A New Space for Community

Robert C. and Susan Savage have provided a generous gift to renovate the Community Gallery, creating a space to engage Toledo area artists in new ways

The aim is not just space to display and sell art, but also to expand outreach and cultivate meaningful conversations with and about Toledo artists. To select work to exhibit, TMA team members will make connections with potential Community Gallery artists in their studios, building a relationship that will allow a dialogue about the artist’s work, career, and growth.

The Toledo Museum of Art is debuting a new Community Gallery, thanks to the generosity of local donors Robert C. and Susan Savage. The space will display pieces by local and regional artists and allow them to sell their work, building a collector base from the large audience of art enthusiasts TMA draws each year.

“This will provide a space both for the Museum to connect with the artistic community more broadly and for the public to more easily explore the artwork being made in our region,” the couple said.

“We believe this space and the programming that will animate it will contribute to the growth opportunities for local artists in profound ways. The Toledo region boasts extraordinary artists, many of whom have gone on to national and international renown. We hope this space will allow more Toledo artists to reach new heights.”

The gallery will debut under a new name in their honor, the Robert C. and Susan Savage Community Gallery, with the funds supporting the design and construction of the upgraded space on the Museum’s lower level. A gallery space devoted solely to the work of emerging artists will be a significant boon to the creative energy of local artists working in the area, one of the reasons the Savages pledged to support the project.

“It’s a generous gift, one that will have a major impact on opportunities for exposure for local artists,” said Adam Levine, TMA’s Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey director and CEO.

“It’s not just the dedicated space that is meaningful; it’s another act by our community showing the commitment to TMA as an anchor institution in supporting our region.”

The reimagined gallery bolsters a relationship with local artists that extends back to the Museum’s founding in 1901. Creating a new space devoted solely to the work of up-and-coming artists from the region is also part of TMA’s Belonging Plan, a strategic effort to foster a culture of inclusion and representation on the gallery walls.

“This is another chapter in an ongoing dialogue with artists in the Toledo area,” Levine said. “We hope this will be an opportunity to reinvigorate and reopen that conversation with local artists, and strengthen our ties with the local creative community.”

For Findlay artist Amber Kear, founder of art and design organization the Hysteria Company, the platform this new gallery provides for local artists will have an immense impact.

“It allows artists another opportunity to connect with each other in community, on a deeper level of understanding, which is part of the true essence of our belonging,” Kear said. “And the programming that accompanies the exhibitions will have an impact on the future of our young, growing artists in this region, too.” Amber will be the Community Gallery’s next featured artist in May.

1912

TMA moves from its rented spaces downtown to its first official (and very grand) building on Monroe Street, still its home today. Community members lined up outside to experience the opening day; a private party invitation for notable locals featured an individual, hand-drawn etching.

1920s

Before 1933, if the Museum wanted to host a party they took it to one of the buildings nearby—like the Toledo Club or Secor Hotel— since TMA had no catering facilities. In this image we see a gathering to drive membership; note the all-male guest list, reflective of the gender and racial disparities of the time.