Welcome to Forum 360.

I'm Stephanie York, your host today.

Thank you for joining us for a global outlook with a local view.

In the studio today is Nicole Mullet, the executive director of ArtsNow, an organization that helps build and strengthen a thriving Summit County arts and culture scene.

The goal to add economic vitality and social vibrancy to our region.

Nicole is a collaborative leader and advocate for the arts and culture sector, and a connector of local talent to resources.

Nicole, thank you for being with us today.

- Thank you for having me.

- Absolutely.

So if you would tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, where you grew up, things like that.

- Sure.

So I grew up right in the middle of Berlin, Ohio, which is Holmes County.

Amish Country.

- Amish Country.

- So very cheese oriented and bread oriented upbringing.

And that was— - And you left there.

- I know, well, the cheese and bread came with me.

And so that was my my background.

And I started in education.

I was a language arts teacher and then moved into the collaborative aspect of education, where we were bringing together people from across secondary and post-secondary and the workforce.

Which sort of prepared me for the work of ArtsNow, which is very much focused on how we as a community come together to support the arts and culture sector and ensure that it's thriving and benefiting the residents and visitors.

- Sure.

So where did you go to school?

- I went to school at the University of Akron.

- Very good.

You’re a Zip.

- Yes.

Yes.

- Now, a little bit about ArtsNow.

What's its history and its mission?

- ArtsNow serves as the local arts and culture agency for Summit County.

So we are a regional agency.

Standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

And our mission is really to ensure that the community is fully benefiting from a really vibrant and healthy arts and culture sector.

So I have the privilege of working with folks from individual artists to our nonprofit sector, to for profit music venues and businesses, and the creative economy as a whole.

And leveraging that talent in a way that will benefit and help to create a resilient Summit County.

- Who came up with the ArtsNow name?

I mean, this is like a ten year old agency.

So it's a baby.

I mean, it's not even a teenager yet.

- No, we're just getting into our tweens.

- And you're its first executive director.

- Yes.

- You've been there ten years, so that's pretty impressive.

So tell us about who came up with the name.

How did this, like, evolve?

- So in 2013, a group of community leaders that was really led by GAR Foundation and Knight Foundation wanted to take the temperature of the landscape across Summit County.

They wanted to determine whether or not the community was fully leveraging the talent and the resources that were being invested.

We are seeing great success to our North with a public investment in Cuyahoga County.

We have a really robust local arts agency and arts fund in Stark County, and it was the right time to look at Summit County holistically and take the temperature.

And so at the end of that, nine key findings came to the surface, really driven by community priorities.

And one of those was the need for an organization that was going to wake up every day thinking about the health of the sector as a whole.

And so that convening agency really focused on what a strategy was going to be for the whole sector emerged and that is where ArtsNow came from.

- Very cool.

- Yes.

Were you part of that discussion?

- So it was a community wide discussion.

And then the organization was formed really by a group that emerged as the founding board of directors and I was hired in by that group.

- I got it.

When you started, what was your goal?

- We were very focused in the beginning on what the board termed a listening tour.

So because we came out of such a robust process where there was a lot of conversation, a lot of community feedback countywide, there was a desire to go back into the community and make sure that we had accurately heard what their priorities were, what the very necessary first steps were going to be.

So for the first six months, we really went back out, put forward the findings, and I got to know the folks that had really been inputting and creating - Sure.

the work.

At the end of that six months, the founding board worked on a strategic plan that set the course for those early years.

- Okay.

And have you met those goals and moved on to further goals?

- The wonderful and messy work of ArtsNow is that we really are set up to be responsive to community needs.

And so we set the goals around, of course, you know, structuring a very healthy, sound at 501(c)(3).

We wanted to make sure that we had all of the supports for the board in place.

So setting up an organization that was healthy was very important as well as making sure that we started to convene the sector so that we were behaving like a sector.

- Sure.

- And that was really the early work.

In 2019 we became very aware that it was necessary to have a blueprint for success for the entire sector.

And that turned into the cultural plan that was approved in 2020.

- Okay.

Right at Covid.

- So talking about being responsive, those early priorities and the goals that we thought we were going to tackle first shifted dramatically.

- Sure.

- The plans goals haven't changed, but how we attack them will continue to change.

- Sure.

So when Covid happened, what happened to that scene?

So we became immediately very aware of a couple things.

One, the arts earned income model is very much based on engaging directly with the public.

