Opening Reception: Maddie McSweeney and Together, Here: 10th Anniversary Exhibition

Date and Time

• Friday, Mar 13, 2026  5pm - 7:30pm

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Opening Reception: Maddie McSweeney and Together, Here: 10th Anniversary Exhibition Featuring Alumni and Past Members

Join us for our opening reception and meet-the-artists celebration as we launch our 10th Anniversary season. Light refreshments will be generously provided by Jilly's Music Room. Free and open to the public.

Step Inside Maddie McSweeney's Untitled (Jam) pt. 2, part of the 2026 Emerging Artist Series

In Untitled (Jam) pt. 2, Maddie McSweeney transforms spectatorship into participation. Expanding upon an earlier durational performance, this installation invites visitors to step inside a constructed enclosure and consume jam within the space — shifting the relationship between participants and environment from passive to active.

The work centers containment, proximity, and the body as sites of tension and connection. Through a simple but visceral act, McSweeney heightens awareness of taste, gesture, vulnerability, and mutual presence. What appears playful or absurd gradually reveals deeper undercurrents: the pressures of observation, the instability of boundaries, and the emotional charge of shared space.

By reversing the gaze and redistributing agency, Untitled (Jam) pt. 2 examines collective intimacy and the subtle dysregulation that emerges when private experience becomes public exchange. The work asks participants not only to witness, but to cross a threshold — to consider how connection forms, where discomfort begins, and how the self exists within a greater whole.

“I enjoy activating simple forms, and I believe it is key to universal empathy. If I can bring people to a more observant and present state, I can cross their emotional boundaries. Then, a connection may be formed." –Maddie McSweeney

About Artist Maddie McSweeney:

Maddie McSweeney is a multidisciplinary artist practicing in Northeast Ohio. They received dual BA degrees in Studio Art and Media Studies from the University of Akron (2024) and currently reside in Akron, OH, working as current artist-in-residence at Summit Artspace.

Together, Here Celebrates 10 Years of Alumni Artists and Membership

Together, Here gathers alumni artists and past members of Akron Soul Train in a collective reflection on presence, continuity, and creative exchange. Presented as part of the organization’s anniversary season, the exhibition honors the artists who have shaped Akron Soul Train’s first decade while underscoring the evolving practices that continue beyond residency.

Spanning painting, sculpture, photography, installation, interdisciplinary work, and performance, Together, Here emphasizes the breadth of voices within this community. Rather than centering a single theme, the exhibition foregrounds adjacency — distinct practices existing side by side — revealing how shared space fosters experimentation, risk, and sustained connection.

At its core, Together, Here is about remaining: artists choosing to stay engaged with one another and with the community that first brought them together. In marking this anniversary moment, the exhibition becomes both reflection and affirmation — a reminder that creative ecosystems are built not only through individual achievement, but through collective presence.

“Anniversaries are not just about looking back — they’re about recognizing what has grown. Together, Here honors the artists who have shaped Akron Soul Train while affirming our continued commitment to creative risk and connection.” — Colleen Suich, Executive Director

Featured artists:

Abby Cipar, Alex Younger, Amanda Margaretha, Andrea Schepis, Anna Young, April Bleakney, Beau Shaniuk, Bill Barron, Brittney Esther, Buckey, Care Hanson, Caroline Perkison, Christa Ebert (Uno Lady), Davon Brantley, Diane Britt, Donna Coleman, Drew Ippoliti, Elly Dallas, Gregory Hatch, Gwen Waight, Hank Bamberger, Isabella Troutman, Jennifer Vincik, Jennifer Whitten, Jenniffer Omaitz, John Elias, John Sokol, Jonah Jacobs, Jordi Rowe, Joyce Morrow Jones, Julia Betts, Justin Sorensen, Kristen Tetzmann, Laura D’Alessandro, Lizzie Joy Lukens, Maria Uhase, Matthew Dettmer, M.D., Max Markwald, Melih Meriç, Meryl Engler, Michelle Duke, Natalie Petrosky, Oliver Chapman, Pita Brooks, PJ Hargraves, Rachel Roberts, Raja Freeman, Renee Clippinger, Renney Renée, Ryan Craycraft, Saloni Parekh, Scott Kraynak, Sharelle Thompson, Stephen Tomasko, Sujatha Srinivasan, and Theressa Yondo.