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It's Friday, April 19th.

And I'm Cynthia Connelly, director of Programing here, and pleased to welcome Jeremy Johnson, president and CEO at Assembly for the Arts.

Today's forum is Lucille De and Robert Hays, Greece Forum on Cultural Arts and also part of our local Heroes series, which spotlights champions here in Northeast Ohio, whose hard work changes the way we view ourselves and our community.

Those who know Jeremy Johnson will agree that he is an outspoken champion for cities and the role of the creative sector in improving America's America's communities.

Jeremy grew up in the Huff and Glenville neighborhoods and would go on to serve the leadership on the leadership team that created the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and became the philanthropic liaison for the Newark mayor and now Senator Cory Booker.

A win for Cleveland.

Jeremy is back home.

He became president and CEO of Assembly for the Arts in June 2021 and since then has worked hard to expand the pie and increase equity in Cleveland's arts and culture industries.

But simply Assembly for the Arts is the umbrella organization that advocates for and unites Greater Cleveland's complex creative sector under Jeremy's leadership, assembly is reigniting Cleveland's creative economy, which generates 9.1 billion annually and supports nearly nearly 65,000 jobs.

In the coming months, the Assembly will endeavor to motivate Cuyahoga County voters to once again pass a tobacco levy in support of the arts and culture nonprofits.

We will hear more about this and the work Jeremy is undertaking and the important role the creative sector has here in Northeast Ohio.

Shortly moderating the conversation is Randa K. Brown, senior strategist for Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy at the city of Cleveland.

She is the city's first arts strategist and a Shaker Heights native.

Before taking up the role of Cleveland's arts czar, Rhonda worked as a professional artist in Chicago and as president of the City Colleges of Chicago Foundation.

She brings over three decades of experience to her role here in the city.

If you have a question for our speaker, you can text it to 3305415794.

That's 3305415794.

And our city club staff will try their best to work it into the second half of the program.

Members and Friends of the City of Cleveland please join me in welcoming Jeremy and Ronda.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, let's give another hand for our local hero, Jeremy Johnson.

Congratulations, my friend.

Thank you.

I am so excited to share this stage with you, to talk about the changing landscape of arts and culture in Cuyahoga County.

An important frame for our discussion as we talk about arts and culture.

And our intention is to be inclusive of the totality of Cuyahoga, of the Cuyahoga County Arts ecosystem, which includes all artists, the art form, the practice community organizations, education organizations, k through 20 big, medium, small and cultural institutions, independent performance venues, arts districts, entrepreneurs and more.

With that lens, let's get right into it.

Jeremy, you ready?

It's great to be here.

Thank you.

And first caveat, in recognition of the those wonderful speeches we heard, I did not use AI or GP chat to get ready for today, but it's great to be here.

Neither did I.

Okay.

I'd love the audience to get to know you a bit better.

We heard a little bit from Cynthia about your background, but who is Jeremy Johnson and what drove your big change that brought you back home to Cleveland from the East Coast?

That's a great question.

And I'm sure my story probably resonates with most people in this room or most people who are listening.

Growing up in Glenville, one of my great memories is walking from growing up in Huff and then Glenville and Huff.

I walked to the music school settlement for my first music lessons.

I would hide my music books under my jacket.

So the neighborhood bullies wouldn't bully me about being a music kid.

But it stayed with me.

And later, my brother and I, we would hang out at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Hall of Armor.

And then third grade.

I couldn't sleep for weekends, weeks.

As we prepare to get on a yellow school bus to go to see the Cleveland Orchestra.

Seeing caramel during the holidays was a big deal for us, so my formative years know this is no stranger to the people in this room.

The formative years of Clevelanders and greater Clevelanders are shaped by arts and culture.

The landscape, as we move forward.

Here I'm getting into those talking points, this dumpy talking point.

Let's hear the anecdotes.

But the anecdotes, the anecdote, the storytelling.

Storytelling is part of our culture.

So as you hear about me and my brother, who really wanted to be a comic writer, he drew and wrote all of our young lives.

But he never went to art school.

He end up going to the Air Force and did well.

But I thought if he could have gotten the CIA like like my my my sister's friend who is now a great animator.

Wow, wouldn't that be something else?

