Mantua – Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation (DMRC) has received grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the Portage Foundation in support of a holiday pop-up shop that will be open for the holiday season and is looking for local artists to show in the gallery to be located in a Mantua storefront.
This is the second year for the pop-up gallery. Last year, 33 artists that are local or have roots in the region showed and sold their original and hand-crafted work for gifts. Work ranged from paintings, prints & photographs to original, handmade items such as ceramics, jewelry and functional and decorative glass. The shop was operated with volunteers and was open Thursdays through Sundays. For the 2018 holiday season, there will be similar hours for shopping.
Edie Benner, DMRC President “….is excited to once again have more of an arts presence in Mantua and knows that cultural activities will help shape the region with creative place-making towards revitalization and renewal. Many small villages have utilized the arts to define their Main Streets by supporting creative gatherings from pop-up shops, arts festivals and their local artists to build economic development and quality of life for everyone. We know we live in a great place with natural beauty and know that the arts contribute to making our area even better.”
Along with the gallery, there will be arts workshops for the Hiram-Mantua-Garrettsville community on Saturdays and performances on Sunday afternoons.
If you are an artist interested in learning more and would like to apply to become part of the gallery this year, go to the DMRC website at https://www.revitalizemantua.org/ to learn more about how to get involved. We are also looking for people who would like to assist with workshops and help with promoting more community arts programming locally. Contact Sandy Kreisman at 330-221-0421 or email Sandy at skreisman@universitycircle.org.
