AKRON - Signal Tree
In 2017, Mac designed a massive AKRON letterform mural featuring dozens of local landmarks and icons for the first-ever Signal Tree Festival. Hundreds of attendees and spectators were encouraged to step up and leave their mark on the mural. Parents and kids of all ages colored the mural in, added their own flair, and brought this iconic mural to life.
After the festival, we moved the mural to our downtown Akron studio, where Mac Love and Allan Lunda (a self-taught local artist) put the finishing touches on it for display. The mural was then sealed with a marine-grade anti-graffiti coating.
In 2019, we secured permission to install the mural in the main concourse of the Akron-Canton Airport (CAK), where it has remained a signature work of local art and pride, welcoming all who see it. For Allan Lunda, the mural at CAK holds special significance because it is the largest painting he has ever worked on, and seeing it at CAK was the first time he had returned to an airport since serving in Vietnam.
The AKRON Signal Tree mural is an outstanding example of community collaboration, and has inspired many other cities to pursue similar expressions of community collaboration and pride. There are several things about the AKRON Signal Tree mural that still set it apart:
Production of the mural was not policed. Everyone was invited to paint within the lines, through lines, and/or to add their own creative elements.
High-grade exterior panels, paint, and sealer were used. The mural remains as bright and vibrant today as it did when it was first created.
The integrity of the original composition was maintained while preserving community member’s marks. The “imperfections” are what make it special, and as more than one passerby has remarked, “what makes it feel like so authentic” and “distinctly Akron.”
