Meet the Judges

The Activated Spaces committee asked four local judges to help identify the top candidates who would be eligible for the People’s Choice award.

Amanda Sue Allen

Artist and Two-Time People’s Choice Winner

I was born and raised in Dayton on a snowy January day. Ever since then my parents have raised me to follow my passion. My mother nurtured my creativity, and my father instilled a certain pride in my soul that not many have. As a child I quickly found my love for art. I shined in my grade school art classes. In High school I had two very influential Art teachers whom molded my techniques and confidence. In college, my professors pushed me to find myself and the artist I am today. Along with loving my city; I enjoy traveling this great country and experiencing life and all its joys along the way. With everything I experience, I use within each painting I produce. What I love most about painting is showing people the world threw my eyes. In 2011 I won the spring and fall People’s choice award. Since being involved with Activated Spaces I’ve met many amazing people who enjoy my vision. I pride myself in being an artist, a mother, and a Daytonian.

 

Carli Dixon

Artist

Carli Dixon is a native Daytonian, born in Yellow Springs and raised in the Miami Valley. She attended The American University in Washington, DC, and returned in 1996 to start a family-business with her mom. She is now President of Freezeframe | bloombeads, a local company that preserved fresh flowers and turns them into lasting art and jewelry. Carli is married to Hamilton Dixon, local metal sculptor, and in 2010 they became co-owners of a multi-unit building complex on E. Third Street. The complex is now known as the Atta Girl Art Complex, and is in a constant state of slow but steady improvement. To see updates of progress, and to get a sense of their massive undertaking, check out www.attagirl.homestead.com.

Alexis Larsen

Events and Marketing Specialist, Dayton Art Institute

The Dayton Art Institute is committed to enriching lives and serving the community by creating meaningful experiences with art.

Located at 456 Belmonte Park in Dayton, the museum’s collection has grown significantly through generous gifts of artwork by local donors, including important Oceanic art, Asian art, and American fine and decorative art collections. The collection spans 5,000 years of art history.

The Dayton Art Institute also hosts concerts, family and youth programs, classes, social events and more. The museum’s signature events include the annual Art Ball and Oktoberfest. The Experiencenter, the museum’s interactive gallery for families and young people, offers thematically based exhibitions that stimulate curiosity and creativity.

Current special exhibits include Changing Landscapes Chinese fiber art and Maya Lin: Flow. Look for Stephen Knapp’s Lightpaintings exhibit to debut this fall.

 

Charlie Campbell

Local celebrity

Charlie Campbell became employed at Miami-Jacobs College in 1972 when the college was located at Second and Ludlow. In the mid ’70s, Miami-Jacobs College and Charlie re-located to 400 E. Second Street, and just after the turn of the century, both Charlie and the college moved to Second and Patterson. Charlie officially “retired” in 2003, and because he has been active in downtown and surrounding Dayton community for 40 years, he decided to become the cheerleader for the Dayton area.

Each week he broadcasts the positive news happening in the Gem City, via his e-mail newsletter, It’s Great In Dayton; on-air at WYSO; and in print as a columnist for the Dayton City Paper.

For more information, visit his website www.greatdayton.com.