Toledo School of the Arts (TSA) was founded in 1999. Located downtown on Adams Street, people may not realize, it’s a tuition-free, public charter school for grades 6 to 12 with a focus on the arts. There is no audition process. Entrance is by lottery and purely luck of the draw.
TSA has been expanding in exciting ways over the last two years, adding a gallery and performance space to merge the school with Toledo’s burgeoning art scene.
Welcome to The Portal
Max Kachenmeister is manager of a new initiative called The Portal. “Just before COVID, the development department started a project they were calling the next big thing,” says Kackenmeister. “It included remodeling a portion of the building’s first floor along Adams Street as well as adding a little annex section.” Originally the building had condos so we didn’t take up the entire building. As tenants left, the school took on those spaces. When the last tenant moved out during COVID, the school moved the cafeteria upstairs. The renovation went from a $2 million project to $10 million. It’s been a year this past summer since the project was completed, and last November was the one-year anniversary of The Portal. Kackenmeister describes it as “where the community meets Toledo School for the Arts. It’s open to the public and is its own entity from the school. It has an art gallery and a store, just like any public business. We also have The Black Box Performance Studio within The Portal. It’s part of the school during the day, but it’s also where we have public concerts and performances.”
Gallery for Working and Local Artists
The Portal’s gallery has been used to showcase working, usually local, artists. Every month it hosts a new exhibit. The idea is to bring artists closer to the school. As Kackenmeister says, “The school has a long-standing, established ability to go out into the community. Our music ensembles, which include everything from strings to pop bands, can be hired to perform at events. However, you couldn’t have outside artists come into the school during class hours just to see it, so this was an opportunity to bring outside people in. ”
Visual artist Dean Davis was brought in by Dave Gierke, the school’s development director, to do the first big gallery show in the space. Davis utilized plexiglass used in the school during the pandemic as a canvas for incredible airbrushed portraits of first responders, historical figures and emotions from the pandemic experience. The artist then utilized the exhibition as an opportunity to discuss students’ own feelings about the pandemic—what was learned, good or bad, and how to heal? What does the future look like? Davis worked on the pieces for the exhibit through December 2023 and created the bulk of the exhibition right in its space.
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Integrating
The school is still in the process of integrating The Portal with the school and finding ways to work together, but with a new artistic and assistant artistic director who are very on board with exploring opportunities, it’s an exciting time. The Black Box Performance Studio is reserved for bands and plays. As the term suggests, it’s a performance space that’s flexible. Since nothing is permanently installed, you can add risers, lights and set up a stage for different kinds of performances seating up to 300 people. Last September TSA alum Crystal Bowersox did a concert in the Black Box studio. Larger performances for the school take place at other facilities like The Valentine and are open to the public.
In March The Portal will be featuring a project done by Women of Toledo comprised of young female artists creating chairs called A Seat at the Table from the Shirley Chisholm quote “if they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” And artist Jordy Poma from Lourdes University will be collaborating with a UK artist on a ceramics show that will open in April. TSA students will have the experience of going to Lourdes to work with these artists prior to its opening.
High Standards
TSA is possibly the only charter/arts school in the area that’s sponsored by a higher education institution— Bowling Green State University. It means there are high standards for the school. The sponsorship is renewed every three years based on the quality of education TSA offers. Within those standards, TSA is free to create its own curriculum. The school believes that whether or not a student goes on to a career in the arts, the arts background is fundamental to success in life. The Portal is an extension of that belief.
Open 12pm-6pm Tuesday-Saturday
theportalattsa.com
