Art Without Limits 2026 Collage of posters and events

Art Without Limits Inspires Students to Turn Creative Passions Into Careers

y connecting students with working professionals across the arts, Kent State bridges classroom learning with real-world industry networks

On Oct. 14, alumni, community members, visiting speakers and Kent State University students, faculty and staff were invited to explore entrepreneurship in different creative career paths at the College of the Arts’ 2026 Art Without Limits event. The event, held in the Cartwright Hall Auditorium, was presented in partnership with the John S. and Marlene J. Brinzo Center for Entrepreneurship and the "Arts Entrepreneurship Podcast: Making Art Work."

The event’s benefits are twofold: to provide hands-on experiences across art industries for high school students and to exemplify the business and entrepreneurial side of those industries.

Speakers from various creative backgrounds came to provide entrepreneurial expertise in individual lectures and in a final panel presentation to end the day. The roster included:

  • Molly Fitzpatrick, an experienced textile designer and weaver
  • Giuseppe Guarrera, an internationally recognized Italian pianist
  • Lisa Smedley-Calderon, a costume designer in the film, music and fashion industries
  • Christian Woltman, a graphic designer and founder of Reference, a branding and design studio
  • Mikey Burton, a creator skilled in both graphic design and illustration
  • Aveena Sawyer, an experienced performer and educator in the performing arts industry
  • Mike Caparanis, founder and CEO of JAC Creative, a Cleveland-based marketing agency

Many fashion students were drawn to Smedley-Calderon's talk.

Lisa Smedley-Calderon at Art Without Limits 26

“I was in a professional seminar with Professor Hillary [Stone], and she had mentioned that we had a costume designer coming in, and so I'm also interested in styling, and she has said that she's also a celebrity stylist,” Ayla Barbeau, a junior fashion merchandising major, said.  “I wanted to come in, see what she had to say, learn how to get my foot into the industry, how to go throughout it and build my career and just get some tips on it.”

The fashion industry is notoriously competitive, and students were eager to get advice on how to best navigate their careers.

“Since I'm a graduating senior, I really want to get my foot in the door any way I can. It's a hard industry to get into,” Tehya Henry, a senior fashion merchandising major, said. “It was also really inspiring to see a woman of color in this position because I'm also one of color. So, I just really wanted to hear about her personal experience and how I can get into the industry and build my portfolio.”

Alumnus Mikey Burton at Art Without Limits 26
Mikey Burton

Sarah Rizk, a junior animation game design major, has attended Art Without Limits in the past and came back this year to listen to Burton, a Kent State alumnus who describes himself as “not quite a graphic designer, not exactly an illustrator,” but who has worked for many major brands.

“I came last year to this, and it’s really cool to just hear professionals who are working in the industry and giving feedback on how it works,” Rizk said. “I always learn a lot from it.”

Savanah Hernandez, a sophomore musical theatre major, was excited to listen to Sawyer.

“I just thought it was a cool opportunity to come see somebody in my field, doing what I dreamed of doing,” Hernandez said. “She talked about taking business classes, and I'm actually a marketing minor. So that was really nice to hear that I'm doing something smart.”

Nick Petrella, John S. Brinzo professor of practice in the John S. and Marlene J. Brinzo Center for Entrepreneurship and assistant professor in the College of the Arts, told Kent State Today about the importance of this event for students in the arts.

The event was also open to high school students in the area. Roughly 550 high school students came to listen to speakers and participate in hands-on sessions offered in different creative disciplines, including a live dance rehearsal, acting and musical theatre workshops, interactive music sessions with the Kent State Steel Band, fashion workshops, guided art sessions, digital media production, learning about art curation, visual communication and animation game demonstrations.

“We started Art Without Limits back in 2022 as a way to teach our art students, all arts, about entrepreneurship, because it’s incumbent upon universities and institutions to let their students know there’s more that you can do with your degree other than simply playing or teaching,” Petrella said.

Many people may not realize how many business-related roles there are in creative fields.

Giuseppe Guarrera speaks at Art Without Limits
Musician Giuseppe Guarrera

“Whether people want to admit it or not, art is a business,” Petrella said. “With your degree, you learn a lot about the making of art, and then by using different implements and so on, you understand what the value propositions are of those. How to sell those. Empathetically, as a musician myself, I understand what he’s [Guarrera] going through when he’s backstage because I’ve been backstage.”

Guarrera was the first recipient of the Piano Cleveland and Kent State Arts Entrepreneurship Residency, which is funded through support from Vic and Cheryl Petrovic.

"The residents are selected to learn about business and entrepreneurship, and then it culminates in creating an actual revenue-generating venture," Petrella said.

Guarrera hoped that students who came to his talk left with the knowledge that there is always a way to find space in the industry.

“I think there is always a way to find space. If you imagine the concert world as a room, it’s often a very tiny room, and there isn’t much space. Competitions mean everybody is trying hard to access that room,” Guarrera said. “But I think there is also a way to create a new space rather than trying to compete to enter an existing one. I think that is more interesting because it requires creativity and imagination."

During a break between speakers, winners of the ArtsLaunch! Grant were announced. The ArtsLaunch! Grant is an annual competition that "supports student proposals for new art and new arts ventures with the potential to contribute to the arts economy." Winners receive $500 to fund the execution of their proposed projects.

ArtsLaunch! Winners at Art Without Limits
From left to right: Buchanan, Kay, Kreger

This year, winners included Kitayla Buchanan, a fashion merchandising major; Sydney Kay, a graduate student pursuing a double major in studio art and print media and photography; Addison Kreger, a visual communication design major; and Belle Espinal, a graduate geography major.

During Art Without Limits, students from many different creative backgrounds gained a better understanding of their industries and what the future may hold for them.

“It’s sometimes hard to see past college,” Rizk said, “and I just think it’s really useful to be able to sit in a space where people who are working in the industry you want to work in say, ‘This is possible. You can do this.’”

Learn more about Art Without Limits programming and see the full schedule and guest biographies.

POSTED: Tuesday, October 27, 2026 11:32 AM
Updated: Tuesday, October 27, 2026 12:38 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Reese Urbach, Flash Communications with support from Alanna Dowdy and Lexie Sweeney
PHOTO CREDIT:
Lexie Sweeney, College of the Arts staff
© 2026 Kent State University All rights reserved.