So part of what makes Cleveland great and why came back was for the new terms that are coming up for the new Rhonda's that are coming up and this great written with that.

Yeah I'll leave it at that.

We've got a future ahead of us.

And the glass is half full, folks.

The glass is half full.

I love that, Jeremy.

He's so positive at all times.

So we have quite a few artists, arts and culture leaders, funders, arts users here in the room today and listening on the air.

If you would provide some context and color about the arts and culture ecosystem in Cuyahoga County, I think that would be good to level set.

You know, where we are.

The creative economy, that's a buzzword we hear often.

What do we mean by the creative economy?

Yes, we're talking about visual artists that paint and sculpt.

Yes, we're talking about performers on our stages.

We're right here in Playhouse Square.

But the creative economy is so much more.

It's designers and architects spoken word, film, art.

You know, we just had a big creative economy moment in Cleveland.

Y'all remember the eclipse a few weeks ago?

You're stealing my mother.

Oh, okay.

I want to steal the arts economy here.

One thing we do at my organization, Assembly for the Arts, we measure the impact.

I will not bore you with the statistics that even in the aftermath of the pandemic, we were a half a billion, a half billion dollar industry just in Cuyahoga County, just in nonprofits.

I'm not even talking about those other legs, individual artists, creative businesses.

When we put all of that together, we are a powerhouse and we must continue to be that powerhouse.

So the arts community and literally I see many of you in the audiences, I'm sure listening, you could be out every night of the week, every day of the week and not touch all of the arts and culture that is happening in this sector.

We want to keep that going.

That's what keeps our region a place for people to stay, to grow, to come back, to attract.

No great city is great without arts and culture, and you cannot have the arts without having artists.

So indeed, indeed, we.

So Jeremy, speaking on some of the data points you just mentioned, there were two big headlines in 2023 about the vitality and economic impact of arts and culture in our region.

And I'll just share a little bit about them.

SMU Data Arts Vitality Index listed our Arts Vibrancy Number 12 out of 20 behind New York, Washington, D.C., Nashville, New Orleans and Los Angeles, among others.

And the Economic Prosperity Report completed by the Americans for the Arts found that Cuyahoga County, an arts and culture industry generated, which Jeremy just mentioned, over a half a billion dollars in economic prosperity.

That is unbelievable in the aftermath of a pandemic.

So what I'd like you to do, Jeremy, is talk about not that great stuff because we just heard about that, but I want you to talk about the fine print.

Right.

What are some of the salient talking points and it's okay to give your talking points now about the arts and culture, about our arts and culture scene in Cuyahoga County.

Behind those big headlines.

Charles Dickens Write Tale of Two Cities on the Stage.

Every week we often hear about the tale of two cities, all that Cleveland has its assets, Great Lakes, 100 year old institutions, philanthropy so strong.

Actually, that's another reason why I came back.

Strong philanthropy, strong partnerships.

But that tale of two cities.

Yes, it's about great anchor institutions.

It's about partnerships.

But you don't have to go too far from this room we're sitting in to find culturally rich communities that are economically challenged and have been for a long time.

So behind those headlines are some wonderful bright spots.

If you go to Deep Roots Gallery on East 79th and Cedar, a private Louis run gallery that is just blowing out artists left and right.

What what does that mean for the city, the southeast part of our town that the mayor said we're going to invest the Marshall Plan.

We're the cultural anchors there.

The cultural vitality, they're that tale of two cities looms large for us.

We want to be a city where we all are rising.

And I'm really excited that whether we're anchors, whether we're smaller budget nonprofits, individual artists, things are happening even as we speak.

You know, I'm not a breakdancer.

I'm not breakdancing will soon be a part of the Olympics.

Did you know that Cleveland had finalists that are gearing up for the Olympics and they perform?

I'm one of them.

Oh, The OC Dan Mulford Multiple 50 other one I don't know, ran a team together.

Cleveland is part of the pipeline and of all the places that you could have seen them working this out was the lobby of Severance Hall of the esteemed Cleveland Orchestra.

This mash up of arts, culture, people literally.

I mean, we just heard this whole conversation about A.I.

in my mind, what Cleveland brings is bringing people physically together.

