Chakaia Booker at Lock 3
A Monumental Sculpture for Downtown Akron
Lock 3, Akron, Ohio, future site of a sculpture by American artist Chakaia Booker. Photo courtesy City of Akron.
Internationally acclaimed sculptor and Guggenheim Fellow Chakaia Booker is bringing a new 17-foot monumental sculpture to Lock 3 in downtown Akron. Commissioned by Curated Storefront, the work combines stainless steel with recycled Goodyear Racing Eagle tires and will be installed in October 2026.
Read the full announcement at Downtown Akron Partnership →
Celebrate With Us:
Chakaia Booker will return to Akron in October for two free public events celebrating the sculpture's completion.
Artist Talk with Chakaia Booker
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 | 6 PM
Akron Art Museum
1 South High Street, Akron
Naming and Dedication Ceremony
Thursday, October 29, 2026 | 1 PM
Lock 3
200 South Main Street, Akron
About The lock 3 commission:
Rising 17 feet near the Main Street entrance of Lock 3, twin petals crafted from stainless steel and recycled Goodyear Racing Eagle tires will frame the pathway through the Cynthia and Landon Knight Hemlock Walk.
Made primarily from recycled racing tires donated by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the work honors Akron’s industrial heritage in the tire industry while reflecting the region’s leadership in polymer innovation.
Positioned in Lock 3 overlooking the Ohio & Erie Canal, the sculpture connects Akron’s past as a manufacturing hub with its present and future as a center for innovation. This commission marks a milestone as Akron’s first major contemporary outdoor sculpture by a woman artist.
About Chakaia Booker:
For more than four decades, Guggenheim Fellow Chakaia Booker has transformed discarded tires into powerful sculptural forms. Her work is held in more than 40 major collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, National Gallery of Art, and the Library of Congress.
Booker has maintained a 25-year connection to Northeast Ohio, including exhibitions at the Akron Art Museum (2000), Cleveland Institute of Art (2015), and FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art (2022).
Explore Chakaia Booker's studio practice, public commissions, and biography at chakaiabooker.com.
project Support:
The sculpture was made possible through the generosity of Curated Storefront’s individual donors and VIA Art Fund, including generous partial support from Maja Kristin through the Women Moving Millions Art Catalyst Fund. The City of Akron and the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition provided funding and staff resources for the sculpture’s foundation and installation. Racing tires used to create the sculpture were donated by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
In the news:
Explore earlier coverage of the project and how the plans for the Lock 3 sculpture took shape:
Chakaia Booker in Akron: A Look Back.
Revisit Chakaia Booker's 2022 return to Akron, including her FRONT International exhibition at Curated Storefront's Quaker Galleries and community programs at The University of Akron’s EJ Thomas Hall and the I PROMISE School.
FRONT Triennial
Curated Storefront’s Quaker Galleries exhibit
Repurposed for a Purpose artist talk
Visiting Artist Program