Above: ABB’s first complete mural project. All photos courtesy Art Bomb Brigade.

A funky downtown Laundromat in Akron, Ohio celebrated a colorful facelift this month.  Hundreds of people gathered in a neglected part of the city to listen to local surf punk band, The Dreemers, sample local fare from food trucks and sweet shops, make miniature tie dye t-shirts in tiny toy washing machines and buy handmade goods from resident artists.  But most of them were there to check out the creative fallout from the mural blast carried out by the Art Bomb Brigade.  A recent Knight Arts Challenge winner, Art Bomb is made up of college art students from the University of Akron and professional artists intent on transforming parts of the city that are often forgotten with magnificent and energizing murals. 

The “Clean & Bright” mural was designed by resident artist Matt Miller, and is the first of many Art Bomb Brigade projects to be realized.

Laundromats are most often located in lower income neighborhoods and are generally not associated with art or beauty, but for utility or necessity.  In eight days, 23 students transformed a 3,000 square-foot wall on the laundromat into a surreal landscape, making it the largest landmark public art work in an area surrounded by abandoned buildings. 

The “Clean & Bright” mural serves as a creative jumping off place.  It’s a place now slated for a community garden and pop-up flea markets.  It’s a place that evokes the sentiments of community, giving back, public beauty, and pride from locals and visitors.  It’s a place for inspiring a whole chain of Art Bombs to be released in a city destined for renewed greatness.

Elisa Gargarella is a professor at the University of Akron’s Myers School of Art and director of the Art Bomb Brigade