Mitchell D. Kahan, director and CEO of the Akron Art Museum for 26 years, will leave at the end of 2012 and assume the title of director emeritus. Kahan has served one of the longest tenures of any art museum leader in the country.

The community is invited to celebrate his accomplishments at an event from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday,when museum admission will be free.

Kahan’s commitment to the cultural arts and the community has had a lasting impact in Akron and Northeast Ohio. Under his direction, the Akron museum has enjoyed significant institutional growth: from a 25,000-square-foot facility to 83,000 square feet; from an endowment of just over $2 million to well over $20 million following three endowment campaigns; from a collection of 2,000 objects to over 5,000; and a capital campaign that surpassed its goal to raise $44.8 million.

Most significantly for future generations, Kahan raised almost $5 million in permanent endowment funds for purchases of art; there were no funds for art purchases when he arrived in 1986.

Kahan will be featured on several area radio and television shows including Around Noon at noon today on WCPN (90.3-FM) with Dee Perry and Forum 360 which will air on Time Warner position 23 (Akron, Bath Township, Canton, Cleveland, Macedonia and Youngstown) at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 19; 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Nov. 20; 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21; 10:30 a.m. Nov. 22; 2:30 p.m. Nov. 23; 4 p.m. Nov. 24; and 3:30 p.m. Nov. 25. It will also air at 6 a.m. Sunday on WONE (97.5-FM), 8 a.m. Sunday on WAKR (1590-AM) and Local On-Demand on Time Warner digital position 411.

Miller Horns remembrance

A memorial service for Miller Horns is planned for 2 p.m. Saturday at Summit Artspace, 140 E. Market St., Akron. Horns, 63, was one of Akron’s most outstanding artists, whose talents had been recognized far beyond our city. He died on Oct. 24.

Among his many honors, he was named the 2009 Outstanding Visual Artist of the Year by Akron Arts Alive and in 1989, he went to Rome as one of 24 U.S. artists awarded the prestigious Rome Prize, which provides fellowships for Americans to carry out independent study and research at the American Academy in Rome.

In 1999, he designed the admission button for First Night, Akron’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration.

He was a graduate of North High School and the Cleveland Institute of Art.

His extraordinary presence will be sorely missed.

Thursday

Reception — A free, public reception for artist Jose Paul Sacaridiz is being held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Gallery 732, Akron Woman’s City Club, 732 W. Exchange St. 330-762-6261. www.akronwomanscityclub.com.

Ladies’ Night Out — 5-8:30 p.m. at Second April Gallerie & Studios, 324 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton. Event includes refreshments, music, make and takes, raffles, reflexologists and chair massages ($1 a minute) and more. Each gallery and studio will be open. Tickets are $5 each (half goes to Domestic Violence Project). www.secondapril.org, 330-451-0924.

Friday

Christkindl Markt — Christkindl Markt, a Canton holiday tradition, will celebrate its 41st year, through Sunday. Organized by Canton Fine Arts Associates, an affiliate group of the Canton Museum of Art, Christkindl Markt is a juried, holiday-inspired arts and crafts show. This year’s Markt will feature 100 exhibitors throughout the Cultural Center for the Arts. (Exhibitor listings are at www.cantonchristkindl.org.) Proceeds benefit the Canton Museum of Art. Hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

Akron Women’s Art League — Member Exhibition opening reception is 6 to 8 p.m. today at Brecksville Center for the Arts, 8997 Highland Drive and remains on view through Dec 2. Information, call 440-526-6232 or email info@brecksvillearts.org.

By Hand — Eighth Annual By Hand Fine Art & Craft Fair is at the I-X Center, next to Cleveland Hopkins Airport at 1 I-X Center Drive, Cleveland, through Sunday. The event showcases more than 175 local and national artists. The indoor juried art festival features everything from fine oil paintings to functional pottery and textiles. 
Call 216-265-2663 or email rattewell@ixcenter.com.

Reception — A 5:30-8 p.m. opening reception will be held at the Sculpture Center, 1834 E. 123rd St., Cleveland, for Ali Momeni’s Animal Warmth (60s edition). The exhibit remains on view through Dec. 21. 216-229-6527, www.sculpturecenter.org/press.html.

Saturday

Making Monuments — Western Reserve Historical Society, in partnership with the Italian Consul, Detroit, will present a program from 1 to 3 p.m. in conjunction with the Domare: The Art & History of Italian Stone Carving in Northeast Ohio exhibit. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more details about the history and methods of stone cutting and stone carving from guest experts as well as tour the exhibit. Tickets are $15 and include parking and admission to the WRHS History Center. For more information, call 216-721-5722 or email: info@wrhs.org.

Sunday

Community Day — The Maltz Museum, 2929 Richmond Road, Beachwood, will hold a 1-4 p.m. Community Day from 1 to 4 p.m. Free with museum admission is an afternoon of games, food and fun from the Land of Israel. For more information, call 216-593-0575 or go to www.maltzmuseum.org.

Reception — A noon to 2 p.m. free, public reception is being held for Fabric Art, in the Parish Hall (off the Hallway Gallery), the Art Gallery of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1361 W. Market St., Akron. The exhibit, featuring works by former Beacon Journal reporter Connie Bloom (art quilts), Janet Bryant (handbags, felted and knitted), Maryanne Carlson (quilts), Joyce Feucht (embroidery), Pam Hays (banners), Barbara Krans Jenkins (silk painting), Gretchen Krans (pillows and scarves), D.”Spike” Nielsen (woven textiles) and Linda Tompkin (silk painting), remains on view through December. For more information, call 330-836-9327 or email church@stpaul-akron.org.

Tuesday

Rescheduled — Artist Joe Fyfe’s Akron visit was delayed by Superstorm Sandy. His free lecture (originally set for Nov. 6) has been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the University of Akron’s Myers School of Art Folk Hall, 150 E. Exchange St. For more information, call Cyndee Snider at 330-972-5196 or email cyndee@uakron.edu.

NEA Webinar — The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will hold a live webinar from 3 to 4 p.m. about how organizations can apply to the NEA for funding through the 2013 Our Town program. Our Town will invest in creative, inovative, arts-based projects for communities. Registration is not necessary. To attend the webinar, go to www.arts.gov/grants/apply/OurTown/November-webinars.html. 
The presentation along with a Q and A will be archived for later viewing at the same web location.

Worth Noting

Art Classes — The Studios of Jack Richard Creative School of Design, is holding art classes through Dec. 18. The classes will be held from 9 a.m. to noon and 7 to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays at 2250 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls. For more information, call 330-929-1575.