Dawn Revisited

The University of Akron's Art Bomb Brigade and ArtsLIFT programs selected Mac Love as team leader for Summit Metro Park’s 2017 Freedom Trail mural project. We mapped Akron's 2-mile stretch of trail and identified 24 areas for mural development. Recognizing the opportunity to create a unique recreation corridor, Mac engaged Rita Dove – an Akron native, Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet, and Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Together, they curated poems and designed mural concepts for a literary mural trail.

Art Bomb Brigade selected "Dawn Revisited" as the first mural for development. The design was refined several times to accommodate different sites, and finalized for the south and east sides of the Mill Street Bridge, off Lincoln Street, in downtown Akron. Mac led the team of 25 college and high-school students in the production of the mural, working in collaboration with Elisa Gargarella, Marissa McClellan, and Dan Coffield to paint everything in two weeks.

Dawn Revisited has been prominently featured across news, media, and marketing channels as a reflection of Akron's creative spirit. The Freedom Trail opened to the public in 2022, with “Dawn Revisited” serving as the welcoming anchor to downtown Akron.