By Abigail Preiszig
While traveling to an art museum in a booming metropolis can be exciting and educational, visiting regional museums and art spaces can provide guests with unique experiences that are just as valuable.
According to professionals working in the art realms of Akron, Canton and Youngstown, these regional spaces can supply artists and patrons with art, culture and community at the local level.
“For any community, it is imperative to have cultural resources close to home, rather than having to drive an hour or two,” Claudia Berlinski, director of the McDonough Museum of Art in Youngstown, says. “As a regional museum, we have the opportunity to engage and collaborate more directly with our community and local organizations.”
These community spaces make education, arts, culture and history accessible by creating opportunities to see, relate and experience art in new ways, Christy Davis, curator of exhibitions at the Canton Museum of Art, says.
“Museums, especially small regional museums, offer unique opportunities to learn more about specialized topics and connect with your local history and environment,” she says. “Through taking classes, attending events and supporting programming provided by these organizations, you can maintain and grow the vitality and value of your community.”
Classes, events and programming by these regional art spaces may also benefit future artists and arts supporters as well as existing local artists, says Natalie Grieshammer Patrick, director of artist resources at Summit Artspace in Akron.
Regional museums and art spaces contribute to the success of area artists by creating attainable spaces to develop their practice, refine their artwork, gain access to important resources and connect with the community, she says.
“Smaller organizations that focus on serving local artists are catalysts for those artists to propel their careers,” Grieshammer Patrick says. “… We are also engaged in the educational landscape for children and consider our organization an important pipeline to future artists and arts supporters.”
Canvas takes you inside five standout regional art museums and spaces, sharing the highlights that make them summer destinations.
The Akron Museum of Art
1 S. High St., Akron
Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday. Closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Gallery admission is free every Thursday. Adult general admission is $12. Senior general admission is $10. Student general admission is $8. Children 17 and under are free.
The Akron Art Museum is Akron’s own museum, Matthew Hribar, its social media and public relations associate, says. The museum’s mission is to invite all people to enrich their lives through modern and contemporary art and brings world-class exhibitions as well as highlights local and regional talent.
“We provide a localized cultural access point and provide a place for appreciation,” he says. “… Our goal is to provide a space where Akron-locals and Summit County can explore art, learn more about themselves, and reflect on the history, identity, and values of self and community.”
The Akron Art Museum will host events like the free outdoor concert series, “Downtown@Dusk,” from July 10 through Aug. 7 and Family Days from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 29 and July 20.
Exhibitions on view this summer include “15 Years of Picturing Books,” exhibiting works by children’s book illustrator Oliver Jeffers, and “The Vastness Beyond Vision,” featuring an array of abstract photographs by William Richards (1917-2004), both on view through July 27. “She Said, She Said: Contemporary Women Artist,” on view through Aug. 17, features 37 artists with artwork dating from the late 1960s to present, and “Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees),” an installation by Petah Coyne, will be on view through May 3, 2026.
The Butler Institute of American Art
524 Wick Ave., Youngstown
Open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Closed on Monday.
Free admission.
The Butler Institute of American Art possesses collections of American art from the Colonial Period to today that inspire scholarship and a general pride in America’s visual arts heritage, according to the museum website.
Its overall programming further serves to enrich cultural life locally and throughout Ohio and the nation through quality educational programming, including instruction in the creation of visual art, the website says.
Summer programming includes art classes for all ages in its studio spaces, yoga classes and a free Film on Art program every Tuesday at noon. Additionally, it hosts themed days such as Sensory Sunday for the neurodivergent community, Stroller Art for infants 24 months old with a parent and caregiver, Young Friends Adventure is for children ages 2 to 5 years old with a parent or caregiver and Senior Art & Learn is for adults 55 and older.
Exhibitions include “Russell Maddick: Visions of a Changing Landscape” on view through June 29, “Good Vibrations: The Prints of Victor Vasarely” on view through July 20 and “Color Into Form: Abstractions From the Permanent Collection” on view through Dec. 31.
Canton Museum of Art
1001 Market Ave., North Canton
Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Closed on Monday.
Free admission every Thursday and the first Friday of every month. Adult admission is $8. Senior, student and veteran admission with valid ID is $6. Children 12 and under are free.
The Canton Museum of Art connects community members of all ages with the techniques, materials and stories of the art and artists in its galleries through its classes and exhibitions, Davis says.
Canton art summer exhibitions, on view through July 27, include an original exhibition, “Apeiron: The Eco Art of John Sabraw,” highlighting the artistic talents and eco-activist efforts of artist John Sabraw, who creates pigments from sediment found in acid mine drainage to remediate the damage left from abandoned coal mines in Southeast Ohio; “This Riverbed is a Cradle,” featuring the fiber art and weaving of Michelle Wentling, with storytelling and poetry to connect with the artwork; and “Art and Activism from the CMA Collection,” featuring art and artists who created art with the purpose of speaking out against a variety of causes throughout their career.
McDonough Museum of Art
525 Wick Ave., Youngstown
academics.ysu.edu/mcdonough-museum-of-art
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Closed Sunday and Monday.
Free admission.
While the McDonough Museum of Art features artists from all over the country as part of its annual programming, its focus during the summer months is on local and regional artists including youth’s arts, Berlinski, the museum director, says.
“I think the focus on regional and local artists is a major feature of our programming that fills a void larger museums aren’t consistently able to fill,” she says.
Through July 19, it will feature the work of Youngstown State University alumni, Ronald Jason Van Hoose and Jeffey S. Piper, local high school art teacher Mike Egan and the artwork of youth involved with the Inspiring Minds organization.
“All three maintain a vibrant studio practice locally with a busy exhibition schedule,” Berlinski said. “Inspiring Minds is a community organization with chapters throughout the U.S. with two locally, in Youngstown and Warren.”
Summit Artspace
140 E. Market St., Akron
Noon to 7 p.m. Friday. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
All exhibitions are free.
Summit Artspace’s primary programs are providing exhibitions to local artists at all points in their careers and of all abilities, Grieshammer Patrick, the director of artist resources, says. This includes affordable studio space for artists to work out of, artist professional development programs and community events to help connect the public to artists.
“Summit Artspace acts as an important steppingstone by providing programs and tailoring our exhibitions to meet the needs of emerging artists,” she says. “In regard to the public, our space offers the unique opportunity of direct engagement with artists and their work. Visitors have the ability to see works in progress and hear artists’ stories firsthand.”
Five new summer exhibitions curated around the theme of the Akron Bicentennial will open from 5 to 8 p.m. July 11 and the art space has several calls for local art open, including juried shows as well as a call for proposals for solo and group exhibitions.
