The Akron Art Museum is hosting a series of exhibitions that explore the identity and creative spirit of Akron, Ohio, as the city celebrates its 2025 bicentennial. The centerpiece is a large-scale retrospective of Alfred McMoore (1950-2009), a self-trained outsider artist from Akron who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent much of his life in psychiatric institutions. McMoore created massive pencil and crayon drawings focused on funerals and death rituals, and his work attracted a circle of supporters including the late antiques dealer Chuck Auerbach and journalist Jim Carney, whose sons Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney later founded the Grammy-winning band The Black Keys, named after McMoore's cryptic phrase.
This exhibition matters because it uses art to define Akron's unique cultural identity—a city that has long resisted being overshadowed by Cleveland. McMoore's story and work embody the city's gritty, self-made creative freedom, where lack of expectations allows artists to forge their own paths. The show also highlights how outsider art can reveal deep community bonds and resilience, offering a nuanced portrait of a place often overlooked, and connecting local art history to broader pop culture through the Black Keys' origin story.