Assembly for the Arts, the nonprofit focused on increasing equity in the region’s arts and culture community, announced in September that it has awarded $170,000 to 17 artists through the 2024 Creative Impact Fund. Each recipient will receive $10,000 in unrestricted funding to support their creative practices.
Now in its second year, the Creative Impact Fund is one of the largest unrestricted grant funds available to Cuyahoga County artists. It provides critical support to artists in maintaining their creative missions and connecting more deeply with the Cleveland community.
“Assembly for the Arts is so excited about this year’s Creative Impact Fund awardees,” says Deidre McPherson, Assembly for the Arts chief community officer. “They are extremely talented artists who are devoted to using their work to make a positive impact on their communities.”
Each artist received $10,000 to support their creative practices, up from $6,250 last year, and is made possible by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC). The award provides unrestricted funding and professional and business development opportunities, mentorship and networking opportunities, plus memberships to Assembly for the Arts and the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE).
“In response to feedback from artists about why they need flexible funds to be successful, we increased this year’s award, which makes it one of the largest flexible grant funds available to Cuyahoga County artists,” explains McPherson, who expresses Assembly’s gratitude to the Cuyahoga County residents who fund the Creative Impact Fund through CAC. “An amount like this can be career-changing for artists, and we can’t wait to see how they use the funds to grow their creative practice and advance the region.”
The artists are in various stages of their careers—from emerging to established in a variety of media—and represent communities throughout Cuyahoga County.
FreshWater spoke with three recipients about their work, their dedication to their artistic careers and Northeast Ohio, and how they plan to use the funds.
Humble G tha FiddlaHumble G tha Fiddla: Indigenous Violinist Virtuoso and National Recording Artist
Humble G tha Fiddla grew up in the Union Miles neighborhood and was introduced to the violin at age 11, when his family briefly lived South Euclid, and he attended Greenview Middle School.
“The school brought all the fifth graders down to the cafeteria, where there were live instruments on every lunch table, and we were instructed to select the instrument that interested us,” he recalls. Since he did not choose any instrument, he was a part of a small group that was then introduced to classical string instruments—highlighting the violin as a concertmaster instrument.
“I was so intrigued by it, and from that day on, I knew I was meant to play the violin,” he says, even though the school he returned to in Union Miles did not have a band or orchestra.
But Humble’s love for his art persevered. After performing Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” in front of the entire class while in middle school, Humble’s teacher submitted him for an audition to Cleveland School of the Arts. He was accepted and attended, and went on to study theory and composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He is now working second degree in audio production on a master's degree in entertainment business at Full Sail University.
He was dubbed “Humble G” as a young teenager—a combination of his friends calling him “G” and later, the elders of the music and arts community encouraged him to embrace “Humble” as a reflection of his character.
“They challenged me to embody humility in my artistry, because being gifted and talented can lead to a path of ego and pride,” he says. “My mission is to uplift humanity with the gifts that God has blessed me with.”
As Humble G’s presence grew as he performed at open mics and festivals, he also earned the nickname “Fiddla.” So, he decided to combine the two, giving me the stage name of 'Humble G tha Fiddla.
Music has always been more than just sound to Humble G—he says it's a universal language that connects people. “I believe the violin can speak in ways words can't,” he says. “It transcends barriers, and that's why I fell in love with it.”
Humble G today combines hip-hop, R&B, reggaeton, and classical violin in his performances, creating a distinctive sound that has garnered attention both locally and nationally.
He has merged his Shawnee heritage and multifaceted musical prowess to inspire others. “As an Indigenous American of Shawnee lineage, my roots run deep in Ohio,” she shares, reflecting on the significance of his ancestors who lived in the region for millennia. “Although most of my people were forced to leave Ohio during the [Native American] removals of the 1800s, we remain strong in the Midwest. It’s an honor to represent both my heritage and the vibrant arts of Cuyahoga County.”
Over the years, he has performed for high-profile audiences, including President Barack Obama in 2008 and more recently alongside Bootsy Collins at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Humble G plans to use the Creative Impact Fund grant to produce R.S.V.P., a project that will feature original compositions blending rap, violin, and production.
“My plans for the awarded grant funds revolve around my upcoming project titled R.S.V.P., an acronym for Rapper, Singer, Violinist, Producer,” he explains. “These funds will play a crucial role in both pre- and post-production efforts for the album, encompassing recording, mixing, and mastering.”
Additionally, Humble says he plans to allocate resources for creating impactful music videos, engaging content, and a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to expand my audience reach.
The money will support recording, mastering, and video production as well as digital marketing to expand the project’s reach.
Artist Aimee Lee - Oberlin cattail harvestAimee Lee: Preserving Hanji and promoting sustainability
Aimee Lee is a pioneer in bringing Hanji—traditional Korean paper made from the inner bark of Korean mulberry tree—to the United States, with the 2010 creation of a Hanji studio at Morgan Conservatory in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood.
