The Dayton Visual Arts Center is now: The Contemporary Dayton

DAYTON (Thursday, September 27, 2018) – Eva Buttacavoli, Executive Director of the Dayton Visual Arts Center, has announced a new name and new brand as the arts organization transitions from its 25th anniversary in 2017 and begins its next era as greater Dayton’s contemporary arts center.

“We remain committed to presenting local artists to the community just as we always have,” said Buttacavoli. “The new brand and new name – the contemporary dayton – simply reflect the true nature of the art we have been presenting for the last several years. We believe our new name and our new tagline, “Art that’s now” says it all.

Buttacavoli explained that over the last several years the organization has evolved by remaining steadfast in its role of presenter of local artists’ works while also introducing regional and national artists’ works, often in the same exhibitions.

Board President Chuck Vella described the inspiration for a new brand, the rebranding process, and how the new name and tagline were developed. “We – Eva, and members of our board of trustees – wanted a way to recognize that both the popular and critical recognition of the shows had grown in a significant manner. The creative and technical excellence of the artists whose work we are presenting, in addition to the fact we are curating (seeking and selecting relevant themes and artists) all of the exhibitions we present and that the majority of them are first-in-the-region or first-ever seen premieres, helped us realize that we were and are functioning as the region’s contemporary art center. The name and the way we talked about ourselves did not necessarily reflect our growth as an organization.”

Vella explained that the organization engaged L2 Marketing Research to conduct a consumer study to better understand the opportunity to reposition the visual arts center. Concurrently, LMG, a local marketing and branding firm was also engaged to develop the new name and brand.

“Both L2 Marketing Research and LMG have a national footprint and national clients – they’re among the top firms in their respective fields, so we knew we were in good hands,” Vella said. “We assembled a panel of individuals from the community – artists, donors, heads of recently re-branded organizations, members of our board and other stakeholders – to help guide LMG and be guided by LMG. It was a great experience with, we believe, great results.”

“The team at LMG has enjoyed partnering with DVAC to explore the evolution of this storied brand including new positioning, naming, logo, and design system,” said Doug Lunne, President of LMG. “This transformation reflects the unique role and place of this institution in making our region a destination for amazing contemporary art experiences. Dayton is fortunate to have such a strong arts resource in our community, and we hope the new branding will serve the contemporary well for years to come.”

Buttacavoli added that the new name and tagline were chosen very carefully.

“In the art world, the expression ‘modern art’ describes art created and reflective of the time from the late 1800’s to the post-World War Two era,” Buttacavoli said. “The term contemporary art is all that dynamic art that has happened since 1945 and continues to the present. Contemporary art is, literally, art that’s now.”