Seventeen (17) artists received a 2024 Creative Impact Fund. Assembly’s panel of national jurors, comprised of artists and creative professionals based in cities outside of Cleveland, reviewed and selected this year’s awardees.

The artists each will receive $10,000 in unrestricted funding to grow their artistic practice plus professional and business development opportunities through programs with Assembly partners. The Creative Impact Fund is currently one of the largest unrestricted grant funds available to Cuyahoga County artists.

The Creative Impact Fund is made possible by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. The program provides flexible (unrestricted) funding and professional and business development opportunities. Development includes mentorship and networking opportunities, and memberships to Assembly for the Arts and the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE). 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.

Meet Julia Rosa Sosa

Julia Rosa Sosa is a performing artist and storyteller hailing from Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas. Currently based in Cleveland, OH, she is a proud alumna of the University of Texas at El Paso, where she studied Theatre and Sociology.

Julia’s specialty lies in theatre, music, and storytelling. Through her work, she explores the magic of being ordinary and emphasizes how every individual has impactful stories to share. Growing up in a dangerous and unstable place, Julia endeavors to bring messages of hope to her audiences, even if her shows are heartbreaking at times.

In 2020, Julia received the Julia de Burgos Cultural Art Center and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture In-house Residency, which enabled her to produce the US premiere of Valentina y la Sombra del Diablo. This children’s play teaches kids about consent and sexual abuse disclosure. Additionally, Julia participated in the Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Center for Performance and Civic Practice Learning Lab in partnership with Esperanza, Inc. In this project, she worked with a group of Latin American students living in the United States, collecting and sharing their views on various topics, including lifestyle, education, family, identity, hobbies, passions, and what it’s like to live during a pandemic. This podcast also serves as a time capsule, reflecting the present and preserving it for future generations.

Julia has contributed her skills as a songwriter and vocalist to the development of two albums for the Lunatic music project. Furthermore, she has performed across the border and bi-nationally during the Maelstrom Collective Arts window activation in 2022.

In addition to performing, Julia has also worked as a freelance theatre director, having directed and assistant directed shows in Oregon, Colorado, Arkansas, Cleveland, New York City, and Ohio. Her play, El Toro y la Nina, premiered as a radio play at the ReUnion rEvolucion | a Latinx new works Fest in 2020.

Overall, Julia Rosa Sosa’s work as a performer and storyteller seeks to share impactful stories that leave a lasting impression on her audience. Whether it’s through theatre, music, or podcasting, she is dedicated to exploring the beauty of the ordinary and the resilience of the human spirit.

Creative Impact Fund Project: El Romantico

Meet Linda Zolten Wood

Linda Zolten Wood brings arts and sustainability together to create solutions to environmental issues and raise awareness to practical solutions to our changing climate, while creating beauty in our communities. Rain barrels help keep pollution out of Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River, and give us free rain water for gardens, yard care and even car washes.

Cleveland Institute of Art graduate, LZW was inspired to make these ugly big plastic chunks more beautiful by applying her mural painting skills to improve their overall acceptance and wider use. She created The Collinwood Painted Rain Barrel Project in 2012. Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Neighborhood Connections, Community Partnership for Arts and Culture Grantee, Zolten Wood wanted Cleveland’s efforts of water conservation to be celebrated, as approximately 400 free barrels have been provided by Mayor Jackson for all of Cleveland neighborhoods for the last ten years, proving to be a popular program, but these barrels are eyesores. Her project will beautify them and encourage long-term usefulness for families who need gardens most.

Zolten Wood’s Upcycled Arts Workshops are influenced by travels in India, which practices a national ethic of ‘no waste’, where practically everything is repaired or reused in some way: Conservation as a daily practice and long-term culture. We benefit fro mending and recreating objects into new useful objects or artworks to beautify our spaces. Our landfills need to slow in growth, and we need to review our consumption habits. Upcycling is a useful tool for communities to tidy up and share with each other.

These project have been brought into schools, libraries, garden clubs and farmers markets for educational programs to help communities beautify their gardens and homes with painted barrels and repurposed artwork. Stormwater and Landfill reduction benefit our fresh waterways, wildlife and drinking water resources and art improves our quality of life. Her philosophy “Art For All” offers creativity to anyone who wants to try, regardless of economics or education: She has experienced the healing of the Arts in all areas of her life.

