1937 –
Willis “Bing” Davis is a renowned artist, educator, goodwill ambassador, and creative spark. In the late 1950s, he was a visual art director for the Dayton Living Arts Center, an experimental after school program for talented children who were interested in the arts. The project quickly gained a reputation as extremely innovative and became a national model. The reputation of the Center, and most especially its charismatic director, is still very much alive today. Bing Davis’s reputation as a gifted educator, who passionately believes there is creativity in every child, led to his regular engagement as an ambassador of the Arts: he has traveled to four continents as well as through the United States. Despite his demanding schedule as a teacher, workshop leader, and guest lecturer, this Dayton treasure has found the time to create and exhibit a significant body of his own artwork.
Inducted: 2001