A community-based art project that seeks to connect communities through pulling up a chair and sharing stories of positivity about Strong Women of Toledo.

The Process

Artist Selection

To maintain the artistic integrity of this MTS Seating, AIGA Toledo and The Art Commission project, all interested participants submitted a digital portfolio of at least 3 examples of their work to be juried as a participant for the project. 

Once the jurying was complete, selected artists received their stories and had roughly 7 weeks to complete their final artwork. Artists of a variety of mediums participated, and the work was transitioned to 2-D for final production.

JUROR ANTIONETTE CARROL

Antionette Carroll is the executive director of Creative Reaction Lab, a social enterprise cultivating creative leadership to improve the human experience through immersive challenges. Throughout her career, Antionette has worked for social justice, human rights, and diversity and inclusion nonprofits - with her last position being head of communications for Diversity Awareness Partnership. Currently, Antionette is the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force of AIGA: The Professional Association of Design. At the local level, she is also serving as the President of AIGA Saint Louis.

JUROR ANDREW SHEA

Andrew Shea is the principal at MANY, a graphic design studio based in New York City. He is the author of Designing for Social Change and has written for various publications, including Design Observer, AIGA, and Design Impact Hub. He teaches design at Parsons, Pratt, and NYC College of Technology, on topics like design for behavior change, creative placemaking, and visualizing urban policy.

JUROR KEETRA DEAN DIXON

Keetra Dean Dixon is a Designer, Director, and Artist. Her hybrid design background and expertise in graphic design often leads her work towards speculative terrain, leveraging emergent technologies and the shortcomings of ubiquitous creative tools. She has been recognized on several fronts including a U.S. presidential award, a place in the permanent design collection at the SFMOMA, and the honorable ranking of ADC Young Gun (6). She has been featured in numerous publications and exhibits, including feature articles in Time, étapes, + Surface, commissioned works for the ’09 U.S. Presidential Inauguration and the ’12 Olympic games. Dixon has held solo exhibits at the Kessel Kramer Gallery: KKOutlet, shown at the Walker Art Center & the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. She has acted as Design Director for installations featured at ’08 Venice Architecture Biennale and ’10 01SJ Biennial. In 2013 Dixon participated in INCONGRUOUS, a residency for “brazen experimentation in design practices” with Museum of Arts and Design in NYC.

Selected Artists

Maura Amato
Mitch Ansara
Stephanie Austin
Angie Baker
Alex Beat
Kate Blankerts
Sara Blease
Sarah Bonham
Allison Brenner
Lindsey Buser
Sarah Byer
Michelle Carlson
Todd Childers
Alex Christian
Rachel Court
Autumn Cromer
Alex Dartt
Tyler Deal
Peter DeWood
MM Dupay
Caroline Ellingboe
Lee Fearnside
Amy Fidler
Vanessa Flory
Emily Frazier
Steven Gill
Trent Gineman
Melanie Giveins
Chris Graver
Alex Hall
Nathan Hartman
Clifton Harvey
Chris Hatfield
Logan Hecklinger
Michelle Henry
Dustin Hostetler
Heejoo Kim
Tricia Kimmel
Ryan Kindinger

Chelsea Kopfman
Erin Kunz
Ashley Lawson
Kathy Lippert
Lila Marty
Zach Minnich
Steve Mockensturm
Ben Morales
Michael Murray
Alaina Nogar
Tori Nuss
Kelly O’Brien
Jacob Parr
Ryan Pietrowski
Joe Pinciotti
Gene Powell
Merrill Rainey
Ras+e
DaJaniere Rice
Rachel Rine
Matt Rowland
Taylor Rupert
Gina Scherzer
Becca Schroder
Tess Segura
Marissa Sehmann
Brandon Stammen
Abby Stucker
Jenn Stucker
Alec Thielman
Ashley Vetter
Ashley Volney
Dan Weeks
Whitmer High School
Benjie Wilhelm
Robert Williams
Sandra Winner
Kim Young
Lori Young

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