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Art Boxes offer free art exchange with a twist for Tiffin artists and residents

The Art Boxes are refurbished from repurposed newspaper racks. Artists and residents will be able to leave artwork or take a piece from the box for free.

TIFFIN, Ohio — A new art initiative is coming to the Tiffin area and it's about more than just beautifying the community.

Last year, the Poignon Project in Tiffin launched the Community Art Shed, distributing free, donated art supplies to anyone who needed them.

Now, owner Ryan Poignon says he has come up with a concept to distribute all of that new art: Art Boxes.

Poignon is using 10 donated newspaper racks and repurposing them as a place where artists can drop off a piece of art to give away for free, and then take some art for themselves.

"Really, getting these boxes into downtown businesses and creating those destinations where people may have been to a business and learn about it through the art box is a really good thing," Poignon said. "So each box will represent what business and what type of business it is."

The boxes themselves will act as a piece of art, as each business will decorate them as they see fit.

For the box at the Poignon Project, Poignon recruited his nephew, up-and-coming artist himself, Hudson.

Credit: Jon Monk
Ryan Poignon and his nephew Hudson

Hudson says he's excited at the idea of the art inside these Art Boxes inspiring more people to take on an artistic hobby.

"Just getting it to other people, so they can try to do it and get into art," Hudson said.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a business like an art studio to house one of these. It can be a fashion store and we share fashion magazines and trends through this box," Poignon said. "So, it's a way for the consumer and the business, and the artists to connect with each other."

Poignon says the first round of these art boxes will be primed and then delivered to the host businesses by the first week of September. 

Then it is up to them to decorate and get them installed in their businesses for the community to start using.

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