PRESS RELEASE: July 14, 2023
Media Contact: Malissa Bodmann; 216-536-7517

16 Local Artists Selected to Bring Transformational Projects to Redlined Communities in Cleveland

Assembly’s Creative Impact Fund Artists will work in 11 Cleveland neighborhoods and East Cleveland

CLEVELAND, OHIO — Assembly for the Arts has selected 16 local artists to create transformational arts projects in redlined communities that lack arts investment.

The Creative Impact Fund, funded by Cuyahoga County taxpayers through a $140,000 grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, will help to develop areas of significant arts activity in Cleveland and East Cleveland. This is the first grant program for artists in Cuyahoga County that is specifically focused on investing in historically redlined neighborhoods.

Jeremy V. Johnson, president and CEO of Assembly for the Arts, said the organization is excited to launch another artist funding opportunity. “The Creative Impact Fund is in line with Assembly’s mission of expanding resources and increasing the equity in Cleveland’s arts and culture scene, translating into 16 meaningful programs and experiences for both artists and residents. We are excited to welcome the first cohort of artists and get dollars into their hands so they, in turn, can hone their practice and help the redlined communities in which they create,” he said. “Arts are a powerful tool in creating community.”

The 16 artists, their projects and neighborhood location are listed below. The artists were selected through an application and panel review process.

  • Shadi Ayoub
    Let’s Print Together! (Visual Arts, Graphic Design, and Craft; St. Clair Superior, Clark Fulton, or Asiatown)
  • Alexander Corona
    Raíces: Danzas de México (Dance; St. Clair Superior)
  • Moises De Freitas
    Afro Brazilian Cultural Appreciation Initiative (Dance, Music, Writing/Literature; East Cleveland)
  • Dale Goode
    Domestic Violence is Not Pretty (Visual Arts, East Cleveland)
  • Natasha Herbert 
    The Avenue Cleveland Youth Photography Program (Film/Media; Midtown, St. Clair Superior; Central-Kinsman; or East Cleveland)
  • Baba Jubal Harris
    Heart Beat Drum Circle (Music; East Cleveland)
  • Stephanie Lassiter
    The Girl (Film/Media; Mt. Pleasant)
  • Josh Maxwell
    ROOTED (Visual Arts; Broadway-Slavic Village)
  • Adenike Harper
    A Peace of Cake (Visual Arts; Central-Kinsman; North & South Collinwood)
  • Robin Robinson
    Recapture the Spirit of Our Community Park (Visual Arts; Glenville)
  • Georgio Sabino
    Artistic Jungle Series (Visual Arts, Fashion; Fairfax)
  • Julie Schabel
    Wave Space Summer Camps (Visual Arts; North & South Collinwood; Hough; Central-Kinsman; Union Miles; or St. Clair Superior)
  • Ben Smith
    The Splice Cream Spliced Team Dream Concert Series (Music & Visual Arts; Buckeye-Woodhill)
  • Julia Sosa
    El Romantico (Theater, Writing/Literature; Clark Fulton)
  • Mary Thomas
    U & I of Euclid Avenue (Visual Art; East Cleveland)
  • Linda Zolten Wood
    Sustainable Arts with Zolten Wood Design & Collinwood Painted Rain Barrel Project (Visual Arts, Craft; East Cleveland and North Collinwood)

The Creative Impact Fund artists receive:

  • $6,250, of which up to $2,500 is unrestricted support and $3,750 in project support
  • Professional development opportunities, valued at $2,075, supported by the Entrepreneur in Residence powered by Huntington
  • Support from Assembly’s staff who will advise project leads in attaining their project goals via marketing and professional development support and connections to institutional partners, potential collaborators or thought partners
  • Assembly for the Arts membership

Learn more at www.assemblycle.org/creativeimpactfund. Assembly for the Arts’ Creative Impact Fund is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

ABOUT

Assembly for the Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a focus on advocacy, cultural policy, racial equity initiatives, research, marketing that elevates the region, and services for nonprofits, artists, and creative businesses. It is governed by a volunteer board with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. Assembly by design operates in close partnership with Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, a government agency, and Assembly for Action, a 501(c)4 political action nonprofit to serve the entire creative sector. Assembly is supported through major funding from: The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Ohio Arts Council, Huntington, KeyBank, The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation, Fred & Laura Beth Bidwell, and Barbara S. Robinson. www.assemblycle.org