Thanks to generous benefactors, the University of Akron Mary Schiller Myers School of Art has been able to bring to Akron speakers of note in various areas of the visual arts during the past several years.

Two such artists will be at the school during the next week — one a graphic designer, the other a photographer — demonstrating just how wide-ranging specialties in the visual arts can be.

On Friday, an 8 p.m. free public lecture by Ken Barber, type director and principal letterer at the digital font foundry of House Industries of Yorklyn, Del., is part of a two-day visit by the graphic designer.

On Wednesday, British photographer, photographic historian and cultural critic, Martin Parr gives a free 6:30 p.m. talk at the Akron Art Museum's Charles and Jane Lehner Auditorium, 1 S. High St.

As part of the Myers Artist-in-Residence Program, Barber will work with graphic design students to transform pencil drawings into stand-alone signets by following a few lettering basics and type standards.

His Friday talk will be The History of House Industries in Folk Hall Auditorium, 150 E. Exchange St., Akron.

Parr's talk will be Photobiography, and is part of the Myers School of Art Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Photography Series.

Parr likes to use photography to ''create fiction out of reality . . . by taking society's natural prejudice and giving this a twist.''

The Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Photography Series has been established to bring visiting photographers and artists twice annually to the University of Akron to present public lectures and master
classes with students in the Mary Schiller Myers School of Art.

The Bidwells share an interest in photography. Highlights from the couple's photography collection are currently on view at the Akron Art Museum through May 25.

The Myers Artist-in-Residence Program brings in nationally and internationally known guest artists and designers.

For more information, call 330-972-5951 or go to http://art.uakron.edu/art.

Today

Gallery Sketches — Mark Soppeland, University of Akron art professor, leads a short lesson in drawing techniques from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Akron Art Museum's McDowell Galleries. ''Sketching in the Galleries: The Impressionist Methods of Light and Space: Looking at the Shaw Collection'' is free for members and nonmembers with paid admission into the museum, 1 S. High St., Akron. Drawing boards and paper provided, restricted to graphite drawing media. 376-9185 or http://www.akronartmuseum.org/. The program is underwritten by the Mary and Dr. George L. Demetros Charitable Trust.

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Massillon Museum Rally — The Friends of the Massillon Museum hold a 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. rally in front of the museum, 121 Lincoln Way E., in support of the museum levy, Issue 6, which will be on the ballot March 4. The ''demonstration'' has been timed to coincide with end-of-the-week drive time, as well as the opening of regional artist Brian Robinson's pastel landscape exhibition in the museum's Studio M. Gallery, where a 6 to 8 p.m. opening reception will be held. Issue 6 is a 1-mill, five-year replacement of the museum's current operating levy, set to expire at the end of 2008. Supporters say the Massillon Museum ''faces extinction'' if voters fail to pass the levy. The museum safeguards more than 100,000 local history objects and serves as a local center for the arts and other activities. 330-844-4061.

Wednesday

Art & Fiction — The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco is a structured look at art history through an experimental medieval whodunit set in a medieval monastic library. The Cleveland Museum of Art's Art and Fiction Book Club will study the book from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. on three Wednesdays. The program is a collaboration between the museum's library and education departments and is intended for adult patrons. The class costs $45 ($35 CMA members). The next book on the schedule is Travels of a Medieval Queen by Mary Taylor Simeti. 216-421-7340.

Deadlines

March 21 — To submit applications to display your art work online via ArtofOhio.com, a shared, e-commerce Web site, an economic development project of the nonprofit organization ACEnet (Appalachian Center for Economic Networks). Applicants must live and produce their work within the state of Ohio. Each artist may submit three pieces of his or her work. Application forms with detailed specs are available at http://www.acenetworks.org/ or http://www.artofohio.com or by calling 888-422-3638.

March 31 — To submit applications to the city of Akron for the 29th annual Akron Arts Expo on July 26 and 27 at Hardesty Park, 1615 W. Market St. This year, more than 160 artists will be juried into the show. Registration fee is $180 and is nonrefundable after June 1. To request an application or for more information, call 330-375-2836 or see http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/rec.html.

May 31 — Is the deadline to enter the International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge. Co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science, the flagship publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Visualization Challenge is a competition to find the photographs, illustrations and digital media that best communicate science, engineering and technology for education and journalistic purposes. For entry forms, rules and more information, see http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/. To see last year's winners, go to http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp?id=win2007.

Worth Noting — Free docent-led school tours of Arms and Armor from Imperial Austria at the Cleveland Museum of Art are being offered at 9 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday mornings through May 16, for up to 100 students, and at 10 a.m. Tuesday through Friday for up to 50 students. A registration form can be found at http://www.clevelandart.org/,click on Education.