AKRON, Ohio — If you’ve been in Akron any time over the last several years, you’ve probably noticed the art popping up around the city. Mac Love of Art x Love is to thank for a lot of that.
Art x Love produced @PLAY Akron, which is a 24-neighborhood, 18-month series of interactive art projects throughout the city.
“Every [Akron] neighborhood has its own history,” Love said. “Its own diverse community and its own iconic landmarks.”
This project produced more than 100 works of art around the city.
“The benefit of what art provides to a community far exceeds what we commonly think of as just being beautiful,” he said.
Love and his team walked and biked through each one of the neighborhoods to interview residents and find out what kind of public art they wanted to see.
“Our goal was also to invite more participation and experience across all of these neighborhood corridors,” he explained. “Get the west side to come over and visit with the east side, to get the north side to come visit with the south side.”
They collaborated with nearly 9,000 residents and hired over 150 paid artists to create these murals around the city.
The project was possible, in part, thanks to a $240,000 grant from the James L. Knight Foundation.
All of the installations were designed to require minimal maintenance and hold up against the elements for at least 10 years.
