Rain Barrels with ArtsLift
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Arts LIFT and Keep Akron Beautiful (KAB) collaborated in a unique water conservation education project for Summer 2009. The collaboration originated in September, 2008, when director of Arts LIFT and University of Akron art education faculty member, Elisa Gargarella, approached Paula Davis, CEO of Keep Akron Beautiful, on working together to assist the City of Akron’s Greenprint initiatives to conserve water and educate the community. As a result of extensive planning, Arts LIFT and KAB committed to creating artistically altered rain barrels for public use, and to developing creative and educational public outreach on the importance of water conservation in our communities. By working with Keep Akron Beautiful, the students learned about ways they can assist the City of Akron’s Greenprint for Akron initiatives aimed at fostering a sustainable, eco-friendly community through education and leadership.”
The partnership took place from June 15 to July 8, 2009, at The University of Akron’s Myers School of Art in partnership with Keep Akron Beautiful (KAB). With a budget of $27,000.00, this collaboration was able to complete fifty custom decorated barrels and host a public rain barrel auction and interactive arts event that drew a crowd of over 300 people at the Myers School of Art. Additional rain barrels were auctioned at the City of Akron’s Symphony performance at a downtown location, where more than 800 attended. Finally, a free public workshop hosted by Keep Akron Beautiful and Arts LIFT on how to build rain barrels for home use was offered to further the initiative. All but 6 barrels were successfully auctioned, and the $ 3, 213 generated from the auction was donated to KAB for continued water conservation education initiatives.
Arts LIFT is a summer arts apprenticeship program offered to Akron Public Schools’ high school students. The program’s mission which combines environmental awareness, community action, and the creative involvement of young people with prominent artists, exists to benefit and enhance the Akron community as well as all the participating individuals and organizations. The goal of the Arts LIFT apprenticeship program, funded by the Lola K. Isroff Arts Assistance Endowed Fund, is to give students an opportunity to work with professional artists, while also participating in community service that places value on environmental and ecological concerns.
Ten students from Akron-area high schools were selected by an application process to create public art pieces with nationally renowned master printmakers, Gregory Nanney and Nickolas Alley of Drive By Press, a mobile printing press organization. Drive By Press worked with Akron Public School secondary art students to create unique rain barrels with custom spray stencils and screen prints.
This is the seventh year that Arts LIFT, conceived and directed by Elisa Gargarella, an art education professor at The University of Akron, is bringing together professional artists, high school and UA art students, and local institutions to support conservation and ecological efforts in the community.
Previous Arts LIFT participants have created public artworks and major installations for the Akron Zoological Park, Crown Point Ecology Center, the Corbin Conservatory at Stan Hywet, the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center, and for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association.
The program is supported by the Lola K. Isroff Arts Assistance Endowed Fund at UA. Exposing youth to conservation issues is an on-going mission of both Arts LIFT and Keep Akron Beautiful.
