AKRON, Ohio - The Art Bomb Brigade's latest public mural is putting paint to poetry at the Mill Street overpass on the University of Akron campus.

The fifth in the Myers School of Art group's high-impact, public art series, the new mural brings together the creative forces of Mac Love, international artist and 2017 Knight Cities Challenge grant winner, and former U.S. Poet Laureate and Akron native Rita Dove.

Love, the artist behind the Cleveland Believeland chalk murals, the Rally Together interactive mural and the Maize collaborative mural, is directing the students as they apply his design interpreting the renewal of hope and curiosity expressed in Dove's poem "Dawn Revisited."

The brilliantly hued mural will adorn the trail head of the Summit Metro Parks Freedom Trail, which connects the Towpath Trail from Akron to Kent, and forms an 89-mile stretch of trail through Northeast Ohio.

College students in the Art Bomb Brigade are working side-by-side with Akron high school students in the Arts LIFT summer arts apprenticeship program. Both outreach programs were created by Elisa Gargarella, a university associate professor of art education.

Gargarella, a former Cleveland Public Schools art teacher, created the Art Bomb Brigade after 17 years of running Arts LIFT, which gave her inner-city kids a chance to create art and interact with the public.

"The kids never have a chance to showcase something positive; to do something outside the classroom and be ambassadors for their communities," she said.

In each project, the groups work with a professional artist, and with constraints from public entities. The Freedom Trail mural required cooperation with the city of Akron, the university, the Metro Parks, CSX Railroad, Metro RTA and neighboring businesses.

"There are so many layers; it's good for young people to work with partners," she said.

To participate, students from Firestone High School and Akron Alternative Academy filled out an application and wrote an essay explaining why they should participate in Arts LIFT, said Firestone art teacher Dan Coffield, who has worked over the past eight years with Arts LIFT and Art Bomb projects.

Other Art Bomb murals are located at Chill Gourmet Ice Cream on Maiden Lane, Downtown Akron Laundromat on South Main Street, and the Akron Sustainer, an educational hub promoting green living.

The Art Bomb Brigade and Arts LIFT crews will be working on the mural through Friday, June 23 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Akronites, mural enthusiasts and visitors are encouraged to come check out the work.

Later in the summer, Art Bomb Brigade will host the group's traditional mural unveiling party complete with live music, food trucks, community art projects and local arts, craft, and clothing vendors. Details will be announced soon. Visit the Art Bomb Brigade online for more information.

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