Arts + Culture
MOCA's cosmopolitan flair is rooted in its commitment to connect Cleveland to points across the globe via art and people.
A whirlwind tour of Cleveland with zip lines, sailboats, and bicycles; uptown, downtown and midtown - all packed into a wee two and a half minutes!
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) has announced 21 finalists for its 2016 Vibrant City Awards. Winners will be revealed on May 2 at the second annual Vibrant City Awards Lunch, hosted by CNP and presented by Key Bank and Community Blight Solutions.
“We are proud to convene community partners and stakeholders to celebrate city neighborhoods. These leading efforts in neighborhood revitalization are what help us all create a vibrant city,” says Joel Ratner, president and CEO of CNP. “The organizations and individuals being honored have displayed tremendous passion, dedication and collaboration. We’re excited to recognize them for their successful efforts in community development.”
CNP received more than 70 nominations for this year's awards.
Learn more about all 21 finalists and continue reading.
“We are proud to convene community partners and stakeholders to celebrate city neighborhoods. These leading efforts in neighborhood revitalization are what help us all create a vibrant city,” says Joel Ratner, president and CEO of CNP. “The organizations and individuals being honored have displayed tremendous passion, dedication and collaboration. We’re excited to recognize them for their successful efforts in community development.”
CNP received more than 70 nominations for this year's awards.
Learn more about all 21 finalists and continue reading.
Three programs in Northeast Ohio that attract high school students from across the globe offer an intense and realistic preview of life in a college arts program.
In this series, Fresh Water gives an insider's tour of CLE's storied neighborhoods. This week, Fresh Water contributor Mark Oprea offers up the first perfect slice of Cleveland as he shows you around his corner of the world: Little Italy.
The Cedar Taylor Development Association (CTDA) would like to commission a permanent art installation for the Cedar Taylor Business District. The budget is $3,000.
The art must be installed in the Cleveland Heights portion of the Cedar Taylor business district. Artists are invited to submit any range of concepts, from mural to sculpture. No specific medium is preferred.
The CTDA board of directors will vote on the entries to determine three finalists. Those three proposals will be voted on via the CTDA Facebook page over a one-week period. The finalists will be posted separately and the one with the highest number of “likes” will be the winner.
Proposals are due by April 30 and should be submitted via email to the president of the CTDA board of directors, Kevin Smith.
Get all the details here.
The art must be installed in the Cleveland Heights portion of the Cedar Taylor business district. Artists are invited to submit any range of concepts, from mural to sculpture. No specific medium is preferred.
The CTDA board of directors will vote on the entries to determine three finalists. Those three proposals will be voted on via the CTDA Facebook page over a one-week period. The finalists will be posted separately and the one with the highest number of “likes” will be the winner.
Proposals are due by April 30 and should be submitted via email to the president of the CTDA board of directors, Kevin Smith.
Get all the details here.
A young local entrepreneur is on the verge of introducing a unique portable studio to the world and giving everyone a chance to be a professional recording artist, wherever they may be.
Fresh Water takes a closer look at CIFF's local offerings and finds a field of sunflowers, two opposite sisters and the man behind Melt's flying grilled cheese sammie.
The Jack and Linda Lissauer Gallery at the Shaker Historical Society (SHS), 16740 South Park Blvd., will display the work of Leslye Arian via her show “Pushing Paint,” which will be on display from March 25 through May 15.
The opening reception will be held at SHS on April 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. Arian will be in attendance. This event is free and open to the public, but attendees are asked to make a reservation by calling 216-921-1201.
Arian currently serves on the Cleveland Institute of Art's alumni board and in 2015, she initiated the Pocket Park Public Art Project and the Shaker Community Gallery Project in Shaker Heights.
Get more details on Arian and the forthcoming show here.
The opening reception will be held at SHS on April 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. Arian will be in attendance. This event is free and open to the public, but attendees are asked to make a reservation by calling 216-921-1201.
Arian currently serves on the Cleveland Institute of Art's alumni board and in 2015, she initiated the Pocket Park Public Art Project and the Shaker Community Gallery Project in Shaker Heights.
Get more details on Arian and the forthcoming show here.
Experimental theater company convergence-continuum (con-con) has raised 10 percent of the funds needed to buy the Liminis building, 2438 Scranton Rd., its home since 2002.
Con-con's board launched a $200,000 capital campaign in January to purchase the property in the Scranton South Historic District in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood from Clyde Simon, the company's artistic director and a founding member. The building can be had for $130,000, the exact amount Simon needs to pay off mortgage and closing costs. The remaining $70,000 would be placed in reserve for future repair and operation costs.
Simon, 69, will not be making a profit from the sale, he notes. The theater official, along with co-founder Brian Breth, paid $160,000 for the space in 2000, spending another $100,000 for a new lighting system and other improvements. Board voice president Geoffrey Hoffman, a realtor with Howard Hanna, recently estimated the property's market value at $230,000 to $250,000.
"I'm taking a loss from my initial purchase price, plus all I've invested in upgrading the property in its conversion into a theater," says Simon.
Selling below market value is no problem for Simon, who single-handedly manages the 6,000-square-foot building while living in the theater’s backstage apartment. Not only have the duties of ownership become financially untenable, Simon says, using an extension ladder to clean the gutters isn't how he wants to spend his golden years.
"I want the company to stay right where it is," says Simon, who bought out his partner Breth's share of the 150-year-old structure in 2005. "I've been doing less of the artistic stuff to keep it going."
Simon is confidant con-con can raise the needed money before the end of 2016, when he would need to put the theater on the market. Con-con is already receiving cash donations, and will be approaching foundations for funding help in spring. In addition, $200,000 is a fairly modest amount when compared to a capital campaign arts' scene that can run into the tens of millions.