Creative Impact Fund Project: Sustainable Arts with Zolten Wood Design & Collinwood Painted Rain Barrel Project

Meet Dale Goode

Dale A. Goode is a Cleveland-based artists and arts educator. He works primarily in photography, mixed media collage and sculpture. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Hiram College and pursued his graduate studies at Kent State University. Over the last 40 years, Mr. Goode has exhibited his work widely throughout the Midwest. His work is included in various corporate, university and institutional collections, Akron Art Museum, University Hospital of Cleveland, Hiram College and The Dalad Group. He was selected as one of the International artists to participate in Front International Triennial and has received a grant from Spaces Art Gallery.

Mr. Goode’s primary focus is spotlighting the issues and beauty of the community he represents and the people who share that community. His sculptures, paintings, and prints reflect the way he sees the world and wishes others could see it as well. His most recent bodies of work have been named RAW VISION, bodies of work which contrast what we see and what we call it. Women, Domestic Violence, Beauty, and Trash, all seen have been seen in exhibit locally and away from Cleveland over the past 2 years.

Good’s focus right now is on Domestic Violence. He thinks of domestic violence and wonders how much is carried out of our homes into the streets of our cities where it explodes in the unprepared relationships we have in our community. Patterns that we create through behavior and language shape out home as much as physical environment of doors, windows, furniture and costume. His art work reflects this by the construct of sculptures and the way he uses objects like shoes, handbags and doors to create symbolic understanding of this epidemic of violence.

Creative Impact Fund Project: Domestic Violence Is Not Pretty

Meet Mary Kay Thomas

Mary Kay Thomas has had a lifelong artistic practice, influenced by the women in her family who have been engaged in various artistic disciplines for multiple generations. While she has experience in jewelry and metalworking, printmaking, and drawing, Mary primarily focuses on photography-based oil/acrylic paintings as a means to capture the essence of memories.

Her inspiration stems from the experiences, people, and moments that have contributed to shaping her identity, which she seeks to immortalize in her artwork. Each piece is a gift to future generations and a tribute to her family’s artistic heritage. Mary’s family serves as her muse, and she employs a vibrant and expressive palette to celebrate the rich cultural fabric of Cleveland, deeply rooted in her lineage and connected to the broader history of Africa.

Having survived a ruptured brain aneurysm, Mary holds a deep conviction that while life can be fragile, healing comes through expression and paying homage to what is held dear. Her artistic practice extends beyond the personal realm and finds its place in the community as well. As an art educator, Mary’s work is informed by her interactions with individuals of all ages, exposing her to diverse viewpoints and enriching her creative process.

Mary actively engages with Cleveland’s art communities, such as Zygote Press and CAN Journal, which further strengthen her ties to the cities of Cleveland and East Cleveland. Additionally, she has initiated her own public art project, The U and I of Euclid Ave, a Gateway to East Cleveland, and has collaborated with service-based organizations like Food Strong. Through these endeavors, Mary aims to foster a stronger connection to her community and utilize art as a medium for inspiration, encouragement, empowerment, and healing.

Creative Impact Fund Project: U & I of Euclid Avenue

Meet Georgio Sabino

A highly acclaimed multi-disciplinary visual artist, photographer, designer, author and educator; “I have fostered connections with business pioneers to build and develop new talent and works of art.”

Twice an official photographer at The White House for President Obama’s invitation to photograph, Two National Champions, current director at Hector Vega Studio. Georgio Sabino III continues to consistently create magic. Virginia Marti, Ursuline College, Cuyahoga Community colleges, Cleveland Entertainment Coalition, the Visit and numerous community organizations’ have emerged under Georgio’s engagement and service as a chief visionary and prime strategist. His digital art searches for dramatic lines pushing vibrant colors but depicting strong contrast between the images in each work of art. An experienced artist, businessman and educator with current participation in the professional arts and business community, he fosters real life connections with business pioneers to build and develop new talent and with a collaborative approach to create new works of art.

Sabino’s art, photographs and graphic design work conveys polyrhythmic identities striving to be heard, but especially to be seen. By concentrating on the principles of design, a thorough understanding of the relationship between the visual arts and the future of art is conveyed but by adding the next level of augmented reality to show there are no bounds. Sabino shares, “I created art that stimulates the imagination and challenges the intellect using art and technology. The viewer can explore, discover and uncover their polyrhythmic identities through art and space.”

