10/08/2021
Paul Riner is the owner of Riner Rentals a property management business here in our community. There's a good chance you have seen their signs around town, but did you know behind each of these signs is a local business owner who has a passion for financially supporting the arts in our community? When Rocktown Arts reached out to Paul for financial support for our 6x6x30 Award money, Paul went above and beyond his previous sponsorship and said he'd cover all of our awards for the upcoming exhibition!
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place Awards total $1000 and entries for artists to participate in this exhibition are due next Friday! (Go to www.Rocktownarts.org for entry info.)
As a thank you to Paul and Riner Rentals, we thought we'd ask Paul a few questions to get a better idea of why Paul chooses to support our local visual arts community. Here is a bit of what Paul had to share.
Rocktown: What do you see as being the value of the visual arts in our community?
Paul: I think that the visual arts can be important in so many ways for our community. As a business owner, I see the effect of the arts on the growth of our area. People want to be here in part because of our growing, evolving, and vibrant arts community. As a resident, I enjoy what the arts bring to our lives, enriching the experience of being a part of this community. As a father, I love that my kids can be exposed to the arts everywhere they go. As someone who has experienced all of the turmoil in the last year and a half (like everyone else), I have seen the way that the arts can help us heal, overcome, connect, reconcile, grow, and express gratitude. So the arts, really, touch every part of our lives!
Rocktown: What have been some of your favorite projects that you have helped to support financially?
Paul: In the last year and a half, there have been a few projects that really have been a pleasure to be a part of. Art Felt Thanks was a collaboration between Arts Council of the Valley, Rocktown Arts, and my company, Riner Rentals, to support artists and local frontline caregivers during COVID. Pairs of artists worked together to create murals of masked workers that were placed on yard signs and sold. Proceeds were split between the artists and the Sentara Healthcare RMH Emergency Fund to help employees and staff there. It was a really gratifying project for everyone! Another was Jeff Guinn's Language of Love - Harrisonburg sculpture behind the Farmer's Market Pavillion, in partnership between many organizations and sponsors, including Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and Arts Council of the Valley. It's accessibility to our whole community, without limitation, made it an especially rewarding project to be a small part of. I also serve and give back on the Arts Council of the Valley Board as Vice President. I think that giving back both with time and financially to support the growth of the arts in our communities is without doubt one of the things that I get the most satisfaction from!
Thank you, Paul and Riner Rentals!
