Art in the Park
In the summer of 2018, Art x Love produced a series of plein-air events to coincide with the City of Akron’s Concerts in the Park series. We provided residents with canvases, paper, paint, colored pencils, brushes, and all manner of creative materials and encouraged them to create their own works of art while listening to the music. Dozens of pieces were created by aspiring artists of all ages and abilities, inspiring numerous participants to develop their own creative and collaborative parks initiatives.
The plein-air events preceded that summer’s Akron Art Festival, and were used a catalyst to drive people to participate in our Wallhaven Art Fest collaborative mural area. Hundreds of residents attended and made their mark on these murals, which remain installed across Akron to this day.
This was part of Art x Love’s @PLAY Akron project, a 2017-2018 Knight Cities Challenge winning initiative to bring diverse people together and encourage deeper community connections. Art x Love’s team explored every street in the City of Akron, conducted thousands of street intercept resident interviews, and produced more than 100 murals and 50 placemaking transformations in 18 months.
