Photo: A passerby reads stories of people’s first love outside Summit Artspace during the Downtown Akron Artwalk. Credit: Hunter Franks. 

Hunter Franks, an artist and founder of the Neighborhood Postcard Project and League of Creative Interventionists, is in Akron, Ohio, for three weeks using creativity to build community with Knight Foundation support.  

There is nothing to do in Akron. It’s boring. It sucks.   Related Links 

“Postcards and play connect communities in Macon, Ga.” – March 21, 2014 Knight Blog aricle by Molly McWilliams Wilkins

“The Creative Interventions Tour in Philadelphia: Breaking down stereotypes through art” – June 24, 2014 Knight Blog article by Hunter Franks

When I told people I was going to Akron these were some of things they said. When I arrived in Akron these were some of the things people said. And it is easy to see the negatives upon first glance. Akron is spread out. It’s a city of suburbs where everything is a 15-minute drive away. Parking lots and strip malls dominate the landscape. Pedestrians are scarce. To understand Akron, you must understand it’s past.

Akron was a hub of multiple manufacturing industries, with rubber leading the way. If you had an automobile in the 1900s, chances were that your tires came from Akron. The population of Akron grew some 200 percent during the 1910s. Akron was the place to be. But the late 20th century saw the rubber industry decline with many manufacturers laying off employees, relocating to other cities or shutting down operations entirely. The city was devastated and a once-thriving metropolis has seen its population decrease steadily for the last 30 years. So the first thing you see is the quiet parking lots and the empty streets.

But look a little harder and you will find the vibrancy here. You will find the people that love Akron. You will find the people that are not settling for the Akron of years past. You will find the people transforming Akron into the city that they want it to be. One of the first things I noticed upon arriving in downtown Akron was the decorative planters filled with beautiful flowers. The planters, surrounded by deserts of monotonous concrete, screamed out with color: “I care!” They are a metaphor for Akron — a small piece of energy amid the normalcy of parking garages and highways. Once you look a little harder, once you get out of your car and walk around you will be amazed.

My first night here I sat in a circle of 15 or so people at synHAK, a local makerspace that provides space, tools and infrastructure to help people learn new skills and create technology, art and science projects. It was synHAK’s weekly meeting, and as the group discussed new policies, funding opportunities and classes, I was inspired by being among people who are coming together to do cool things in their city. They meet every Tuesday at 7 p.m. to bounce ideas off one another and then, by a show of hands, vote on what actions to take. They didn’t know what their next program would be. They had not written a five-year plan or consulted a board of directors. Someone proposed an idea for a class and others got on board. Personal passions were supported and the group is small and nimble and is going to make it happen. Passionate citizens taking small action can add up to much more.

I also met the folks behind the Downtown Akron Partnership, which is working to create a thriving downtown. Ten years ago nobody went downtown. It was seen as dangerous and scary. Now, on a Friday night people flooded the galleries and local venues during the monthly downtown artwalk. During the artwalk, I collected the stories of people’s first loves with the First Love Project set up at Summit Artspace. I encouraged participants to share their stories as well as read the stories of others on display. Regardless of what we look like or where we come from we all share a story of a first love. Instead of focusing on differences, the project highlights the similarities between us. It changes the conversation.

This is what I hope to do in my time in Akron. I’m identifying the doers, the creative energy in Akron. I hope to inspire and enable them, through my projects and the forming of an Akron chapter of the League of Creative Interventionists, to change the conversation and to make that change visible through art in public space. It doesn’t matter what Akron used to be. This is about what Akron is and what it can be.

See the planned activities at www.creativeinterventionists.com/akron  and follow along on social media via #createakron