YMCA

Leading Fitness

In 2022, Art x Love was engaged by the Akron Area YMCA to create a mural for their new Octagon Fitness Area, which used to be a racquetball court. Mac developed several concepts that were strategically designed to maximize the impact of the mural while complementing the space that the equipment would occupy. Most importantly, the mural had to be consistent with YMCA brand standards, and pass an upcoming audit by the YMCA’s national facilities and design team.

Mac completed the mural in one week, and developed all aspects of mural production to minimize disruption while staff and members used the nearby fitness areas. The new Octagon Fitness Area has opened to rave reviews, and the mural passed YMCA’s audit with flying colors.

P.S. I Love You Mosaic

In 2020, Art x Love was re-engaged by the Akron Area YMCA to create an interactive mural for the P.S. I Love You 5K Walk/Run. In the face of the pandemic, race organizers opted for a virtual event. Participants were given shirts with colors that corresponded to the P.S. I Love You logo. After completing their socially distant 5k, participants submitted pictures of themselves wearing their shirts. These images were combined with 2019 P.S. I Love You event photos, images of iconic Middlebury neighborhood buildings, and sponsor logos to create the P.S. I Love You mosaic. A video montage of the mosaic was generated for the “Art of Y” exhibition at Summit Artspace, celebrating the Akron Area YMCA’s 150 years of service to the community.

P.S. I Love You

In 2019, Art x Love was engaged by the Kohl Family YMCA to create an interactive mural for the P.S. I Love You 5K Walk/Run. Mac Love came up with the idea of a mural created with the footprints of participants.

An 8 ft. x 8 ft. foundation was laid out with eight colored platforms for people to step on and paint with. Hundreds of participants, including kids and pets, left their mark on the P.S. I Love You mural. It is currently installed on the East Market Street side of the Kohl Family YMCA in Akron, Ohio.