Source: ideastream
Date: July 17, 2023
Abstract:
Assembly For the Arts has announced 16 artists are receiving grants to create work in Cleveland and East Cleveland. Each award of $6,250 is for projects in redlined communities which traditionally lack arts investment. Artists will also receive professional development opportunities and support from Assembly for the Arts, an advocacy group for arts and culture in the region.
Some of the projects receiving support include an ice cream truck that’s been converted into a portable recording studio and an elderly visual artist whose work focuses on the impact of domestic violence. The grants are drawn from $140,000 in Cuyahoga Arts & Culture funding.
“You’re going to see neighborhoods that we don’t always associate with arts and culture,” said Assembly President Jeremy Johnson. Calling the areas “potential-bound,” he said that many of the artists have been living and working in the neighborhoods for years.
“I don’t want to say we’re bringing arts to communities,” he said. “We are ‘surfacing’ arts and culture that’s already there and helping it blossom even more.”