TOLEDO, OH.- The Toledo Museum of Art was recently awarded $500,000 from the Owens Corning Foundation in support of its Art Out of School program, an outreach initiative to bring free artmaking opportunities into the community. The gift is specifically focused on supporting the partnership between TMA and Lucas Metropolitan Housing (LMH). The Owens Corning Foundation’s generous commitment will spread the funds out over the next three years to align with the agreement between TMA and LMH, which extends through June 2026.

TMA and LMH signed a partnership agreement in June that extends art experiences to more than 18,000 residents of the housing authority’s 10 campuses within a two-mile radius of the Museum. Approximately 100 youth have already engaged with TMA through programming at Ravine Park and Birmingham Terrace (East Toledo), McClinton Nunn (Junction) and Port Lawrence (Warehouse District). Other site partners for the Art Out of School program include the Frederick Douglass Community Association, Toledo Lucas County Public Library’s Mott Branch and the Tabernacle Church/Art Tatum Zone.

“Owens Corning and the Owens Corning Foundation have been fixtures in the Toledo community for years, and we are privileged to benefit from their philanthropic support,” said Adam Levine, the Toledo Museum of Art’s Edward Drummond and Florence Scott Libbey director and CEO. “This gift allows us to expand our community outreach efforts, bringing Art Out of School artmaking and art engagement activities into the LMH community.”

This gift continues a legacy of support for the Museum from the Toledo manufacturing giant and community anchor. For nearly 70 years, Owens Corning has been a significant philanthropic partner to TMA dating back to one of the first significant corporate gifts in the Museum’s recorded history in 1954.

“Art Out of School brings world-class programming from the Toledo Museum of Art to people in surrounding areas. Programs such as this align with Owens Corning Foundation’s aim to empower people in the community,” said Don Rettig, president of the Owens Corning Foundation.

Corporate philanthropy has been crucial for taking TMA programming outside of the Museum’s walls into the community. Art Out of School is now present at nine partner sites within a two-mile radius of TMA. Outreach efforts at the Grace Community Center and Wayman Palmer YMCA are made possible by Mercy Health.