“It was the first Hanji studio in North America, pretty much in the western hemisphere,” says Lee, who has practiced Hanji techniques, taught workshops, lectured, and exhibited her artwork around the world for nearly 20 years.
“We launched [the studio] by starting workshops, the New York native says. “Every summer, I would come back to Cleveland and teach a Hanji workshop.”
Lee says she plans to use the Creative Impact funds to help establish a new studio space in Lyndhurst, in which she plans to integrate papermaking with sustainable gardening practices.
“The big idea is really connecting the studio with the garden—I want to figure out a more circular system of being able to use the water in papermaking,” she explains. “Instead of throwing the water down the drain, I want to figure out better [water] capture and filtration systems to either water the garden or reuse the water in the papermaking process.”
Additionally, Lee works with places like the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes and Holden Arboretum in harvesting invasive plants like yellow flag iris or Hosta to employ sustainable techniques in papermaking.
Lee earned her undergraduate degree in visual art from Oberlin College and earned her MFA in interdisciplinary book & paper arts from Columbia College in Chicago in 2006, where she studied European style and modified Japanese style papermaking.
Lee learned Korean papermaking techniques during two Fulbright Scholar trips to Korea to learn traditions and methods from two Korean Hanji experts—known as "living national treasures." The national treasures taught her everything from processing the bark and making paper to basketry using paper strips, as well as dyeing techniques and calligraphy, and bamboo weaving for making Hanji screens.
Most recently, a collection of Lee’s intricate dresses, made entirely of Hanji, were displayed at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s “Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway” exhibit that opened in April and closed last week.
“It kind of feels like so much is finally coming together,” Lee muses over the exhibit and the Assembly funds. “It's very overwhelming. It's just kind of like this fire hydrant of good things.”
Lee's goals align with her broader mission of promoting awareness of Korean papermaking traditions while also exploring new applications and sustainable practices. She says she sees her work as part of a larger effort to preserve and evolve traditional crafts in environmentally responsible ways.
“I think it's really helpful to go back to what [indigenous people] already know and learn from that,” Lee said, citing inspiration from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass,” which delves into Native American practices of sustainable harvesting.
“There are things that humans can do that are actually good for nature,” Lee says. “We just need to learn what those are and practice that."
Writer, filmmaker, performer and advocate Chris WebbChris Webb: Highlighting Black narratives through poetry
Chris Webb is a multifaceted artist, known for his work in spoken word poetry, storytelling, and video production.
Webb’s talents were evident early-on. In fact, he traces his passion for storytelling back to his youth in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood.
“My earliest poems were me as a ninth grader waiting on the bus, standing on the bus shelter, and then performing a poem for anybody who was walking by,” Webb recalls. “So I was a beat poet at, like, 13 years old.”
As an adult, Webb has made a name for himself in the past 10 years through his poetry and storytelling. “I haven't worked a normal type of job since 2014,” he boasts, adding he left his post at Michael’s crafts store to pursue his art full-time and travel the world. “After leaving that job, I actually went on tour with spoken word poetry.”
Webb's work often explores themes of identity, Black culture, and faith. “Our stories aren't monolithic,” he says. “Our stories are beautiful and rich, and they have so much room for subtlety, for confrontation, for reimagining.”
From 2015 until 2020, when the pandemic hit, Webb toured with the six-person group, Poets in Autumn—now one of the largest spoken word touring companies in the world.
“At its height, the tour hit 50 U.S. cities and international spaces, including South Africa, Kenya, the U.K., the Caribbean,” Webb explains. “We had audiences that topped 3,000 to 4,000 people, in some cases.”
In addition to his spoken word poetry, Webb has established himself as a storyteller and videographer. He recently qualified as a finalist at October’s International Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee, but the event had to be canceled because of Hurricane Helene
Webb currently works as a contributor for WKYC Channel 3. “I highlight organizations, people, institutions, and projects that do amazing things in the community, but might not get, like, the regular news shine that they deserve,” he explains.
With the Creative Impact Fund grant, Webb plans to focus on developing a one-person show that addresses life, identity, and Black culture.
“This grant is allowing me to ease a little bit of that burden and focus fully on the projects that I might have let sit by the wayside,” he says. “I want to utilize this grant to really take some time, get space, hide myself, and really develop what it is my voice wants to say. I haven't been kind to my artistic voice in the most recent years.”
Rich variety
Jeremy V. Johnson, Assembly for the Arts’ president and CEO, said this year’s Creative Impact Fund awardees are forward-thinking artists who have strong resumes of inventive artistic work.
“We are thrilled to award these meaningful grants to this group of 17 artists who were selected because of the impact their work has on their communities,” Johnson said in a statement. “They represent a variety of artistic disciplines and are in different phases of their careers.
The artists were chosen by a panel of 12 national jurors who are a diverse group of artists working in a variety of disciplines. The purpose of the fund is to encourage the growth of artists’ creative practice and advance their impact on the region. It is open to individual Cuyahoga County-based artists of all creative disciplines.
The remaining 14 Creative Impact Fund recipients are: