The Akron Public Art Commission on Friday presented a newly launched, citywide public-art inventory and maintenance plan that compiles more than 774 city-owned or city-funded public-art assets.

Summer Hall, the city’s public-arts liaison, introduced the project and said the database — developed by Art by Love — is live on the commission’s website. Mac Love of Art by Love described the multi-year project and said it was awarded after an RFP and funded with a private gift of $48,500 to the commission. The deliverables include an interactive public-facing inventory, a commissioner portal with maintenance data, a 2025 inventory report summarizing methods and findings, and a maintenance-priority report showing items in poor condition.

City commissioners and councilmembers reacted favorably. The commission recommended short-term steps including an integrated review of maintenance priorities for 2026, GIS/IT stewardship of the inventory, targeted fundraising and grant-seeking, and improved signage at priority artworks. Commissioners also highlighted a traffic-signal-box wrap program (20 boxes covered in the prior round, two per ward) and a second call that generated more than 100 submissions for the next round.

Council questions focused on maintenance responsibility, ward representation and funding models. Presenters said the commission will collaborate with departments to identify whether to hire contractors or coordinate ward-level volunteers; they also suggested neighborhood-development grant dollars or grant applications (e.g., national programs) as possible funding mechanisms. Mac Love pointed to Toledo and other peer cities as examples of budget models and urged a three-pronged approach of short-term repairs, grant-funded large projects, and ward-level resident collaboration.

What’s next: The commission will follow up with councilmembers about site-specific maintenance needs, coordinate outreach for ward-level input on location selection, and pursue funding and GIS integration to keep the inventory live and updated.

Representative quotes:
"This comprehensive and interactive database features more than 774 items that can be filtered..." — Mac Love.
"One of the best uses is identifying similar deterioration where, for a much smaller cost than repairing one, we could possibly repair 10," Mac Love said, urging coordinated maintenance spending.

Clarifying details: Art by Love received $48,500 to build the inventory; the inventory includes a maintenance report and an Excel spreadsheet organized by ward. The public-facing site highlights five featured items per ward but can reveal all 774 items via filters. The commission said it will provide commissioner portal access to council staff for more granular review.