Sabertooth Public Art to Create New Mural for Great Work! Akron

By Grace Carter: This summer, a new mural is coming to Ellet. The mural is a collaborative effort aligned with the Akron Cultural Plan, which showed that Priority 8- Placemaking and Priority 10- Public Art are top priorities among our community members. Sabertooth Public Art has teamed up with Great Work! Employment Services Akron to design the mural, and painting will kick off this June.

Access to beautiful public space is a basic human right. Placemaking builds connections, creates civic engagement, and empowers citizens, and the arts are a crucial component of placemaking. Placemaking comes in many forms, including culture districts, cultural expression in public spaces, and neighborhood identity.

Public art provides meaning to our public spaces, reflects the history of a city, adds uniqueness to neighborhoods, and humanizes our environment. As an intersection between our past, present, and future, public art has the power to transform our city and reflect back on its transformation.

Sabertooth Public Art is the brainchild of Elisa Gargarella and Marissa McClellan. The women-owned creative placemaking business is dedicated to creating, educating, advocating for, and curating public art. Located in Akron, Sabertooth takes great pride in activating spaces, elevating accessibility to the arts and culture sectors of our region, and sharing craft with others. Elisa and Marissa like to work in environments where they can directly impact positive change and collaborate with others on a united mission to better serve their community through arts and culture initiatives. They are the kinds of creative leaders who employ humor, integrity, empathy, strong listening skills, and their many creative capacities to help coordinate and sustain great ideas. Elisa and Marissa bring over 25 years of combined experience in public art making, creative programming, and community building. Their partners include Great Streets Akron, Bounce Innovation Hub, ArtSparks, Cascade Locks Park Association, and January Paint.

Sabertooth’s work includes custom murals, art installations, curriculum and program design, residences and keynotes, tutorials and workshops, creative project management, consulting, and neighborhood asset walks. They hosted a launch party on May 19th at R. Shea.

Marissa is painting the new mural at the Great Work! Akron building in Ellet this summer. It will feature a floral design and face East Market Street. The flowers and plants selected for the design represent the mission of Great Work!, which is to help employers be more productive and job seekers find meaningful employment. Tia Ramlow, president of Great Work! Employment Services, loves to travel and noticed how other cities have public art installations that people are drawn to. She wanted to see that idea take form in Akron. “Art helps create a place that is inviting,” she said. Tia sees the mural as a way to envision a progression from the old rubber city into a new rubber city. For example, the mural incorporates polymers. Tia noted that the process of commissioning Marissa and Elisa was easy, and that public art is a great opportunity that doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. “It’s amazing how easy Marissa and Elisa made this process. I think that is the biggest message, especially if it gives any encouragement for other businesses to do the same,” she said.

Photography: Jacob Mollohan