We’ve seen dance and classical music brought into Akron city parks, along with free rock and roll, jazz and country concerts in various venues around town. But never glimpses of fine visual art – until now. The Akron Art Museum, a Knight Arts grantee, is planning to install high-quality reproductions around the city for everyone to see.

On December 1, AAM brought a high-quality, framed reproduction of Raphael Gleitsmann’s painting “Winter Evening” to the downtown area, offering a modern-day view of the artist’s realistic take on the bustling snow-covered, shopping area of Main Street.

According to organizers, Gleitsmann, an artist who lived in Akron for most of his life, painted “Winter Evening” in the early 1930s. Some of the buildings in the painting are still standing today, including the city’s first skyscraper, now known as the FirstMerit Tower.

Raphael Gleitsmann, “Winter Evening,” c. 1932 (Collection of the Akron Art Museum; Gift of Joseph M. Erdelac). Photo courtesy of Akron Art Museum

Because of the placement of the installation, across from the historic Akron Civic Theatre (also a Knight Arts grantee) at 182 South Main Street, viewers will be able to put themselves in the artist’s point of view and compare the scene to how it appears today.

If you went the second day the painting was on exhibit, things would look different. Streets were busy, but not with foot shoppers hustling to and fro for commercial shopping. Instead of a snowy vista, you were greeted by another Akron winter scene – a gray and rainy, bleak day. Gleitsmann’s take on the town would create a little envy at how calm and peaceful the view seemed in comparison.

But no matter when you go, visitors will be able to make connections to the scenery and relate to the people illustrated in the painting. “Winter Evening” seems fitting for a December launch – appropriate to the time of year and the incidence of citizens taking in theatrical productions at the Akron Civic Theatre, as well as participating in winter shopping and sports/recreation at Lock 3, which is adjacent to the theater.

Raphael Gleitsmann, “Winter Evening,” reproduction installed in downtown Akron. Photo by Roger Durbin

The installation is the first in a new public art project launching in 2015 that will bring reproductions of artworks in the collection to neighborhoods around the city. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is funding the effort, which is called Inside|Out.

The plan for the program is to have the museum take 30 high-quality reproductions of artworks from the museum’s collection and place them in the streets and parks throughout the City of Akron and surrounding areas. Ten to 15 framed images will be placed in individual communities, often clustered within bicycling or walking distance, to enable residents to discover art in unexpected places.

AAM executive director and CEO Mark Masuoka is quoted as saying, “We believe that everyone deserves a quality art experience. We’re thrilled to share our art collection with the community.” Inside|Out is certainly a good way to do just that.

Program organizers say that Inside|Out reproductions will be installed in six neighborhoods and communities in two three-month periods: three for spring/summer and three for summer/fall exhibitions. The museum will encourage the communities to plan activities that will accompany their Inside|Out exhibitions and to visit the Akron Art Museum to see the real artwork. Exact images and placements are to be determined but will be announced on the Akron Art Museum’s website and Facebook page.

As Dennis Scholl, vice president of arts at Knight Foundation has said, “It’s one thing to experience the Akron Art Museum’s world-class collection, and entirely another to come across it in your neighborhood. That element of surprise can be the spark that gets the community talking about and engaging with the one of the city’s true treasures.”

Raphael Gleitsmann’s “Winter Evening” will be on display until February 15 on the sidewalk across the street from the Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St., Akron; 330-375-9185; www.akronartmuseum.org.