The Renovation of the historic
1899 Building of the Akron Art Museum
A Vision for the Future of Art, Learning, and Creativity in the heart of Downtown Akron
The Akron Art Museum has restored and reimagined its historic 1899 building at Market and High Streets as a vibrant creative hub that connects the Museum’s rich artistic legacy with inspiring spaces for creativity, learning, and community engagement. As part of our Centennial Campaign, this transformation represents more than a renovation—it reflects a comprehensive commitment to enhancing Museum operations, expanding educational programs, and ensuring long-term sustainability.
With the building reopened, the Museum looks to the future while honoring Akron’s cultural heritage and creating new opportunities for the next generation of artists, learners, and community leaders. This renewed space strengthens our role as a center for artistic exploration, lifelong learning, and meaningful community connection.
What's On View:
Art museums have traditionally been places where visitors look at carefully arranged works on walls and objects on pedestals and in glass cases. But the Akron Art Museum is reimagining that experience with the Idea Machine by inviting direct physical interaction with artwork, signaling a shift in how audiences might encounter contemporary art in Akron.
CHIAOZZA, the collaborative practice of Adam Frezza and Terri Chiao, approaches Idea Machine as a space where making and thinking happen simultaneously, dissolving the boundary between viewer and creator.
In Meta/Physical Therapy’s multi-chapter narrative, Moulton examines how our lives as consumers are shaped by our deepest needs—and the often absurd lengths we will go to meet those needs. Blending magical realism and physical comedy, the work finds mysticism in the everyday, as ordinary objects take on lives of their own and Cynthia’s domestic world tips into something otherworldly and dreamlike.
Meta/Physical Therapy inaugurates the newly renovated C. Blake McDowell Jr. Gallery, which was reimagined to support ambitious work in sculptural installation, video, performance, and other time-based media. Uniquely suited for immersive and technically expansive projects, the McDowell Gallery provides a dynamic setting for artists exploring the evolving relationship between art, technology, and contemporary life. The exhibition will also feature a live performance component by Moulton during the course of the exhibition.
The Surrealist Impulse will be the inaugural exhibition in the newly created Susie and Tony Paparella Galleries, on the second floor of the Akron Art Museum’s historic 1899 building. This exhibition brings together two different artistic movements from the early 1900s, Dada and Surrealism, along with closely related works by “Art Brut” (untrained or “raw”) creators working in the same time period.
This exhibition is drawn from the collections of the Parker Foundation, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Akron Art Museum, with artists including Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Paul Delvaux, Max Ernst, Victor Brauner, Kay Sage, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Jean Arp, Jean Dubuffet, and others.
Learn more about the goals behind this historic transformation:
The historic building will undergo key structural and architectural improvements to preserve its character while enhancing functionality for future use.
The renovation will introduce dedicated spaces and a classroom for artistic creation, education, and community engagement, fostering an environment of collaboration and creativity for all visitors.
Additional gallery space will be created, and existing galleries will be expanded and reimagined, incorporating digital exhibition capabilities to create immersive art experiences that blend traditional, digital, and interactive forms.
Inspired by Sol LeWitt’s quote, “The Idea is the Machine that makes the art,” the new “Idea Machine” will be an interactive, artist-designed space where people of all ages can collaborate, create, and learn together, fostering intergenerational creativity
The renovation will focus on accessibility improvements to ensure a welcoming, inclusive space for all visitors, while also incorporating environmentally responsible design to enhance sustainability throughout the Museum.
What's Next?
The Akron Art Museum looks ahead to a new chapter filled with opportunities for creativity, connection, and discovery. We will continue building on this renewed foundation by expanding educational experiences, fostering meaningful community partnerships, and creating welcoming spaces where people of all ages can engage with art in new ways. As we look to the future, we remain committed to preserving our cultural legacy while embracing new ideas and possibilities that ensure the Museum continues to inspire Akron and the surrounding region for generations to come.