Soap Box Anniversary

The Soap Box Derby at Akron's Derby Downs is a time-honored racing event where young competitors build and race gravity-powered cars. Established in 1934, this iconic raceway hosts annual events, featuring carefully crafted cars that participants race down a steep hill. The derby emphasizes creativity, engineering skills, and sportsmanship, bringing together families and communities to celebrate the spirit of competition and innovation. It has become a cherished tradition, inspiring generations of racers and spectators alike.

In 2023, Art x Love was engaged to produce a collaborative mural with participants in honor of the Soap Box Derby’s 85th Anniversary in Akron. More than 330 participants, ranging in age from 7-20, come from all over the world to participate in this event. Mac Love served as lead artist and designed 8 concepts for the Soap Box Derby to choose from. The collaborative mural was staged as a free-standing wall along the walkway as participants and their families entered. Several hundred attendees of all ages and abilities made their mark on the mural.

Following the event, we brought the mural back to our studio, where Mac added additional layers of paint, preserving everyone’s marks while filling in the gaps while preserving everyone’s marks, and finished the piece with a marine-grade anti-graffiti coating. We then transported the modular mural back to Derby Downs where it was installed at the start line and remains today.