around 30 were sold at the time of the exhibition.
“It was such an important project for me, so it’s really gratifying to see it revived for this exhibit,” Bullach said.
‘Experience culture.’
Some art galleries and studios have come and gone since the Arts District was established.
But a core of art studios operate downtown − The Hub Art Factory, Second April Studios, Strauss Studios, BZTAT Studios, Silo Studios and Just Imagine by TWi. Arts-related businesses include Boomdyada and Cantonology on Fourth Street NW.
“There are a lot of people creating out of different spaces,” Boatright said. “I don’t think there’s as many small galleries with small groups or individuals having their own galleries. A lot of (artists) work out of The Hub and Second April.”
Ater said the template for a vibrant downtown was set with the Arts District.
“A great deal of what exists today traces back to those early efforts,” she said. “The walkability, galleries, public art, events, creative businesses, and the idea that downtown should be a place where people gather and experience culture.”
Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com. Follow on Instagram at ed_balint and TikTok @edwardbalint
If you go
What − “Portrait Redux − The Original Gang of the Canton Arts District” exhibition
Where − BZTAT Studios, 320 Cleveland Ave. NW in downtown Canton
When − 5 to 9 p.m. June 5 during Canton First Friday
This article originally appeared on The Repository: ‘Keep it going.’ Exhibit celebrates Canton Arts District then and now
Reporting by Ed Balint, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ed Balint, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