So we were very concerned about our artists being able to make and sell work.

We are very concerned about our for profit and nonprofit performing arts venues and theater groups being able to sustain themselves.

And then as well as our individual artists accessing and participating in a system that the state was developing in real time and how that was going to work for them as independent contractors.

- And I'm sure they suffered like every industry did during that time.

And then after Covid, how did the art scene change?

- In Summit County, I think nationally, where we're looking at a sector that is still navigating what's going to happen next and how audiences are going to engage with us in the same way that the workforce at large is trying to figure out what returning to work looks like.

And whether or not that's going to be in-person or, you know, a hybrid approach.

And so the arts are very much nationally looking at what engaging with the arts will continue to shift and look like in the future.

In Summit County, we had some really strong leadership, especially in the form of County Executive Ilene Shapiro, who, when they were looking at Covid relief dollars and cares dollars, made sure that 1.5 million went into the nonprofit arts and culture sector.

And that really sustained some of our organizations that have then had the opportunity to come back smarter and stronger, better able to positively impact our community because they were able to to survive that downturn.

- That's good.

How do you get information out to the community about the arts and culture offerings?

- So one of the findings that came out of that original assessment was that the community didn't want to work quite so hard to figure out what was happening in Summit County.

There is not a lack of opportunity to engage with arts and culture recreation in Summit County.

We have the absolutely beautiful merging of really excellent art and amazing natural resources.

And that is nationally unique.

And so we wanted to lean into what we see as a valuable asset.

One of the things that we initially did that has sustained through 2026 now, not emotionally prepared for that, is Summit Live 365, which serves as a community calendar for all things arts and culture.

So you can go to SummitLive365.com.

It is free to anyone to use to input your events and experiences.

It also allows for us to post job opportunities, calls for artists, anything that could really allow the community and the sector to find work locally and regionally.

So since it launched in October of 2015, almost 2,000 opportunities for work have been posted on the website.

So very much focused on that creative economy.

So when people put in events, do they get vetted first?

Yes.

- Yes.

So we do have— - I got a little worried there.

- We do have somebody who looks over to make sure they’re— - They’re are legitimate events.

- That they're legitimate events, and also that all of the information is in there so that, you know, we don't have questions from folks.

But yes, somebody has eyes on those before they go live.

I promise.

- What types of things does ArtsNow support?

- So we really define culture very broadly, as I mentioned, we work with everybody from the zoo to the national park and the metro parks.

We're really focused on quality of life.

In a world where people can work anywhere and are often choosing their place before their job.

- Yes.

- We need to make sure that Akron and Summit County are positioned very wisely.

And that means that our quality of life assets have to be both shared, and also excellent and supported.

So that's been a priority of ArtsNow and we define that very broadly.

So whether it's yoga at Lock 3 as part of the performing arts series or it's music at Jilly’s, we're focused on all of those things.

- Wow.

I mean... - It's big.

- Is there any entity that doesn’t have art in it or culture?

- It's— -I mean, when you think about it.

- Yeah, it really is.

And including, you know, our partners in sports and athletics, they, I mean, you look at partners like the RubberDucks who have done such a fantastic job of making sure that it's more than just what's happening on the field, but that it's a full family experience.

- It's mostly what's happening, not on the field.

I mean, yeah.

- But that's what I understand too.

So don't ask me what's happening on the field.

But it is a really wonderful community that the talent and the excellence is here.

It really is communicating it and making sure that our leadership and our residents feel that sense of pride in what we have here, because it is nationally unique and it is something that we should be paying attention to.

- Right.

We should.

What is ArtsForward?

- ArtsForward is one of the ways that we're implementing the cultural plan in real time.

It is a fund that was set up by some philanthropic partners that since have had over 40 groups and people in positions of leadership contribute to it.

And that money and the grants that go out are specifically to advance the cultural plan.

So there are grants that go out up to $25,000, they’re project and program grants, they're administered countywide, and the goal is to ensure that those ten key priorities of the cultural plan are advanced.

- Okay.

And what... What will that do for the community?

Yes.

So we've— One is the financial investment.

We know that not every aspect of the cultural plan requires financial resources.

Some of it is strategic thought.

Making sure that we're focused on community engagement around programing.

But some of that work requires finances and money to make it happen.

So this is a four year pilot program.

We were able to distribute so far in the first three years, $1.4 million countywide to 135 organizations and artists who are positively impacting the community through projects and programs.

