News

Meet AmeriCorps Member Tanasio Loudermill

Tanasio is serving his second LISC AmeriCorps term at the The Arts Commission.

Tanasio Loudermill is serving his second LISC AmeriCorps term at the Arts Commission. In his first year, Tanasio worked with local artists to coordinate arts programming for youth at Kent Branch Library and local schools. Some of these projects included helping  students paint mural boards that were installed on an abandoned house. At Kent Branch Library, youth were encouraged to reflect on their place in the neighborhood through photography, puppet-making, and collage. Their work was then displayed in the library. Recently, Tanasio facilitated local artists and high school students coming together to paint a picnic table located in a community garden and food forest.

His work is mainly focused on facilitating positive change in the underserved Old West End Neighborhood Initiatives (OWENI). He aims to connect residents and OWENI to surrounding neighborhoods through public art and facilitating community connections. Tanasio has been working with OWENI to connect area residents to the new manufacturing jobs in the neighborhood. Through a partnership with the Toledo Museum of Art and Center of Hope Family Services, OWENI was able to connect several residents to the new positions. Tanasio's work with OWENI residents is part of The Arts Commission's Creative Placemaking program, which uses arts-based community engagement initiatives to foster and deepen relationships that inspire meaningful change and enhancement in Toledo's neighborhoods.

After noticing that crime was a hot button topic in the neighborhood, Tanasio was able to bring out nearly 70 neighbors for a panel discussion and dialogue on the origins of crime. He is currently utilizing the increased presence to draw attention to neighborhood concerns and the potential for creative solutions.