Akron Stories

In 2019, Art x Love was engaged by a community of passionate Akron residents to help advocate for a statue dedicated to the people who made Akron the “Rubber Capital of the World.” We refined their strategic plan, and helped secure funding from the City of Akron to commission and install the statue by famous Zanesville (OH) sculptor, Alan Cottrill.

Art x Love created the Akron Stories website, all marketing materials, managed community events, and coordinated commemorative brick sales to fund an oral history project dedicated to preserving the stories of Akron’s rubber workers. To date, we have conducted more than 150 interviews, collected thousands of stories, and produced more than 100 mini-documentary films that bring each story to life using family photographs and archival film.

To share these stories with the public, we produced an all-weather touchscreen kiosk that was installed in the commemorative plaza, allowing visitors to explore the stories and find the exact location of their commemorative bricks. After 3 years of being on display, the kiosk was hit by a service vehicle and had to removed. We are currently working on finding a new permanent home for it.

In 2023, the Akron Stories team was recognized by the Ohio House of Representatives for “their tremendous efforts to guarantee that the past will not be forgotten, and the dedication of this new monument convincingly demonstrates how very much can be accomplished by a group of conscientious people with clear objectives and firm resolve. Indeed, they have distinguished themselves as concerned and responsible citizens and have, with admirable dedication, helped sustain the history of the area."