Diane Davis-Sikora and Ted Sikora

When did you first get involved with the Akron Art Museum?

Ted and I had regularly visited the Museum since moving to Akron in 2002. In 2012 the institution was in the initial planning stages for the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden. I approached it about running an ideas competition for Kent State University’s third-year architecture students. It was a great opportunity for students to imagine how they might design such a culturally significant space in the heart of the city, and then later see the final design by OLIN Studio.

How has the Museum impacted you and your family?

It’s been invaluable to be able to come to the Museum as a family and have such rich shared art experiences. When our daughter Jada was younger there were always so many fun interactive projects. Being a filmmaker, Ted also had an opportunity to make several short documentaries for the Museum—one on El Anatsui, and another for Mitchell Kahan’s retirement in 2012.

Why is art important for individuals, families, and communities?

I love how art makes me lose myself in the way someone else sees the world. It presents insights into how others think or share stories and offers a chance to open our minds to new perspectives. Ted’s high school art teacher had a quote on the classroom wall that we love: “Science is the means by which we survive. The arts are what makes survival worthwhile.”

Are particular works special to you?

When we moved here in 2002 one of our first nights out was to see the My Reality: Contemporary Art and the Culture of Japanese Animation exhibition. What an exciting show. That was quite the “welcome to Akron” moment. The Nick Cave exhibition is also a favorite, as well as Pattern ID and El Anatsui’s Gravity and Grace.

Share a story or memory about the Akron Art Museum.

When Jordan Wong’s The 10,000 Things exhibition opened in the sculpture garden we were blown away by the graphic intensity, details, and symbolism in his work. Ted happened to be writing a comic book about a trippy woman in the 1960s who is covered in dimensional hieroglyphs. He asked Jordan to consider illustrating a cover for the series which subsequently became Jordan’s first published piece of comic book art. It is an astounding image.