2/2/2012 - West Side Leader
By Kathleen Folkerth
The Akron Art Museum is ready to celebrate 90 years of being part of the culture of Akron.
“Ninety years is an admirable record of service to a community,” said Mitchell Kahan, the museum’s director and CEO. “Philanthropist Edwin Shaw and the local artists who were on the founding committee would be amazed at the current scope and reputation of the institution they birthed in the basement of the old Carnegie Library.”
It was there, across East Main Street from its current location, that the museum opened its doors on Feb. 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute.
From those humble beginnings, the museum now occupies two unique buildings with a collection in excess of 5,000 pieces, according to museum officials. The name was changed to the Akron Art Museum in 1980, and it tripled in size when it opened its new section in 2007.
Elizabeth Wilson, director of marketing communications for the museum, said the perseverance of the museum’s earliest staff members and volunteers helped make the museum what it is today.
“The museum went through a major fire, when most of its collection was destroyed, as well as the Depression and crash of the stock market,” Wilson said.
Kahan said he thinks there are two important points to consider when looking at the museum’s contributions to the Akron area.
“The spectacular works of art that the museum has acquired for the enjoyment of the community is its key contribution,” he said. “But there is also a key intangible contribution, and that is the example the museum has provided of continual reinvention and adaptability to changes in the community and the broader world of art.”
Wilson said the museum’s current staff has been working on events to celebrate the milestone year for the past year, with the first event scheduled for Feb. 5.
That day, admission will be free for all visitors to see the final day of the Landscapes From the Age of Impressionism exhibit.
In addition, Cleveland jazz band the Jesse Dandy Band will perform at 1 p.m. in the museum lobby. At 2 p.m., “performance painter” Al Bright, a professor at Youngstown State University, will create a work of art in his abstract expressionistic style as the band accompanies him, Wilson said.
“His art will reflect the mood of the music being played,” she said.
Also debuting this month at the museum is a timeline that shows the history and significant events since the museum was founded. It’s located in the Rory and Deedee O’Neil Lobby near the entrance to the museum library, Wilson said.
The theme of the museum’s 90th anniversary will be carried through the rest of the year, Wilson said. The annual wine auction in June will feature a “Roaring ’20s” theme to highlight the museum’s earliest years. And lectures during the annual summer concert series, Downtown @ Dusk, will feature a historical bent, she said.
Wilson said museum officials also are pleased to have curated and organized a major exhibit of the works of Ghana-born artist El Anatsui, which will open this summer in Akron before touring across North America. The museum currently has one of Anatsui’s works, a large wall hanging made from bottle caps and foil seals, in its collection and on display.
“It is so large that some of the works are going to have to go into the collections gallery and in the lobby,” Wilson said. “It’s really a spectacular exhibit for us.”
Also this summer, the museum will salute its 90 years with an exhibit of 90 pieces from its current collection.
“We’ll be bringing some things out of storage that haven’t been seen in a while,” Wilson said.
The museum is also planning an installation to tie in with First Night® Akron on New Year’s Eve to close out the year.
Kahan said the year will serve as a way for the museum to reflect on its role in the community.
“Our mission — to enrich lives through modern art — provides an unlimited opportunity for the public to discover new perspectives about everything under the sun,” he said. “Any topic that addresses human existence is an appropriate subject for art. Plato famously claimed that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living.’ In my opinion, contemplating art of our time is the best way to do that.”
More information about the anniversary and other events can be found at www.akronartmuseum.org.
The museum, located at 1 High St., is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays until 9 p.m. Admission costs $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens (65 and older). Children (12 and younger) and members are admitted for free. On the first Sunday of every month, individual admission to the collection is free. Special exhibitions may require paid admission. For more information, call 330-376-9185.
