The 2021 Athena Art Society Annual Juried Exhibition is being held in a new venue. We are honored and proud to be exhibiting in the Main Library Gallery, part of a recent renovation of Ohio’s Toledo Lucas County Main Public Library. The show will run from November 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022.  44 works of art created by 25 Athena artists are in the show, represented here by 21 of them. The award winners, shown above, are: Mary Weiss, Best of Show, ceramics; Kati Kleimola, 1st place, acrylic; Lanna Pendleton-Hall, 2nd place, oil on linen; Ellen Loeffler-Kalinoski, 3rd place, photography; Erin Palmer Szavuly, Honorable Mention, watercolor. The juror was Crystal Phelps, Marketing & Communications Manager at The Arts Commission.

The Main Library has been a downtown Toledo landmark since it opened on September 5, 1940. Today, more than half-a-million visitors check out nearly one million items annually. In addition to a large collection of books, CDs, videos, DVDs, and reference materials, the Main Library offers ample community meeting spaces, The Blade Rare Book Room, and the Creativity Lab: the Susan M. Savage Family Place.

In 2001, the Main Library was expanded to 271,000-square feet. In 2019, it underwent its latest renovation which added making equipment, studio space, a cafe, a gallery and store on the first floor, as well as additional meeting and work space on the parking level and first floor. The Children’s Library also received a substantial renovation to add more value to young Library customers.

We hope our Athena exhibit of creative art will reflect the Library’s mission to “engage all of our communities, inspire lifelong learning, and provide universal access to a broad range of information, ideas, and entertainment;” and to fulfill their vision “to be the first place people go when they want to broaden their horizons or connect with one another.” In this show, Athena artists have shown their belief in this power of art.