{"id":19242,"date":"2026-05-01T13:06:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T13:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=19242"},"modified":"2026-05-01T13:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T13:06:36","slug":"the-arts-commissions-project-at-swayne-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/the-arts-commissions-project-at-swayne-field\/","title":{"rendered":"The Arts Commission\u2019s Project at Swayne Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Dawn Scotland<\/em>
\nThe Truth Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n

The Arts Commission hosted a public information session at St. Martin de Porres Church Wednesday, April 22 announcing a new public art project at Swayne Field, developed in partnership with the City of Toledo Department of Housing and Community Development.<\/p>\n

The organization is commissioning permanent art sculpture in the Swayne Field Shopping Center in the Englewood neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The project invites artists from within a 150-mile radius of Toledo to apply to create the public work of art that will engage community input. The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for artists opened April 23 and closes May 18.<\/p>\n

The Arts Commission staff, including Nathan Mattimoe Art in Public Places Director, shared information about the project and answered questions related to the artist selection process with a group of community members, artists and leaders.<\/p>\n

Rosalyn Clemens, chief of the City of Toledo Department of Housing and Neighborhood Sustainability also shared information about new developments in the Englewood neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\"\"HCD, together with the site owner\u2019s investment, has raised $3.6 million in federal grants and loans to fully rehabilitate the multi-acre site and 92,000 sq ft facility with a goal of attracting new tenants, including small and minority-owned businesses, and a new workforce training center as an anchor.<\/p>\n

Art in Public Places is currently assembling a Design Review Board (DRB) consisting of community leaders and members of the APP Committee, who will select three artists and\/or teams to propose complete designs for the project. Finalists will be paid a stipend of $2,000 to participate in the concept proposal process, which will include touring Swayne Field and meeting the Design Review Board and community members prior to developing a proposal for the site.\u00a0(Source: TheArtsCommission.org)<\/p>\n

The organization wants the community to be involved in the process as a key component of the proposal. \u201cWe want the artist to engage with the youth of community\u2026 to help actually inform the aesthetics of it,\u201d shared Nathan Mattimoe. \u201cWe\u2019re really looking for a proposal that is going to consider that engagement process to help inform what that final piece is going to look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

TIMELINE*\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

April 22, 2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Public Info Session<\/p>\n

April 23, 2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Launch Request for Qualifications (RFQ)<\/p>\n

May 18, 2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Qualifications Submission Due Date<\/p>\n

June 14, 2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Three Finalists Announced<\/p>\n

June 23, 2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Site Visits<\/p>\n

June 25, 2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Design Phase Begins<\/p>\n

July 25, 2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Proposal Presentations<\/p>\n

August 11, 2026\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Winning Proposal Announced<\/p>\n

(*timeline may be subject to change<\/em>)<\/p>\n

To learn more or apply for the project visit the Toledo Arts Commission website:\u00a0https:\/\/theartscommission.org\/projects\/swayne-field<\/p>\n

The project is supported by the Greater Toledo Community Foundation\u2019s Arts and Culture Fund.<\/p>\n

Englewood is one of Toledo’s oldest and most notable neighborhoods. It existed as part of Toledo’s Old West End until the construction of the I-75 Expressway, dividing Englewood from the rest of the Old West End neighborhoods. The area grew into a residential neighborhood towards the end of the 1800s, evolving into a community with unique architecture in the Queen Anne, Late Victorian, and Italianate styles.<\/p>\n

Englewood became known for its landmarks, including Swayne Field, which opened in 1909. Swayne Field was an important destination as the home of the Toledo Mud Hens, as well as the location of Negro League games and community activities that took place for decades before its redevelopment in the 1950s.<\/p>\n

Englewood also experienced the emergence of major industrial developments in the early 20th century, especially the Doehler-Jarvis plant, built in the early 1900s, which manufactured automotive parts\u2014particularly cast metal components like engine blocks and chassis parts\u2014and became a major employer in Toledo for decades. The factory closed in 2002.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Englewood is home to several historic religious institutions, including St. Martin de Porres Church and the United Missionary Baptist Church, with both having origins dating to the 1800s.<\/p>\n

The community’s historical value was officially acknowledged when Englewood received a Historic District designation in 1998. Today, the neighborhood works hard to honor its past while preserving its identity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dawn Scotland The Truth Reporter The Arts Commission hosted a public information session at St. Martin de Porres Church Wednesday, April 22 announcing a new public art project at Swayne Field, developed in partnership with the City of Toledo Department of Housing and Community Development. The organization is commissioning permanent art sculpture in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[250,17],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[345],"class_list":["post-19242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19246,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19242\/revisions\/19246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19242"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=19242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}