Note to readers:

The following item is a written record of the Akron Public Art Commission meeting from Sept. 9, 2026, compiled by Akron Documenter ShaKeela Gary. It is not a reported story.

Documenters are residents who are trained to observe and document local government meetings. Their notes are edited before publication for clarity and accuracy — unless quotation marks are used, all text is paraphrased.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalakron.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line.

Summary 

  • In October, the City of Akron is getting a new public art tire sculpture downtown at Lock 3 sponsored by Curated Storefront. Chakaia Booker has created a 17-foot-tall stainless steel and tire sculpture using recycled Goodyear Eagle racing tires. 
  • There are four open seats on the Akron Public Art Commission. Three potential members were in attendance at this meeting – John Skakun, Gwen Bryant and Mark Wallace. 
  • There weren’t enough commissioners available for a quorum, so they held an “informal meeting” led by Akron Deputy Director of Economic Development Sean Vollman. 

Documenter follow-up questions

  • How are commission members selected for the board?
  • How long are the members’ appointments?
  • Who’s the speaker, and what’s the connection to the group?
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Lock 3 tire sculpture on its way

  • Heather Meeker, executive director of Curated Storefront, spoke to the commission and said she works to bring contemporary art to public spaces throughout downtown Akron.
  • She provided an update on a tire sculpture by New York artist Chakaia Booker. This will be a 17-foot-tall stainless steel and recycled tire sculpture using recycled Goodyear Eagle racing tires. Booker has a connection to Akron having worked with the Curated Storefront Artist in Residency Program in 2022. She worked with fourth graders at the I Promise School as part of an initiative to inspire creativity and connect the community with her artistic vision.
  • The sculpture will be installed in Lock 3 on Oct. 26 and 27, Meeker said. The site work is done, with two pads ready to receive the sculpture. 
  • There will be an artist’s talk at the Akron Art Museum Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. The dedication and naming ceremony at Lock 3 will be held Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. The title of the sculpture will be announced at that time. 
  • Meeker said the intention is for this to be a permanent sculpture. The work, which will be owned by Curated Storefront, will be in Lock 3 for at least 10 years, Meeker said. The agreement automatically renews at the end of 10 years. She said that as long as it stays in good shape, it would remain. Meeker said an annual cleaning with water and something like WD-40 is all that is needed. 
  • Meeker said this effort started in 2022 with a federal grant and then people worked locally to make this happen including working with the art commission. 
Signal background

Akron Public Art Commission notes

  • The meeting was not livestreamed at the link on the commission’s website. The correct link is here. 
  • Two voting members were in attendance – Roberta Rodgers and Kiarra Warren
  • Akron Deputy Director of Economic Development Sean Vollman started the meeting and said it would be informal since there was no quorum.
  • The commission is a nine-member body whose commissioners are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the Akron City Council. The mayor also appoints a city employee to serve as a liaison; the commission’s website lists Summer Hall. Vollman and Ward 10 Council Member Sharon Connor are also listed on the website as well. (Connor indicated that she was a non-voting member during this meeting. Vollman said he is there to assist.) There are currently four open seats on the board.
  • Vollman introduced three potential commissioners who were at the meeting — Gwen Bryant, John Skakun and Mark Wallace. He said he will put forth their names at the next commission meeting.

Goodyear Heights’ Gazebo Park may get cleaned up 

  • Discussion of bylaws. Vollman said the commission never had bylaws, so he is working on some. He hopes to have bylaws so they can vote at the next meeting.
  • Maintenance cleanup at Gazebo Park. Connor talked about an effort to clean up Gazebo Park in Goodyear Heights. She said there is no date yet. Part of a public arts inventory done by Mac Love is to do a maintenance plan per ward for public art, and Gazebo Park has public art on the sidewalk that needs to be cleaned of a bit of graffiti.
    • Vollman said that a group or nonprofit may need to sponsor the cleanup since the art commission can’t sign off on licenses or contracts. Commission members discussed various groups that could help. 

A closer look at Goodyear Heights

Potential commissioners include art lovers and an artist

  • Introductions of the people in attendance were made:
    • Skakun is an attorney who lives in Ward 1.
    • Bryant is an educational consultant and also serves on the Stan Hywet board. She lives in Ward 8 and expressed her love for art.
    • Wallace works at Ace Hardware in Ellet and lives in Ward 7. He has a small business, Mark7TrashArt, and started painting in 2019. He is a self-taught artist and said he’s sold more than 700 paintings. 
    • Warren lives in Ward 2 and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta and Akron Urban League Young Professionals. She also said she is an art lover. 
    • Rodgers works for City of Akron Recreation and Parks at Mason Park Community Center. She’s also a former board member at Summit Artspace and lives in Ward 4. 
    • Connor is a non-voting member. She loves art and used to work at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts. She said she’s on the commission to help bridge the gap between the commission and council. 
  • Vollman gave a short update on a project to wrap traffic signal boxes in artwork around Akron. There will be four in each ward when completed. Connor and Vollman said they are noticing these around the city. 

The next Akron Public Art Commission meeting is scheduled for Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. and can be viewed online. Anybody wishing to address the commission can email questions or comments to publicart@akron.gov by Oct. 12

Akron Documenters trains and pays residents to document local government meetings with notes and live-tweet threads. We then make those meeting summaries available as a new public record.