The panel starts at 7 pm. It is free and open to the public. Reserve your seat by registering at https://bit.ly/2L5Qs3p.

The gallery located at 140 E. Market St., Akron, opens at noon that day so feel free to come in and browse before the panel starts. Summit Artspace’s free panel discussions have been gaining in popularity as community members come to appreciate the forum as a place to learn more about the skill and talent of local artists.

The show will open with an artist reception, Friday, May 25, 5-8 p.m., in the main gallery at Summit Artspace. Awards will be announced at 6:30 pm. There is no admission fee.

In the early twentieth century, Akron’s skilled women artists were struggling for recognition and at a disadvantage because of their gender, said Deanna Clucas, a league member and local artist. Twenty women gathered together in 1933 and agreed it was time to form an Akron society of women who liked to paint.

Gertrude Seiberling, the matriarch of the prominent Seiberling family and the mistress of Akron’s Stan Hywet mansion, was one of those founders, Clucas pointed out.

More than 8 decades later, the prize-winning league is still a force to be reckoned with on the local art scene. Members create works with oils, acrylics, watercolor, pastels, colored pencils, graphite and mixed media as well as fiber art, photography, sculpture, collage and printmaking. The art varies from realistic to abstract genres.

An original mission of the group continues with the funding and awarding of art scholarships to female high school seniors continuing their art education.

Summit Artspace’s main gallery is open Thursdays and Fridays, noon to 7 p.m.; and Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Additional hours are 5-9 p.m. June 2 for Artwalk, 5-9 p.m., and for 3rd THURSDAY on June 21, which runs 4-7 p.m. at Summit Artspace.

Parking is available behind the Summit Artspace building when visiting the gallery. Summit Artspace is handicap accessible and has an elevator.

Summit Artspace is a non-profit community art center organization that provides studio, exhibit and programming spaces in Summit County and the surrounding area for local artists and arts organizations; and is a center for art education open to all residents. Contact Summit Artspace at 330-376-8480. On the Web at summitartspace.org.  Find us on Facebook, on Twitter @AkronAreaArts, Instagram and Snapchat.