So that might look like Althea Jones, moving her project forward on skin color, where she's engaging with people of all ages, and having conversations while identifying the paint sample that, you know, matches the skin color of the person she’s speaking with.

It might look like The Nightlight Cinema investing in a more accessible website so that, you know, screen readers are able to engage with it and it doesn't matter what your ability is, you're able to find out what is playing at the Nightlight.

- Like, is there a grant cycle on that?

Like, how does that work?

- There is a grant cycle.

We typically open it up in the spring.

- Okay.

- And it has expanded in a way that really speaks to what the community need is.

So again, with that focus on being responsive and making sure that as a sector, we're not operating just because this is the way we've always done it, but this is what is necessary and helpful right now.

So we have ArtsForward as a, kind of a holistic grant program.

And then in partnership with the Summit County Land Bank, we launched a fund with support from the Land Bank as well as the National Endowment for the Arts.

Specific to placemaking grants.

So how are we improving and contributing to our neighborhoods and communities through experiences and activities.

And so the grant program has really expanded as need and opportunity have come up.

- So is the arts and culture sector working in a more connected, coordinated way now throughout the county?

Like?

- Yes.

- How do you see that?

Like, you talked about the Land Bank and the zoo and the Stan Hywet.

Like, how do they know where to go and what to do?

- We, at ArtsNow really works hard to serve as that convener.

So when we see an opportunity or a need in the community, we really work hard to make sure that our partners know about it, and that we can come together strategically to have some positive change and movement that looks a bunch of` different ways.

It looks like, the some of the larger organizations doing an assessment on their physical spaces to ensure that they're accessible for people of all abilities.

Some of our individual artists coming together to help to identify resources to support professional development for their colleagues and peers.

But we really work hard to ensure that the cultural plan priorities, which the community told us they care about is top of mind and all of the work that we undertake.

- Fantastic.

I want to remind our viewers and those who may have joined late, we are here with Nicole Mullet, the executive director of ArtsNow, a summit County nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing its arts and culture assets and building connections between arts and culture in the broader Akron community.

So what is the Arts and Culture Inclusion Council?

- The Arts and Culture Inclusion Council is a direct outcome of the cultural plan.

The first priority is accessibility, ensuring that everyone not only has the ability to participate in the arts, but also make and co-create the future of the arts.

And the second is equity.

And so in both priorities, over 97% of the people we work with to develop the plan said that the future of the community and the future health of the sector was going to need to focus on on equity and inclusion.

And so that turned into a council as a guiding body, an entity that was going to provide strategic insight, identify some professional development opportunities at low cost to the sector, and make sure that the folks who are doing the work feel supported in that.

- So my surprise look is, you know, inclusion and equity have become kind of taboo in the federal government language.

Especially if you get federal funding.

Has the federal changes around equity and inclusion affect affected your organization at all?

- Yeah, I think where the work hasn't changed.

We've always been focused on ensuring that everyone, regardless of your background, can help to create the future of our community, that everyone is a part of the community.

Though we may lean into language like belonging more, but the work has not changed because the community told us that's what they care about.

- Right.

Right.

What makes art inclusive?

I think it's many different aspects, but the ways that I like to think about it are both the ability to create and the ability to participate.

You know, we work a great deal with Summit DD and the work that they do.

And part of why that work progressed was the cultural plan.

But there's a desire to ensure that we're not just saying you are an artist with a disability, and we're going to put you here and you're only going to have access to specific shows that are connected to that identity.

But you are an artist and that is the end of that sentence.

And so how are we ensuring that there's a fully, inclusive community for all of our artists regardless.

- Amazing.

So how do you help artists connect with local resources?

Because you're this convener and, you know, tell our local artists now how they can reach out if they need to tap into some of these resources.

- One of the most significant ways would be to, I think, pay attention to our 2026 grant cycle around ArtsForward.

We really want to ensure that, sometimes those projects that live in your head that could have tremendous community impact.

They need resources.

And that's what that grant program is there to do.

The second opportunity around resources, we know that, and, Stephanie, you and I have this opportunity to advance in our professional life to gain additional skills.

Artists and creatives need that same opportunity.

So there's also a fund that was developed in partnership with the Ian Patrick Schwarber Foundation that specifically supports professional development and career learning opportunities for artists.