I can literally touch you.

This is not air.

I can literally see you when we are together in community and festivals, whether it's OUTFRONT at the Tri-C Jazz Festival that fills these streets, whether, yeah, if I start down the road of naming, I'm going to be endless.

We will not leave here.

But what we see is people line up as they listen, as they create art.

The physicality that is part of democracy.

That was why one reason why I came back to Cleveland.

I continue to work so that you know for sense since on a cigaret we could continue this going we have done this for 20 years with something very special here with this tobacco levy that's now about to expire, which we cannot let that happen.

Okay.

So I will ask the question that, you know, I can't ask since you mentioned I won't I won't ask it, but I know you're going to answer the question about the question I cannot ask you about.

Don't ask me.

But, you know, one thing that brought me back was opportunity and a challenge.

People love a challenge.

As I read about my old city, you know, living in Glenville, I now live on the near west side.

As I was coming back and being interviewed, there is a challenge because before I was here there was not the special tax.

Those who are listening in this room know we are unique in the country.

We have a special levy that supports only the arts, the nonprofit arts community.

It's 20 years old.

It has delivered 4000 grants to a quarter billion dollars of a quarter billion dollars.

And we can't let that go away.

Those dollars have been going down.

The good news is fewer people are smoking.

You've heard this for now.

How many years?

We have an opportunity to turn that lever so we can hold on to those new Ronda's the new Jeremy that are out there that are experiencing the arts, creating the arts from pre-K to higher education.

Cleveland State is in the house here.

How are we working with our universities?

Higher ed to make sure arts, which is a big industry here, is tapping in to a very diverse pipeline coming up.

Speaking of education, it's a perfect segue way.

I'd love for you to talk a little bit about the K through 12 and post-secondary space in relation to arts and culture, the landscape.

What are you seeing as some of the changes that are happening in our schools as it relates to the arts?

Two words school busses.

I was at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History the other day and there were school busses there.

I was at Great Lakes Science Center School busses, little kids learning about science.

And we cannot talk about the arts and culture unless we talk about arts education.

We cannot talk about arts education unless we talk about what's happening in our schools and afterschool.

And during the summer, there's an opportunity.

There are plenty of opportunities to work with school districts.

Artists are employed by school districts.

Artists are employed in a number of ways working with children.

We have to continue to do that in a strong way.

Our children, our future and arts and culture is a big part of that.

I think everybody in this room could have said that, but let let's let's make sure that we keep saying it.

We have to hammer this home.

This is a drumbeat.

Thank you.

Okay.

So mile markers measure the distance to a destination.

If transformation is the destination, what are some examples of importance and impactful mile markers that are going to get us towards this change in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County?

Fair question.

I feel in a way this is going to sound flattering, but I'm looking at part of what transformation means.

That's right.

What I've learned in my years of working in public private sector is there's got to be collaboration, there's got to be partnership.

There's there has to be people that invest in that glue on knowing that our city leadership is working with the arts sector, knowing that our county leaders leadership is working in partnership, knowing that philanthropy is at the table.

What excites me about Cleveland is all these partners are coming together.

Literally, the name of my organization was renamed Assembly for the Arts.

What does transformation look like?

It looks like partnerships.

And we're sitting in a 100 year old institution that has been having conversations of consequence.

What does that mean?

When I was in New Jersey, I would say, Where is our city club?

How do we the world is watching Cleveland Arts and culture is leading us.

Science is leading us, health is leading us.

I'm just so excited how these are pushing together.

Can I share one anecdote?

The other day I had a doctor's appointment and I was at Metro Health Hip.

A loss.

I remember that.

Okay.

Anyway, you sometimes get nervous, you're having tests, so I went to the cafeteria and our health system here not only are worldwide known for their health leadership, the art is incredible.

So I'm sitting there getting a little bit nervous.

And this cafeteria there is like this five story mural and Metro Health.

You've got to go to the cafeteria by a woman name Weiss.

And I forgot her name.

Weiss.

Thank you.

And then shows a couple look.

They look like they're hugging.

This thing is five storeys high.

I may be exaggerating.

I'm sitting there, it comes down, and while I'm sitting there, an artist did that.

