A Year of Creative Impact
from film “Our Eyes See the Sun”
This year, the Akron Black Artist Guild (ABAG) grew not just in numbers, but in voice, vision, and community spirit. It was a year defined by artists lifting one another up, telling their stories, and creating spaces where creativity could take root.
Our journey began with words. The pilot Black Pen Podcast carried Akron voices far beyond our city, reaching listeners around the world. We released Volume 2 of the Black Pen Writing Prompt Workbook, and our Write Strong writers group became a home for eight local literary artists to grow, experiment, and be seen. Through the podcast, we also celebrated writers from across the country proof that literary community knows no borders.
The Creative Exchange brought together 65 artists for a day of learning, collaboration, and collective artistry. Six teaching artists led workshops, local entrepreneurs provided food and services, and the team installation challenge reminded us what happens when artists work side by side: ideas expand, walls fall, and the room becomes electric with possibility.
Our community programs Art & Bloom, Words Into Action, and Words & Art brought artmaking to families across the city. With eight teaching artists and a local theater company, we served 125 children and adults, offering them not just classes, but a sense of belonging.
The year’s momentum carried into our signature exhibition, where 24 artists shared work that illuminated Black creativity in Akron. More than 300 visitors came through the doors, and we honored three community leaders with the Outlined in Black Excellence Award, lifting up those who make space for others to shine.
We closed the year with a project two years in the making: Our Eyes See the Sun, a documentary capturing the stories of twelve Black artists who live, work, and create in Northeast Ohio. Produced with local videographers, editors, and production staff, the film preserves a living creative history one that future generations will look back on with pride.
Together, these experiences tell a story of a community building, dreaming, and creating its own future. And ABAG is honored to help hold the paintbrush.
by Dara Harper
