Founded in 1959 as the City Culture Commission, The Arts Commission compiled the city’s first comprehensive local arts calendar beginning in 1960. By the end of the decade, the organization was brought under the City’s Division of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry to aid in public art investments at Crosby Gardens (now Toledo Botanical Gardens).

In 1977 significant legislation passed that cemented The Arts Commission’s role in the community with the founding of the City of Toledo’s One Percent for Art program. Overseen by The Arts Commission’s Art in Public Places Committee, the program allocates a portion of City funds for public art. Toledo’s One Percent for Art program was the first in Ohio, among the first in the nation, and has since served as the adopted model for other regional agencies. It continues to this day and features an impressive collection of over 150 pieces of public art with work from more than 100 local, national, and international artists installed in nearly every neighborhood in the city.

Join us for an overview of the program, highlights from the collection and a sneak peek of upcoming public art projects for 2026 and ‘27.
Nathan Mattimoe has managed the Art in Public Places program for thirteen years and has been Director of the program for four years. He has a BA in Sculpture from the University of Toledo and is currently the Board Chair for Toledo Design Collective, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the function and aesthetic of the Toledo region. He is also a visual artist, DJ and music producer.