5X’s Kent Campus is hosting four reproductions of artworks from the Akron Art Museum through the end of October. Inside|Out is a community-activated arts project that brings high-quality art “out of the galleries and into the community.”
Roza Maille, '06, Kent State alumna, was working as the Inside|Out program coordinator when she pitched the idea for the installation to come to Kent.
“I automatically thought of Kent right away,” Maille says. “I know that Kent is a very art-friendly city and that people here would love and appreciate having this art on their campus and in downtown Kent.”
Maille has since accepted a position as the marketing assistant for Kent State’s School of Art.
“It’s a great celebration of how the community appreciates the arts in general,” says Tom Euclide, associate vice president for Facilities Planning and Operations at Kent State. “The city has a great music and arts background, and this installation just builds on that. It really adds to the sculpture walk that goes from downtown to Risman Plaza, and many of the Inside|Out pieces are right along that route.”
The four pieces are stationed at four different outdoor locations, including:
- Lefton Esplanade entrance to the Center for the Visual Arts
- Terrace Drive entrance to the Center for the Visual Arts
- Front Campus, south of Rockwell Hall
- Lefton Esplanade near the Wick Poetry Center
Six additional art installations can be found in downtown Kent, including pieces near the Kent Stage, Scribbles Coffee Co. and in Heritage Park.
“We have a new art building, a new architecture building, the Wick Poetry Center and the unique fashion building; we have a lot on this campus to complement this art coming here, and now we have art going all the way down to the (Cuyahoga) river,” says Anderson Turner, director of Kent State’s School of Art Collection and Galleries.
The program distributes 40 pieces of art throughout four cities, including Akron, Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls. The fall 2016 season is Kent’s first time participating in the program, which began in spring 2015.
“The installation calls special attention to the new Center for the Visual Arts,” Euclide adds. “I think the students will appreciate it. I think showcasing this work right outside the Center for the Visual Arts also showcases Kent State’s academics. We have some great galleries inside exhibiting student and faculty work.”
For more information about the Akron Art Museum’s Inside|Out and the installations at Kent State and the city of Kent, visit .
