Live performance is alive in every moment: the dancer’s breath before a leap, the instant a bow meets the string, the trumpet’s call that resonates in your chest. These once-only moments connect us, heal us, and remind us we belong to something larger than ourselves. These are what TAPA considers the "live arts." For more than 85 years, the members of the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) have provided live arts for the cultural life of the region. Together, it presents more than 200 live performances annually and provides outstanding education and outreach programs to nearly 15,000 students each year.

Brand Rationale & Strategic Direction

Since its inception in 2019, the Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts was designed to be an anonymous parent brand behind Toledo Symphony and Toledo Ballet. However, a 2023 feasibility study with close constituents (donors, patrons, parents) revealed deep brand confusion. Many did not know what TAPA stood for, how to pronounce it, or what it encompassed. As the organization grew—with increased integration across performance, education, and administration—the limitations of a faceless brand became unsustainable. With the opening of the Toledo Center for Live Arts, the opportunity emerged to unify identity, energize communications, and better reflect the organization’s values and ambitions.

Read the full Press Release

The new logo includes a mark, which the organization calls the “Ascent.” Composed of interconnected shapes (rectangles or squares), it represents Live Arts Toledo’s spirit of movement, progress, and growth—ascending together through performances, classes, and programs that uplift the community.