The Akron/ Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau will host the 12th Annual Zenith Awards, May 8, during a luncheon ceremony at the John S. Knight Center beginning at 11:30 a.m. Celebrated during National Tourism Week (May 4 through 12), the Zenith Awards recognize contributions made to and by Summit County's hospitality industry.

In addition to the Zenith Awards being given in seven traditional award categories (point of interest/attraction, community/special event, art/culture, outdoor/recreation, restaurant/dining, theatre/entertainment and shopping/retail) and four specialty categories (Hospitality Volunteer, Friend of Hospitality, Hospitality Website and Hospitality Partnership), Dr. Mitchell Kahan, Director Emeritus of the Akron Art Museum will be receiving the 2013 Chairman's Award; the award is bestowed upon deserving industry leaders by Gregory Bean, Chairman of the Bureau's Board of Directors.

The new chief curator of the Akron Art Museum, Janice Driesbach, is also curating The University of Akron Myers School of Art's 2013 Juried Student Exhibition.

The free exhibition runs Feb. 4-28 in the Emily Davis Gallery in Folk Hall, 150 E. Exchange St. Hours are Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free opening reception is Thursday, Feb. 7, from 6 to 8 p.m. Free parking for visitors is available during the reception, and metered spaces are available during gallery hours.

UA has offered art classes since it began as Buchtel College in 1870, and the talents of UA art students have been showcased in juried exhibitions for the past 77 years.

It's a striking contrast that the Akron Art Museum's CEO and director, Mitchell Kahan, is surrounded by such magnificent modern art playing out in the spacious galleries, yet the desk in his office is a nondescript wooden behemoth showing its share of scars.

That desk seems to play testament to the dedication of Kahan, who'll soon be stepping down after 26 years, that his thrust has always been about furthering the museum and everything else seems just peripheral.

He arrived in Akron in 1986 when he says "things were just terrible here," a time when there was virtually no funds to grow the museum's collection, citing, however, that the former director spent the money "very wisely."

On Sept. 13, Akron Film+Pixel Night will feature seven local short films, Q&A with attending filmmakers and acclaimed indie videogames. The free program starts at the Akron Art Museum at 7 p.m. and moves on to Summit Artspace at 8:15 p.m., where free refreshments will be served.

"Our multi-day international film festival returns next year, but this year, we didn't want to miss the chance to showcase the cream-of-the-crop work we're seeing locally," said Steve Felix, executive director. "And we couldn't resist showing off two extremely fun and not-yet-released new games."

It is common for artists to have a clear vision of how they want their exhibits to be set up, but for El Anatsui, he leaves it up to your imagination.

"Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui," appearing from now through Oct. 7 at the Akron Art Museum, is sure to be different at each venue it's displayed, because the artist encourages the staff to "sculpt" each piece as it's being installed. Organized by Ellen Rudolph, interim chief curator at the museum, in collaboration with the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, and funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the exhibit has never showed in North American and will tour nationally through 2014.

According to an Akron Art Museum press release, "Gravity and Grace" highlights Anatsui's most recent work and features 12 monumental metal wall and floor sculptures as well as a series of drawings displaying the artist's process. He is known for transforming discarded objects into shimmering, pliable artworks, and he draws on artistic and aesthetic traditions from his birth country of Ghana, his home in Nigeria and various Western artforms.

A smudge of paint on Howard Finster’s thumb turned into a successful art career and international acclaim. There's still time to see Finster's groundbreaking exhibit, "Stranger in Paradise: The Works of Reverend Howard Finster," at the Akron Art Museum through June  3.

This is the first major retrospective of the folk art icon, offering visitors an in-depth look at the life and career of a visionary artist represented in the museum’s collection.

“We’ve been wanting outsider or folk art because we actively collect it,” said Ellen Rudolph, Akron Art Musuem's interim chief curator. “We already have a few of pieces at the museum, so it was a wonderful chance to show more of his works.”

Both lectures sponsored by The University of Akron’s Synapse Series and Integrated Bioscience Program

On April 5 at 6 p.m., Ilaria Mazzoleni will talk about “Bio-mimicry: Innovation in Architecture Inspired by Nature” in the Folk Hall Auditorium, 150 E. Exchange St., on the UA campus. A faculty member at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, Mazzoleni investigates issues of sustainable architecture and building technologies.

On April 26 at 7 p.m., Jenny Sabin will discuss “Matrix Architecture” at the Akron Art Museum, One South High Street in downtown Akron. An architectural designer, artist and educator at Cornell University, Sabin is a 2011 Knight Fellow who is at the forefront of investigating the intersections of architecture and science and applying insights and theories from biology and mathematics to the design of material structures.

A ticket is required for the April 26 program and may be obtained for free at: akron-art-museum1.ticketleap.net/jenny-sabin.

The Akron Art Museum offers a series of Kids Art Classes, which are ideal weekend activities for the remaining winter months. Children will get a chance to experience the museum's renowned art collection and create masterpieces of their own.

The classes are designed for children ages 6 to 12 years old, and adults are welcome but not required to attend with children. The cost for each class is $10 for each member child, and $15 for each non-member child. Pre-registration is required and space is limited, according to the museum.

Sculpture: Cast Away is Feb. 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Participants will add a third dimension to their art skills by viewing the newly installed sculpture "Seer (Alice I)" by artist Kiki Smith then creating their own sculptures with magically messy (and fast-drying) plaster casting cloth.

Learn more about the man behind the gorilla mask tonight, as The Amerikans series will feature "The Big G" at the Akron Art Museum Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

"The Big G," is a short film about Akronite Sim Graham and his work as the "man in the gorilla suit" on Arlington Road.  Previously released episodes of The Amerikans also will be shown at the event.

Produced by Oberlin based Arcanum Productions, The Amerikans is a series of short films profiling individuals within Northeast Ohio and beyond. The series uses fictional film techniques to create documentary style pieces intended to illuminate and elevate everyday life into high art.

Nearly 200 people gathered at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn for Akron Community Foundation’s 56th annual meeting, which featured stories of growth, grants and personal philanthropy.

Outgoing Treasurer Mark Allio announced that as of March 31, the community foundation held more than $135 million in philanthropic capital, a 7.45 percent growth over the previous year. The foundation’s investment returns of more than 12 percent continued to outperform the market average, he said.