Unique /yu̇-ˈnēk/
Adjective: Being the only one of its kind.
When describing The Darl Center, one word that applies is unique. Imagine spending over 50 years collecting the things you love, you find beautiful, you receive as a gift from the most interesting people in the world.
Now find a location with such imagination, designed to impress, and give it 120 years to find its real purpose. Match that collection of memories, artifacts, love affairs and luck with architecture that inspires and surprises. Put this mixture in the care of a master showman and storyteller and you have The Darl Center.
Discover a life filled with adventure, travel, curiosity, and opportunity, be inspired to create, to collect and to love every day. The Darl Center is a visual feast, the table is set with wonders and a taste for life that few have tried. We always ask our guests the same question. If you wanted to display what your life collected, what would that look like?
Our mission is to develop relationships with artists and craftspeople, allowing them opportunities, as well as engaging our local community in the understanding and appreciation of the arts.
To that end, The Darl Center for the Arts will create educational opportunities through the experience of art, support artists by providing space to create and showcase their art, and provide event space to support local non-profit organizations.
The Darl Center for the Arts is a museum dedicated to fostering community through the creation, presentation, and appreciation of art.
The future of The Darl Center will be determined by the artists, the charities and the organizations who create relationships that work in the space. Creation of new art, visual, spoken word, video and photography will all have a seat at the table. Artists or organizations interested in developing workshops, short term classes, lecture series and performance are all welcome to bring their ideas to the Center.
We are working diligently to carefully craft our Values statement. We will post it here as soon as we are satisfied we have the right words to encapsulate the expansive and inclusive values of The Darl Center for the Arts.
Meet the people behind The Darl Center for the Arts!
VICE PRESIDENT
Ryan is a published author, speaker, podcast producer, and communications professional based in Slavic Village. He has worked in nonprofits, including public libraries and arts organizations, for 20 years.
Board Member
Bio coming soon.
PRESIDENT
Janie has an extensive background in the non-profit sector. She is a passionate advocate for the arts and is dedicated to driving strategic decision making, developing sustainable funding models, and building strong partnerships that will support the long-term success of The Darl Center for the Arts.
SECRETARY
Molly worked as a business attorney in Seattle, focusing on the transactional legal needs of small businesses, non-profits, artists, and entrepreneurs. She has served on the Board of Directors of multiple organizations, and is an artist actively engaged in the Waterloo Arts community.
TREASURER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Darl is a artist, producer and entrepreneur. He owned and operated a major event company for 35 years, working with corporations and large charitable causes. He has been on many Boards of Directors. His extensive travels have included human rights work and teaching.
Board Member
Vivan is a lifelong theater & dance performer in Anchorage and an international traveler. She spent 20 years as an emergency management planner, project manager, and community engagement professional for an environmental consulting firm. She served as a board member for both the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the Alaska Forum.
Board Member
Lori has had a long career dancing, teaching, and choreographing in Cleveland. She performed with the Dee Hillier Dance Company, co-directed Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theater’s youth program, and was on the faculty of Cleveland City Dance. She has worked with Cleveland Playhouse, City Ballet of Cleveland, and countless others. Lori teaches at Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio.
Amidst these remarkable experiences, I cultivated a passion for collecting art and antiques, a journey that continues to enrich my life.
Our host Darl Schaaff grew up in a regular middle-class family, three sisters and a brother. The family did all those things families do. Dad worked, Mom raised the kids and managed the house. The kids were involved in sports, school and life. Darl was studying classical ballet. Nothing about his childhood was typical. Performing from the age of 7, discovering the good and the bad parts of being sexually active during my youth.
After running away at 16, life was then and always has been a series of chance encounters with people who provided inspiration and the remarkable gift of life well lived. After successful careers in Theater production, performing, business, world travel and intense love affairs, the creation of The Darl was the obvious choice, the next great adventure, where all the other things could come together and become the one great story of life.
A brief history of the Cleveland landmark
The Darl Center for the Arts wouldn’t exist without the generosity of others.
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