New Akron-area group will seek to bolster arts and culture in Summit County

A new nonprofit group — dubbed ArtsNow — will seek to promote and strengthen arts and culture in Summit County.

The group, which has received initial funding from five area foundations, will launch July 1.

Its first major effort will be a website showcasing arts and culture happenings throughout the county, from big concerts and art exhibits to small dance recitals and church choir programs.

“The arts and culture community here has proven itself to be a great economic driver,” said Nicole Mullet, the founding executive director of ArtsNow. “And we’d like to see it continue to grow here.”

Mullet, 36, is wrapping up her job as director of the University of Akron’s Tech Prep, which aims to increase the number of high school graduates attending college.

ArtsNow grew out of a study — and later town meetings — that focused on the health of local arts organizations, their finances and audiences. The GAR and John S. and James L. Knight foundations commissioned the study and organized the meetings. The two foundations are among those backing ArtsNow.

The idea of a “one-stop” website focused on arts and culture happenings sprung from the study results, which showed that individuals, businesses and organizations are finding fragmented information, rather than relying on a comprehensive source, said Christine Amer Mayer, president of the GAR Foundation.

Arts/culture groups throughout the county will be able to put their own content on the site, which is to be up and running sometime this fall. The site will include a directory of artists in the county, Mayer said.

ArtsNow, however, is about a lot more than the website, Mayer and Mullet said.

A major focus of the group will be to build the relationship between businesses and the arts and culture community.

The study showed some businesses “felt like they only heard from arts organizations when somebody needed a sponsorship or a check for an event,” Mayer said. “And a lot of arts organizations felt businesses were not there for them” at times.

The study also revealed, Mayer said, that arts and culture “make the area a distinctive place to be, which is important to recruitment of talent, retaining a workforce.”

ArtsNow will have a small staff: Mullet and perhaps one other person working part time.

A search committee of the founding board selected Mullet as the director. The entire board will have its first meeting later this month.

Mullet, a native of Holmes County, is involved with a number of civic activities. She is vice president of Torchbearers, an area young professionals group. She also volunteers with Better Block Akron, which seeks to improve the city’s neighborhoods; Greater Akron Chamber’s Young Professionals Network, and literacy group Project Learn of Summit County.

Before joining UA eight years ago, Mullet ran a program for teens for a nonprofit agency in Pittsburgh. Before that, she taught middle school in Richmond, Va. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from UA.

Initial funding for ArtsNow is coming from five foundations: GAR Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Akron Community Foundation, Burton D. Morgan Foundation and Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation.

In addition to GAR and the Knight Foundation, backers of ArtsNow are the Akron Community Foundation, Burton D. Morgan Foundation and the Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation.

To see the study, go to http:www.garfdn.org/data/sites/1/artsandculturalassessmentforsummitcounty.pdf.

Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com,