Akron Art Museum to allow people to check out art

Library partners with center in ‘gift to community.’

People will soon be able to check out pieces of art with their library card at the Akron-Summit County Public Library.

Starting March 1, residents will be able to borrow artwork from the new Akron Art Library in Summit County.

The Akron Art Museum is partnering with the Akron-Summit County Public Library’s main branch to create the art library.

The Akron Art Library is located inside the Akron-Summit County Public Library Main Library, across from the reference desk in the Culture and AV department on the second floor.

The art library features collections of original artworks ranging from paintings, photographs, prints and mixed-media works.

Alison Caplan, director of education for the museum, said the idea initially came from attending Oberlin College, where the Clarence Ward Art Library is located. She wanted people to be able to enjoy works of art in their homes and hopefully encourage them to start collecting.

Caplan contacted local artists and several schools and universities for artwork.

“We were impressed from what we received so far,” she said. “These are fantastic pieces of art ... and we’re hoping to get a lot more around next year.”

Akron resident Micah Kraus studied art at Kent State University and has been creating pieces for 17 years. When Caplan reached out to him about including his work in the art library, he was excited.

“It was gratifying,” Kraus said. “[The art library] is breaking down the walls of art to truly change people’s lives.”

With the work being displayed and checked out publicly, artists face the risk of having their work lost or possibly damaged. That doesn’t matter for Kraus.

Art is something that needs to shared with the world, no matter the risk, he said.

“This is a gift for the community,” Kraus said. “It’s an authentic and innovative way to literally bring art into people’s homes.”

People will be able to choose from 27 pieces of art and check them out for up to four weeks. Items will be renewable up to five times.

A person will not be able to check out any art if they have outstanding fines on their library account.

Along with Kraus, artists whose work will be included in the library include Butch Anthony, Melissa Markwald, Micah Kraus, Natalie Lanese, Angelo Merendino, Kadir Nelson, Mark Mothersbaugh, Jenny Schmid, John Sokol and Shane Wynn.

Jessica Fijalkovich, the program coordinator for the art library, plans to bring programs to the Main Library to inform people how they can handle and collect art.

“We want to provide a new context for the public to encounter art in their daily lives, allowing them to create further meaning as they experience these works in a more personal way,” Fijakovich said in a prepared statement.

The art library was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with support from GAR Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation and the Lehner Family Foundation.