1 Year of Forever Changes
It’s wild to think that today marks the 1-year anniversary of our ribbon cutting at Forever Changes, our downtown Akron art studio, gallery, and shop. We moved into our 35 S. Main Street space after bouncing around Akron for 10 years. Over that time, we’ve had the good fortune to meet and work with thousands of artists, organizations, businesses, and community members to MAKE ART WORK. First and foremost, we want to thank you for being part of that journey. Here are some highlights and reflections from this past year, with a few thoughts for the future.
Please feel free reach out, let us know what you think, ask questions, or share a testimonial.
The idea of Forever Changes had been brewing for a long time. Mac created an art gallery in Stonington (CT) in 2002 that went by that name. It was one of the more successful and profitable independent creative ventures he had ever been a part of. Timing and location were certainly a key to that success – could it work elsewhere and for others?
In 2024, we visited friends in Asheville (NC) and became enamored with the number of commercial art galleries and spaces they had across the city. With a population half of Akron’s size, more than 700 artists had gallery display spaces across the city. Art and artists were an integral part of Asheville’s economy and a key driver for tourism. We believed a similar model could work in Akron.
We kicked off 2025 by moving into our new space at 35 S Main St., in the Chemstress Building. The space was twice the size of our old space, and much more peaceful with better soundproofing. We worked with the building to finish the flooring, paint the ceiling and ducts black, and replace the fluorescent lights with LED’s. Friends pitched in to help us build out a storage area in back, and Mac built shelving to hold all kinds of canvases, frames, raw materials, and tools. The dream started to take shape.
We worked with a sense of urgency to honor a March 2025 Urban Troubadour event that had been booked for the space with the previous tenant. The event was a great success with more than 60 people in attendance for a special brunch and musical experience. It was fun to listen to all of the visitors remark, “Wow - this is much nicer than I was expecting,” as they entered.
In the weeks that followed we learned that the Akron Marathon had temporary gallery walls in storage that they were looking to clear out. We were able to transport, repair, reinforce, and repurpose them as mobile gallery wall for Forever Changes. But the one thing that really made this dream feel like it had turned the corner was having our logo installed on the marquee above our main entrance. After 10 years of working from home, from our garage, from of an old machining plant, an old bank space, and a historic interior design building – we finally could put out business name on a space we could confidently and comfortable call home.
On May 8, 2025, we hosted the opening reception and ribbon cutting for ART x LOVE’s downtown Akron studio and Forever Changes gallery. Artists, family, friends, collaborators, clients, and city leaders were all in attendance for this private celebration. It was wonderful to see them all connect and find community and inspiration in our space.
Word spread quickly in the weeks and months that followed, owed in large part to great media coverage, positive visitor experiences, and news of Forever Changes’ unique proposition for artists. Not only is Forever Changes downtown Akron’s first commercial art gallery, it is also one of the region’s most accessible and equitable venues for artists.
Most galleries charge artists an application fee to be considered for display, have long wait times, short exhibition periods, and limited hours of availability that make it hard for everyday people to see the work. Our model does away with all of that.
In the weeks and months that followed, we hosted 8 private events, 3 open houses, and remained open for major downtown festivals including the Akron Bicentennial Parade, No Kings Day, and Akron Pride. Adding these events to our 5-days-a-week schedule, we estimate that Art x Love and the Forever Changes gallery welcomed more than 4,000 visitors to downtown Akron for free, all-ages, art experiences and gallery tours in our first year.
90 different regional artists had exhibitions in our gallery in its first year. For some, this was their first art exhibition ever. For others, this represented a low risk opportunity to sell their artwork and showcase a creative practice that they have been cultivating for more than 40 years. We have exhibited 2D artists, 3D artists, textile art, photography, watercolor, kids artwork, and so much more!
