At Massillon Museum’s Adaptations, you get two exhibits for the price of one. The show features rare artifacts from the museum’s collection — like a 1916 steam engine and a cigar-store Indian — alongside brand-new work by local artists. The mix stems from the museum’s intriguing challenge to painters, sculptors, and other artists: Create a piece based on an ancient object found in the museum’s storeroom. The results feature everything from a quilt inspired by a 19th century ceramic pig to a turn-of-the-century jalopy paired with a 10-foot painting. It’s one of the museum’s most ambitious and eye-catching exhibits ever.
Tuesdays-Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, 2-5 p.m. Starts: Sept. 23. Continues through Oct. 22

This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2006.