Kenmore Boulevard Transformed: Arts LIFT and Better Kenmore CDC Unveil Student-Created Mural with Artist Micah Kraus

This summer, the University of Akron’s award-winning Arts LIFT program partnered with Better Kenmore CDC to bring bold, youth-led public art to life on Kenmore Boulevard. Through a two-week residency, twelve Akron Public School students collaborated with local artist Micah Kraus to design and install a wheat paste mural titled “Kenmore Can.”

Installed in the heart of Akron’s Music Row, the mural was unveiled during First Friday on July 11 and celebrates the cultural identity, creativity, and resilience of the Kenmore neighborhood. The public event drew dozens of community members, families, and visitors to Buzzbin, where students and Kraus shared their creative process and vision for the work.

Students explored Riso printing and wheat paste techniques, gaining hands-on experience in contemporary art-making while contributing to a large-scale community project. The mural is the latest in a series of collaborations led by Arts LIFT, founded in 2002 by Dr. Elisa Gargarella and supported by the Lola K. Isroff Arts Assistance Endowed Fund. The program connects Akron Public School students with working artists in paid apprenticeship roles, advancing both artistic skill and professional development.

This project directly advances two priorities of the Akron/Summit Cultural Plan: Placemaking, by creating a beautiful and meaningful public space that reflects the character of Kenmore, and Talent, by engaging and compensating a professional local artist while developing future creatives.

Together, Arts LIFT, Better Kenmore CDC, and the Kenmore community have demonstrated how arts-based partnerships can uplift neighborhoods, invest in local talent, and make space for youth voices in the public realm.