Wandering Aesthetics. Photo by Shane Wynn.

Status: Congratulations to the 19 winning ideas in the Knight Arts Challenge Akron, announced October 26, 2016!

You’re here because, like us, you believe the arts are the highest form of human expression. They describe beauty, speak to our soul, engage and enrich us. They celebrate our community’s diversity and our shared experience. The arts inspire.

It’s your turn to inspire Akron’s vibrant local arts scene and enrich the city’s neighborhoods. The Knight Arts Challenge Akron is a $3 million, three-year initiative to draw the best and most innovative ideas out of local organizations and individuals seeking to engage and enrich the community through the arts. Whether you’re an independent artist, business, established arts institution, organization or individual – we want to hear from you. No idea is too large or too small, as long as it follows three basic rules

1. Your idea is about arts.
2. Your project takes place in or benefits Akron.
3. You find other funding to match Knight Foundation’s grant.

Read the FAQ to learn more, and browse through all previous Knight Arts Challenge winners in Miami, Philadelphia, Detroit and St. Paul, Minn.

Finally, here are some insights from past winners:

• How they did it: Reaching new audiences with art by Ira Brooker, 4/6/2016
• How Knight Arts Challenge winners have raised funds to meet their match, by Neil de la Flor, 4/26/2015
• Going from an arts startup to a leading organization by Anne Tschida, 4/11/2016
• 4 tips for artists on working with local governments by J.C. Perez-Duthie, 4/18/2016
• Bringing art to nontraditional spaces by Ira Brooker, 4/20/2016