Akron Art Museum Show Explores Alfred McMoore’s Art and Mental Health
By Lydia Kacala
In interviews, when Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys recalls the name of his Grammy-winning band, he credits an unlikely source: Alfred McMoore, a self-taught artist and lifelong Akron resident who left his mark on the city’s cultural DNA in more ways than one.
McMoore, who lived with schizophrenia, would leave voicemails for friends and acquaintances—often when he needed a ride to the store or help with errands. One of his signature phrases? “Don’t be a black key.” Another: “How did I get all this luck in my head?” That second quote now serves as the title of McMoore’s first solo museum exhibition, opening Sept. 20, 2025, at the Akron Art Museum.
“Alfred McMoore: All This Luck in My Head” runs through Feb. 8, 2026, and showcases the artist’s monumental pencil drawings—some stretching five feet high and up to fifty feet long—many of which have never been shown publicly. Anchoring the show is a rarely seen scroll donated in 1995 by Chuck Auerbach, Dan’s father, an art collector and longtime supporter of McMoore’s work.
“Even though he had this, what some people would call a mental illness, he also had a lot of luck in his head,” says Wendy Earle, the museum’s curator. “We hope that maybe (this exhibition) helps destigmatize mental illness for folks.”
Born in 1950, McMoore spent his entire life in Akron. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he developed a daily art- making practice that became both an outlet and a lifeline. He often depicted people from his neighborhood and those he came across.
“He created this life for himself,” Earle says. “Once he got the support that he needed, he was really great. His art was one of the main things he most wanted to do.”
The exhibition will showcase how McMoore touched the lives of those around him. It will also include a short documentary about his life, along with context about the outsider art tradition—a genre defined by artists who are largely self-taught and work outside the commercial gallery system.
Earle says the idea for the show started with a simple question: could McMoore’s rarely seen, physically enormous drawings anchor a major museum exhibition? The answer, it turned out, was yes.
At first, Earle says she wasn’t sure there was “enough of a story” to fill the space. But as she began researching and developing the exhibition, she realized that wasn’t the case. McMoore’s story opened up conversations not only about the artist and his work, but also about Akron, community, and care—making it a natural fit for the city’s 2025 bicentennial celebration.
“We can’t ever forget that we are a community,” Earle says. “That comes with not just possibilities, but responsibilities. We need to take care of everyone in our community, no matter where they’re at in their heads. We have some great organizations that help us with unhoused populations, with people with mental health issues. We need to continue supporting that on an institutional level, but also on an individual level.”