"Our board is working their connections," says Simon. "Their enthusiasm makes me optimistic."
Simon looks forward to being relived of his managerial responsibilities so he can focus his energies on directing, acting and set designing.
"I'm only directing one show this year; before that I was much more active," he says. "I want to be a bigger part of the exciting stuff rather than having to pay the mortgage and fix the roof."
Con-con's board launched a $200,000 capital campaign in January to purchase the property in the Scranton South Historic District in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood from Clyde Simon, the company's artistic director and a founding member. The building can be had for $130,000, the exact amount Simon needs to pay off mortgage and closing costs. The remaining $70,000 would be placed in reserve for future repair and operation costs.
Simon, 69, will not be making a profit from the sale, he notes. The theater official, along with co-founder Brian Breth, paid $160,000 for the space in 2000, spending another $100,000 for a new lighting system and other improvements. Board voice president Geoffrey Hoffman, a realtor with Howard Hanna, recently estimated the property's market value at $230,000 to $250,000.
"I'm taking a loss from my initial purchase price, plus all I've invested in upgrading the property in its conversion into a theater," says Simon.
Selling below market value is no problem for Simon, who single-handedly manages the 6,000-square-foot building while living in the theater’s backstage apartment. Not only have the duties of ownership become financially untenable, Simon says, using an extension ladder to clean the gutters isn't how he wants to spend his golden years.
"I want the company to stay right where it is," says Simon, who bought out his partner Breth's share of the 150-year-old structure in 2005. "I've been doing less of the artistic stuff to keep it going."
Simon is confidant con-con can raise the needed money before the end of 2016, when he would need to put the theater on the market. Con-con is already receiving cash donations, and will be approaching foundations for funding help in spring. In addition, $200,000 is a fairly modest amount when compared to a capital campaign arts' scene that can run into the tens of millions.
"Our board is working their connections," says Simon. "Their enthusiasm makes me optimistic."
Simon looks forward to being relived of his managerial responsibilities so he can focus his energies on directing, acting and set designing.
"I'm only directing one show this year; before that I was much more active," he says. "I want to be a bigger part of the exciting stuff rather than having to pay the mortgage and fix the roof."
Stephen Manka has installed public art throughout the city. His subtle methods, however, reveal myriad connections between Clevelanders, their spaces and their history.
Last month, local artist Dana Oldfather completed her second commission for the MGM Resorts International's Aria Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The work consists of two large pieces, Reflexive 1 and 2, which measure roughly 10 ½ by 12 feet each. She completed her previous commission for the hospitality giant in 2013 when she was seven months pregnant.
"I'm sure glad it went well because it provided the opportunity to make the largest paintings I have every made," says Oldfather of this second commission. She finished both Reflexive pieces on February 13 then prepared them for shipping by dismantling and rolling them. The works will eventually unfurl in the resort's exclusive Sky Suites Lounge.
"It's been a long process," says Oldfather, "about two months of planning, building and ordering, and four months of painting. I am so thankful for my family and all the help they provided so that this project would be possible."
Get more details on the artist and her process here.
"I'm sure glad it went well because it provided the opportunity to make the largest paintings I have every made," says Oldfather of this second commission. She finished both Reflexive pieces on February 13 then prepared them for shipping by dismantling and rolling them. The works will eventually unfurl in the resort's exclusive Sky Suites Lounge.
"It's been a long process," says Oldfather, "about two months of planning, building and ordering, and four months of painting. I am so thankful for my family and all the help they provided so that this project would be possible."
Get more details on the artist and her process here.
Fresh Water managing photographer Bob Perkoski rarely lets a Cleveland icon go unrecorded no matter how humble it may be.
The Spring 2016 issue of CAN Journal marks the beginning of a partnership between Collective Arts Network and the Cleveland Foundation to broaden awareness of the Foundation's Creative Fusion international artist residency program. The new issue will be released at the Bonfoey Gallery, 1710 Euclid Avenue, in tandem with the opening of Ron Barron's Gleanings with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 4. This event is free and open to the public.
Each year since 2008, the Foundation has brought artists from around the world to Cleveland for three-month residencies hosted by local nonprofit organizations. The new issue of CAN introduces audiences to the Spring 2016 cohort, which is hosted by Zygote Press, the Cleveland Print Room, Verb Ballets, Inlet Dance Theater, The Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, and The Sculpture Center. Artists of the Spring cohort hail from Albania, Pakistan, South Africa, and Taiwan.
In addition to Creative Fusion, the new issue of CAN includes feature stories on two African American artists whose work deals with race matters, Darius Steward and Clotilde Jimenez, and on what the Cleveland Institute of Art's new unified campus means to the organization's past and future, a review of Unfixed at Transformer Station, comprehensive event listings, and previews of upcoming shows at three-dozen galleries.
Each year since 2008, the Foundation has brought artists from around the world to Cleveland for three-month residencies hosted by local nonprofit organizations. The new issue of CAN introduces audiences to the Spring 2016 cohort, which is hosted by Zygote Press, the Cleveland Print Room, Verb Ballets, Inlet Dance Theater, The Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, and The Sculpture Center. Artists of the Spring cohort hail from Albania, Pakistan, South Africa, and Taiwan.
In addition to Creative Fusion, the new issue of CAN includes feature stories on two African American artists whose work deals with race matters, Darius Steward and Clotilde Jimenez, and on what the Cleveland Institute of Art's new unified campus means to the organization's past and future, a review of Unfixed at Transformer Station, comprehensive event listings, and previews of upcoming shows at three-dozen galleries.
The Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit has created the equivalent of 1,729 full-time jobs since 2011 and generated more than $400 million in economic impact - and Northeast Ohio has had a starring role in all of it.