AKRON SOUL TRAIN

SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2016, AKRON SOUL TRAIN HAS AWARDED PAID RESIDENCIES TO 74 ARTISTS AND SUPPORTED AN ADDITIONAL 16 THROUGH PROJECTS CREATED FOR OUR CAPSOUL GALLERY. TO AMPLIFY ARTISTS' VOICES AND ENGAGE OUR BROADER COMMUNITY, WE PRODUCE INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS ALONGSIDE THE 12 ARTIST- LED INITIATIVES WE HOST ANNUALLY. IN 2023, WE PROVIDED STIPENDS TO 13 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE AND ONE EMERGING ARTIST, SHOWCASING THEIR CREATIVE WORK TO THE PUBLIC AND HOSTING 13 COMMUNITY PROGRAMS. ADDITIONALLY, WE SUPPORTED 31 STORE ARTISTS THROUGH MARKETING EFFORTS AND CONSIGNMENT-BASED SALES IN OUR GIFT SHOP AND ONE FISCALLY SPONSORED ARTIST IN 2023. WE ARE ALSO COMMITTED TO BUILDING COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS THAT ALIGN WITH OUR MISSION OF CREATING A DESTINATION WHERE GREATER AKRON RESIDENTS CAN ENGAGE WITH ARTISTS AND PARTICIPATE IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS. IN 2023, WE PARTNERED WITH 11 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: CURATED STOREFRONT, SUMMIT ARTSPACE, STEWART'S CARING PLACE, AKRON PUBLIC SCHOOLS MILLER SOUTH, CENTER FOR APPLIED THEATRE AND ACTIVE CULTURE, UNIVERSITY OF AKRON CUMMINGS CENTER, EARTHQUAKER DEVICES, NIGHTLIGHT CINEMA, AKRON CHILDREN'S MUSEUM, HIGHLAND UNIVERSAL GATHERING PLACE/ARTS TOGETHER, AND JILLY'S MUSIC ROOM. OUR RECENT DATA HIGHLIGHTS SOME KEY ACHIEVEMENTS WE ARE PROUD OF. SINCE LAUNCHING OUR ONLINE APPLICATION PROCESS IN 2018, WE'VE SEEN A 34% INCREASE IN ARTIST RESIDENCY APPLICATIONS. IN 2023, TOTAL IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE GREW BY 233% COMPARED TO 2022, AND THE NUMBER OF BIPOC ATTENDEES ROSE TO 37% OF TOTAL ATTENDANCE-AN INCREASE OF 28% OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR. WE ALSO CONDUCT ANONYMOUS POST-RESIDENCY FEEDBACK SURVEYS, BOTH AFTER EACH RESIDENCY AND TWO YEARS AFTERWARD, TO EVALUATE OUR IMPACT AND ENSURE WE MEET ARTISTS' NEEDS. TESTIMONIALS FROM THESE SURVEYS CONFIRM THAT OUR PROGRAM IS MAKING A MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCE. "AN UNEXPECTED OUTCOME OF MY AST RESIDENCY HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN QUESTIONS AND INTEREST FROM MY AUDIENCE WHICH HAS IMPROVED MY ABILITY TO VERBALLY SPEAK ABOUT MY WORK AND CONTEXTUALIZE IT FOR OTHERS." "MY PERFORMANCE WAS JUST FEATURED ON NPR'S "SCIENCE FRIDAY", A NATIONALLY AIRED RADIO PROGRAM. IN ADDITION, I SOLD MULTIPLE PIECES OF ARTWORK AND RECEIVED GREAT FEEDBACK FROM THE ATTENDEES AT MY EXHIBITION AND PERFORMANCE. I ALSO CONNECTED WITH A NUMBER OF ARTISTS, CURATORS AND ART COLLECTORS." "I GAINED EXPOSURE TO A NEW AUDIENCE AND LOCALE, COURTESY OF MY INVOLVEMENT IN AN ARTISTIC AST COMMUNITY. THIS NOT ONLY HEIGHTENED MY VISIBILITY WITHIN MY PEER GROUP BUT ALSO PRESENTED A NOVEL EXPERIENCE OF CRAFTING CONTENT FOR INSTAGRAM POSTINGS. MY TIME INTERACTING AND PRESENTING AT THE MILLER SOUTH ART SCHOOL WAS PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT. DEVELOPING A NEW PRODUCTION WITH A SPECIFIC THEMATIC FOCUS ALLOWED ME TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL IMPACT ON THE AUDIENCE, PROVIDING A PLATFORM TO SHARE BOTH MY ART AND THE INTENDED MESSAGE. THIS VENTURE PROVED IMMENSELY GRATIFYING FOR BOTH MYSELF AND MY ART FORM, BHARATANATYAM."