Georgio Sabino III is a man of many talents. He is a fashion designer, artist, and a true visionary in the world of fashion and art. He was born in a small town in Ohio, and from a young age, he knew that he wanted to create beautiful things.

Growing up, Georgio would often sketch designs for clothes and accessories in his notebook. His parents, who both recognized his talent and encouraged him to pursue his passion. They enrolled him in a prestigious fashion school (Kent State University), where he honed his skills and developed his unique style. After graduating, Georgio moved to NYC, the fashion capital of the world. There, he became an entrepreneur, learning everything he could about the industry. He soon launched his own fashion photography business (in Cleveland Ohio), “GS3 Art, Fashion & Photography”, which quickly became a household name.

His art and fashion were a fusion of classic and contemporary styles, with a touch of eccentricity. He was known for his use of bold colors, hand painting silks and unconventional textiles, which set him apart from other designers. He also incorporated elements of art into his collections, often collaborating with artists to create one-of-a-kind pieces.

Georgio’s runway shows are always a spectacle, with models walking down the runway wearing sculptural pieces that were as much art as they were fashion. His dream is to have his designs were worn by celebrities, royalty, and fashion influencers, and GS3 has been featured in magazines and social media.

Creative Impact Fund Project: Artistic Jungle Series

Contact Georgio: gsabino3@gmail.com

Meet Natasha Herbert

While some attend schools to learn a trade, others have a keen, natural ability to do it. The latter describes artists who are born with intrinsic talent, which defines Natasha Lehuanani Herbert. Her young life spent honing her skills in drawing, as an escape from a troubled childhood in the inner city of Cleveland, progressed into a passion for creation. The need to actualize her artistic desires led her to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Digital Media from Michigan State University. Upon launching her professional photography career, she realized a plethora of awe-inspiring wedding, portrait and street work. Herbert’s wedding portraits have been featured in numerous highly recognized publications like Essence, Huffington Post, and Glamour Magazine.

In 2022, she was recognized with the Allen E. Cole Excellence in Photojournalism award from the Western Reserve Historical Society. Herbert has always used photography as an outlet to relieve the stresses of her environment. In doing so, she’s achieved much success and wishes to foster and give back to youth growing up in the same circumstances that she endured. Herbert’s desire is to inspire inner-city youth in Cleveland, by creating a hands-on photography program. This program will be an outlet that provides an enriching experience for youth to learn a new, marketable skill and adopt a positive, creative hobby.

Creative Impact Fund Project: The Avenue Cleveland

Natasha Herbert will instruct and lead a photography program which will have a strong emphasis on the technical use of a DSLR camera. She will teach the youth participants how to use their eye to connect emotionally and drive them to produce images that speak and evoke some sort of response from the viewer. The program will challenge their creativity while simultaneously teaching them all of the processes of photography. For example, finding inspiration from movies by using the Rule of Thirds method, learning how to correctly use light, composing their shots, and having the capability to change their settings based on the environment. By the end of the program, the youth will have gained a definite understanding of capturing moments.

In addition, at the end of the program, the youth will have to take photos that are emotionally driven. The challenge is to take photos that are candid and evoke some sort of response from the audience. They will get their inspirations from every day life and movie scenes. At the end of The Avenue program, the photos will be printed/matted on 13 x 19 format paper, and they will have a photography exhibition to showcase their captures. Herbert plans to go to the regions of the area she feels need it most like East Cleveland, where she currently teaches at Kenneth Clement Boys’ Leadership Academy. Pamphlets will be handed to the schools and or youth facilities like recreation centers with the photography program description.

Furthermore, Kenneth Clement Boys Leadership Academy intends to create an after school program for students in school or a week day program at the recreation centers. The project in itself is very close to home for Natasha Herbert because she grew up in the Kinsman neighborhood, which was often plagued with violence and no opportunities available to youth. She wants to show youth that there’s more out here. The goal is to encourage youth to seek and obtain success despite their environmental factors. Herbert already has extensive experience teaching 4 grade – 8th grade children about photography. She works with 15 students at the Kenneth Clement Boys Leadership Academy. Furthermore, Herbert independently invests in and provides all current supplies and materials, i.e. cameras, lens, and lighting, for the classes that she teaches. The Avenue Cleveland Photography program will provide an explorative art and most importantly bring light to the youth in these communities that lack resources.