Akron Soul Train

“Kasota artist management, llc. Performed those duties that would customarily be performed by the organization's chief management official, such as the executive director. The organizatin's president, nancy brennan, has an ownership interest in kasota artist management, llc. Kasota artist management, llc., was paid 8,055 during 2019.”

“The 990 is distributed to the board of directors for their review.”

“The board of directors reviewed financial reports and approved agreements and significant transactions during the year monitoring for conflicts of interest. All conflicts of interest were addressed by the board of directors in compliance with the conflict of interest policy”

“Compensation was reviewed and approved by the board based on an analysis of the fair value of such services in the local community.”

“Governing documents were made available upon request”

“Akron soul train is an artist residency program connecting and empowering the community and artists by granting residencies that provide resources to all creative disciplines, thereby fostering a more vibrant downtown akron. Founded in 2016 as a result of winning a 2015 knight arts challenge grant, akron soul train provides artists with the resources to create and exhibit new bodies of work. The name was inspired by akron's rich history of transportation and industry and the inspiration for the program was derived from regional artist communities such as the mattress factory in pittsburgh.”

“The ast board is comprised of all volunteers. The board meets on a quarterly basis. Meetings are normally 90 minutes long. Board volunteers are a cross section of the arts and business community in akron, ohio. Each member brings a plethora of experience and insight into the operations and governance of a startup nonprofit arts organization. The board is comprised of 9 members. A total of 4 board meetings were held in 2019. Total number of volunteer hours was approximately 4,500 which included meeting time, preparation for meeting, community outreach events and fundraising events. In addition to governance, board members have also been active in fundraising and community outreach. Ast held several events in 2019. Board members attended these events and assisted with explaining in ast's mission, its goals, anticipated outcomes, and impact on akron ohio. Ast's board members are well known and respected in the summit county area. By volunteering their time and talent, as well as donating their treasure, the ast board has lent an air of credibility to such a new nonprofit enterprise. This has held ast in good stead with potential funders, members, and volunteers, as well as assuring success. In addition to the board, a small number of community volunteers assisted with the events ast held in 2019.”

“Artists in residence past artists in residence include; john sokol, stephen tomasko, jenniffer omaitz, michelle droll, danny volk, gabe gott, eva kwong, david sapp, joshua eiskamp, charisse harris, christi birchfield, and christa ebert/uno lady. 2019 artists included arabella proffer, elizabeth dallas and ben patrick in april, alysia klein and zelda zinn, diane britt, micah kraus and maggie duff. Each of these artists conducted a public education program and their work was exhibited or performed. Application process ast has a residency committee filled with individuals with expertise in the variety of disciplines. Applications are submitted through a formal web-based program. This ensures the applicants all completed the application in a uniform manner making it easier for the committee to review. Applications for the 2020 residency season will opened in july 2019 and artists were selected by november 1,2019. Diversity is a key component of the akron soul train's focus in 2020. We are working now to expand our residency committee to include artists of diverse artistic expression allowing us to ensure expertise in each area of residency opportunities while also increasing our exposure to different communities. Key communities not currently represented by akron soul train include writers, dancers and choreographers. In addition, we are ensuring diverse representation by enacting a number of policies. Our first action item is identifying community groups who can help us introduce the organization to the many communities in akron including urban league, international institute, pride and canapi, and the women's league. By collaborating with these groups we can gain access and introductions to their community encouraging their artists to apply for residencies and their community at large to attend and engage with those artists through their public programs and exhibitions. To effectively ensure we are truly representing the diversity of our community, akron soul train commits to a minimum of one artist of color, one artist from the refugee community, and one artist from the lgbtq community. Akron soul train works with a variety of organizations throughout greater akron for performance space, marketing assistance, volunteer recruitment, specialty studio spaces including printmaking equipment, recording equipment, and kilns. These organizations are instrumental to the work of akron soul train by ensuring our artists have access to the materials they need to complete their proposed project. In addition, ast exhibits visual artwork at the burton morgan foundation exhibit space in downtown akron.”