“Your idea of community can expand just by looking at art. Toledo is an arts community. It’s a creative community. It’s an entrepreneurial community. We have a common goal— to see Toledo in its best, true light,” says Yusuf Lateef, a local artist who has used his talents to impact his neighbors since high school.
Even if you don’t know his name, you’ve met Lateef through his wall-to-wall presence in our city. His works coat the sides of buildings, often done in collaboration— see Queen Nefertiti at Uptown Green, or Martin Luther King at the corner of Collingwood and Delaware, among others— in an effort to engage the public and affect a larger conversation.
A View from Above, at Detroit Ave. and Post St.
“Once I recognized that I am part of the community, and how much I benefit from it, I recognized the value that I can put back into it through my talents. Making art generates potential and new possibilities for growth,” he says. In addition to creating murals, Lateef also works with The Arts Commission’s program Young Artists at Work, and participated as an apprentice for the programs first year. Since then, he’s also served as a teacher’s assistant, a teacher, and co-founded the arts education group Radiant City Arts.
“If you’re able to give back in some way, your community gives back to you. That relationship is important.”
Martin For All, at Collingwood Blvd. and Delaware Ave
Unsung Heroes is sponsored by Jobst Vascular Institute.
More than 25 years ago, another unsung hero, Toledo philanthropist Caroline Jobst, gave a generous gift to ProMedica Toledo Hospital to developa center of excellence for the research, education and treatment of patients with vascular disease.
Today, Jobst Vascular Institute is world-renown.
Visit us at promedica.org/jobst.
