The School of Art Collection at the Center for Visual Arts at Kent State University holds more than 4,500 works of art and aesthetic objects, with a strong emphasis on community engagement. Over the past year, this commitment was highlighted through a series of collaborative events with the Wick Poetry Center, which has been serving northeast Ohio for over forty years. Known for hosting workshops and community programs that sustain the art of poetry, the Center partnered with the School of Art to create a dialogue between visual and literary expression.

During these workshops, artworks from the collection were displayed as inspiration for ekphrastic poetry—a form of writing that vividly describes or responds to works of art. Through this process, participants were invited to reimagine the pieces in poetic form, offering fresh perspectives and recontextualizing the collection through the voices of contemporary poets.