The Mansfield Fine Arts Guild established its roots in 1945, as a group of artists presenting exhibitions and classes in private spaces in post WWII Richland County. They lugged canvases, easels, and art supplies to various locations, all interpreting the same landscapes and scenes in their own unique styles. The very first exhibition was held in May of 1946 at the Mansfield Public Library, which began the tradition of The Annual May Show. Soon, demand encouraged The Guild to move away from private spaces and operate out of the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library, Kingwood Center, and the Leland Hotel during the 1950s and ‘60s. In 1968 The Guild hired Daniel Butts III, its first full-time director, and tasked him with creating a permanent home for the museum. A trustee of The Fine Arts Guild, Clara Louise Black, generously donated seven acres of land from the Black Family Estate in 1969. Her father, noted industrialist Frank Black, was the founder of the Ohio Brass Company; a pivotal industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Margaret Black, who would become a lifelong force for the Art Center, hired architect Don Hisaka on the recommendation of Minoru Yamasaki, who was otherwise engaged.
Architect Don Hisaka faced adversity in his youth, when his family was forced from their farm in Stockton, CA to the Rohwer Relocation Camp in Arkansas, with other displaced Japanese Americans during WWII. He earned his high school diploma, and met his future wife during his time at the internment camp. After the war, Hisaka went on to earn his degree from UC Berkeley, and study architecture at Harvard, before joining Minoru Yamasaki’s Detroit firm for five years. Hisaka went on to travel the world, and then opened his own architectural firm, Hisaka and Associates, in Cleveland, OH.
Margaret Black met with Don Hisaka at the site, and together they envisioned the space. As they walked the land, they paused for a moment, and Hisaka immediately began sketching. The innovative building, a sculptural form in a wooded setting, was designed and built in 1971. Hisaka’s brilliant architectural design soon received recognition through the Progressive Architecture National Citation Award in the same year. Although some disagreed with painting the exterior panels bright white, Hisaka believed that the white paint enhanced the building’s shape, providing a sharp contrast to the natural wooded landscape. Both the interior and exterior of the building provide a stark modern backdrop that lend perfectly to artwork. The Mansfield Art Center opened its doors in 1971 with its first exhibition featuring works lent by Agnes Gund, an international patron of Modern Art. In 2014, the Ohio Historical Society listed the Mansfield Art Center as one of the top 100 architectural buildings in Ohio.
In 2019 the Mansfield Art Center began the Art Rising project, spearheaded by Margaret Black and Executive Director George Whitten, raising funds to build a much needed expansion of the Education Wing. Construction was briefly halted by the COVID-19 global pandemic but the new education wing was completed nonetheless and opened its doors in 2021. The incredible new wing includes a state of the art glass blowing hot shop and a new, larger, state of the art ceramic studio. Financing for the new wing of the art center was funded through grants, donations, and the General Assembly of the State of Ohio designating $750,000 of the funds needed. In 2022, the General Assembly of Ohio designated $50,000 to cover the costs of finishing construction of an all seasons outdoor pavilion as well as funds to make the entire art center ADA accessible. Designed by Perspectus Architecture, the expansion earned an Honor Award at the 2022 AIA Cleveland Design Awards.
Many notable gallery exhibitions have been shown at the Mansfield Art Center over the years including The Art of Brick by artist Nahan Sawaya in 2013 and Paintings and Assemblages in 2022 by John Mellencamp, a Grammy Award winner, member of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and an accomplished painter. The Annual May Show at the MAC also provides all Ohio artists a chance to display their work in a beautiful setting each year. In 2023 a record breaking 600 entries were brought in from 207 artists representing the best of Ohio artists working in a wide variety of mediums.
In 2022, The Mansfield Art Center provided art classes to over 1,700 individuals in over 300 classes ranging from drawing, painting, glassblowing, tufting, ceramics, 3D printing, digital art and animation, stained glass, glass fusing, and jewelry. With over 60k annual visitors, and 1500 students served through free field trips and outreach programs each year, The Mansfield Art Center continues to evolve and grow along with its mission.