So whether that's, identifying and working with QuickBooks so that your business can thrive and be more effective or it's going to, you know, Penland to advance your craft, whatever it is, that is an opportunity for investment.

- Okay, so you're a convener.

You're a connector.

All these things.

Does ArtsNow put on its own events?

- That is a great question.

We do offer professional development, both through the leadership of the Arts and Inclusion Council, as well as in response to a year end survey and assessments that we do throughout the year.

So that will shift and priorities and content will shift depending on what the community that we serve tells us that is necessary that year or that time period.

We also put on an annual event called state of the Arts, which is a really wonderful experience that happens every October.

It's a chance for us to ensure that our partners across sectors, because really, we do so much work with folks that are in education and that are working in government, and working in health care, a chance to celebrate all of those collaborations that result in a truly healthy community, and then also celebrate our grantees and sort of, it's a chance for ArtsNow to report out to the community and let them know what they can expect from us in the next year.

- So you've been in this position for ten years.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

- Oh, gosh.

Proudest accomplishment is very easily the, the success that we've seen through ArtsForward.

And it feels strange to say that's my proudest accomplishment because it really is pride in the community that made that happen.

So my job is to raise the money, but the success of it is because we have incredibly smart artists and community leaders within the sector who have implemented programs that have meaningfully benefited the residents of Summit County.

That is a beautiful thing to witness, and it's something that makes me enormously proud.

- So tell me about your board.

It was hard for me not to notice that most of them are CEOs and executive directors also, and they hold like, the highest office at their organizations.

That's quite a roster of folks you have on there.

- It is and we’ve— We've been very lucky in board members, from our founding board who really, I think, added credibility to a young organization that was just getting started.

And a small organization, we remain very small.

So having folks on the board who are able to think about what a backbone organization is and how that differs from a lot of other nonprofits.

And that takes a very special leader.

And we have some fantastic artists and entrepreneurs who are on that board, as well as leadership from within the sector and outside of the sector.

And they have a tough gig.

Their job is to look at the data, the impact that the sector is having and to think holistically about how we're going to move forward as a group.

So I'm very grateful to my board for being willing to tackle that because it is a unique way of looking at the work that we're undertaking.

- Sure.

What would you like to see ArtsNow become or do that it's not already doing now?

- Yeah.

I think that one of the areas is just continuing to grow our capacity to support the health of the sector, to make sure that we're able to really serve all of the 31 communities in Summit County.

- It's a lot of communities.

- It's a lot of communities.

And so wanting to really be in all of the pieces and parts of the county requires some additional capacity that we need.

So as an organization, that's the goal is to continue to grow.

I think for the sector as a whole, because we do have that unique, that unique gig of thinking about the health of the organization, but then also being responsible for the health of the sector as a whole in Summit County.

We really need to ensure that our very financially fragile ecosystem continues to, you know, be invested in and grow in strength.

- How many employees do you have?

- I'm the only one right now.

- The only one?

- Yes.

- And you have 31 communities?

- Yes.

Resting on your shoulders.

No pressure.

- Not at all.

Yes.

Some of them hear from me more than others but it is, we're very lucky in some of the partners that we have, like, Collide Cuyahog Falls, who's operating as an advocacy group specifically within Cuyahoga Falls.

So we have some very smart leadership that helps to build out our capacity a fair amount.

- Do you have a favorite artists that are alive?

- There is no way in which I answer that question.

That is no, there's too much talent to choose from.

- Okay.

- But well played.

That was a good one.

- So I won’t ask you about your favorite local art plays.

- We are too resourced.

- How about this.

What inspires you about the art community?

- I think that one, and we've seen it so much in the past five years.

We have incredibly smart people working in this sector, that care deeply about the community.

And those are two things that you can't, you can't necessarily teach strategy and you can't fabricate care.

And so when you have folks that live here, that work here.

- Have passion.

- Yes.

And that are just enormously talented, who could move anywhere in the country and take that talent and they choose to stay here, because they deeply love the community that they're serving.

That's really special.

And it makes waking up every day and doing this kind of messy, strange work of a backbone organization gratifying every day.

- Thank you, Nicole for such a wonderful conversation today.

It's been a joy getting to know you and your organization, ArtsNow.

I'm sure our viewers loved learning more about the arts and culture scene in Northeast Ohio.

I'm Stephanie York.

Thank you for joining us on Forum 360, where we bring you a global outlook with a local view.

Until next time.

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