On the corner of North Water Street and Fairchild Avenue, there’s a sign that reads: “KENT.” 

Main Street Kent, the nonprofit creators of the titular town sign, use the installation to host a variety of local artists, featuring one selected work for at least a year. 

It’s been a year since the sign has seen a new coat of paint, and Main Street Kent has invited artists to submit whatever they think summarizes Kent in roughly twenty square feet of space.  

Students, professional artists and anyone in between are encouraged to submit their work for this contest, which will accept submissions until Feb. 28. Entrants will be notified by March 18, and the winner will receive $1,000 from the organizers as a reward. 

Originally created as a commission piece, the sign is now used as a revolving door for artists’ interpretations of Kents’ community and culture. When first commissioned, local artist and Kent State professor Taryn McMahon approached this opportunity with an abstract vision. 

McMahon’s vision for what to should be featured from the town of Kent was a combination of natural and man-made sights.  “I was interested in making something that was kind of abstract and that vaguely pointed to Kent, Ohio,” McMahon explains, “as this place where industry and the natural environment converge.” 

The location of the sign lends itself to this idea, as just thirty feet behind it, the Cuyahoga River offers its own artwork. From the sign, you can also see the town’s Mill District. 

This blend of sights was vital to McMahon’s design, as “it was a more abstract kind of feeling of Kent as a town that you know has both moments of the natural world shining through, but also these moments of industry.”  

After three back-and-forth revisions, McMahon and Main Street Kent landed on a product that the local artist says, “represented what they wanted, and then also something that I felt represented me as an artist.”

The most recent local artist to have their work on the sign describes a more difficult time getting their work featured on the sign, having to submit work in two different years. When Akron-based artist Kristina Gauer submitted her design for the contest’s first iteration, it ended up not being chosen. 

“I spent like three weeks on it, and I didn’t get it the first year,” Gauer says.  “It really bummed me out.”  Rejection is just a part of the business, according to the artist, who chose to turn that into a learning moment for herself and other artists. “You can go for years without winning something or getting an award,” Gauer says. “But I think it’s important to like your work without validation, because validation often doesn’t come.” 

Gauer says the rejection almost discouraged her from making a design for the sign this year, but after getting laid off from her full-time job, she decided to give it another shot. Her attempt this year was received with much more enthusiasm, and she made a point to credit her success to perseverance. 

“It’s that cliche, you just got to stick to something and be like, stubborn and determined,” Gauer says, “because if I gave up, I wouldn’t have won it this year.”

For the design itself, we opted to focus entirely on the outdoor activities that Kent has to offer, saying that “you really can’t get around it.” 

The artist also gave credit to the artists who were chosen before her, as they gave her ideas of what to look for in the art that won the years prior. 

For students and artists looking to submit something to the contest this year, Gauer had some guidance to bestow for what she thinks should end up on the sign soon. It’s true that all three of the designs chosen have heavy emphasis on Kent’s trees and rivers, and it could be time to move to another facet of the town.  

Gauer suggests representing the human aspect of our town, “I mean, you can’t get Kent without Kent State, and it would be cool to get students involved more so you could think about not just nature, but the people, the community of Kent.” 

If you are looking to create and submit something to this contest, you can follow the link here to the submission page. Whether your design is chosen or not, Kristina Gauer’s advice will always ring true: be sure to make something that you like.

Myles Arnott is a writer. Contact him at [email protected].