While I'm sitting there, I hear a tune on a flute.

Da da da da da da da.

Da da da da da da.

I turn around just there's a flutist playing in this atrium.

Our culture, health, wellness.

They come together.

And in our society, yes, they do.

So they go together.

And it's not just what we believe.

The surgeon general last year said the top health issue in this country is isolation, loneliness.

It's causing us to have shorter lives, the trauma that we face, how our arts and culture are touching all of that, not just in a nice way to go to the your child's dance, but in policy ways.

How are we working with the city?

The county, the transformation of our lakefront?

How are creatives leading that?

So I could go on that.

Let me pause there.

Oh, it's beautiful, Jeremy, for sharing that vulnerable moment.

That that's really nice.

I, I would I'm going to ask a question that wasn't on my list.

You might have imagined I was going to throw you a little bit of a curve ball, but it's not.

You're going to be able to slam dunk.

It's you know, I want you to talk about the importance of individual artists, visual theatrical writers, dancers, etc., chefs.

The range of artists just talk about how important they are to this ingredients, mix this recipe that we're we're cooking up together.

I like the way you've brought it out.

Usually we think of the arts and culture.

Fine arts.

We have a one way of thing yet.

You know, I, I was at my barber the other day.

He's got this little sticker says, you know, barbering is an art.

It's a culture.

It's it's a lifestyle, an art culture in a way.

We are all artists.

You know, last week on this panel, there was a panel of African American philanthropists saying that we're all philanthropists.

We have to find our way to do that in a way, every greater Clevelander, you've got art and culture in you.

How do we connect that then to policy, to cultivating a ground?

How do we plant seeds for the future?

These things do not happen by accident.

Public funding, private funding.

Working together, it's there are people literally behind the scenes in front of the things.

That's why I say you are part of that transformation.

Having an office in the City Hall of Cleveland that is looking at these partners and how these are working with nonprofits like Assembly.

That's part of the transformation that plants the seeds for artists and culture and placemaking across our city and our region.

Whether you are in the west side, on the east side, beyond beyond here.

So that's one way I would answer that.

Great.

And then I just want to ask one more question, because we've talked a lot about arts and culture.

But the other part of this lens or or or stool, as you say, is the creative economy.

Right?

What is that?

What does that mean?

Is that definition evolving?

Creative economy is evolving.

Lately, I came across the term called Creator Economy, which is taking it to the next level of people, artists, creatives using media technology.

If you're a musician who's only playing at The Happy Dog or the Grog Shop, which I love, or big fan ballroom, but if you take that and turn that into online presence influencing Goldman Sachs is studying this and saying that it's a multibillion dollar enterprise for creatives, the creator economy.

And what is Cleveland's role in leading that?

The mayor I through the conference called the Technology Future Land Future Land.

How are we connecting those roles?

Higher education plays a role.

Free K through 12 plays a role.

The creative economy and creator economy working together again.

What is the foundation?

Hey, maybe it's general operating support to nonprofits that are feeding into that.

That's where that that vote comes from.

So vote for that.

So back to big and bold headlines.

And someone mentioned it.

We talked The Wall Street Journal said that for four days, Cleveland was the new center of the universe.

We were on the path of.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

That's right.

That's right.

We were on the.

Path of totality.

We hosted the most watched NCAA tournament.

The Cleveland International Film Festival opened its 48th season with 13 days of incredible films from all over the world.

And though it's outside of the time frame of those four days, John Petty's sold out performances where he played on a very special organ at the Cleveland Museum of Art, etc., etc., etc.

It was a lot going on in this amazing city.

What will it take to continue to catalyze and sustain what we've started and share some thoughts about your big, bold vision for transformation as it relates to the arts and culture in Cuyahoga County.

Sometimes big, bold visions.

Ronda or a silver bullet.

Sometimes they are mini silver bullets.

There's a group called Shooting.

Without Bullets.

Without Bullets.

I finish the sentences.

Shooting without bullets.

Last night there was an event at a place called a zygote of of mostly fellows of color learning the art of printmaking.

I'm really trying to get into that that the scaffolding up to become great printers.

The other night I was at I mentioned what happened at the Cleveland Orchestra.

Oh, there's an exhibit at the Cleveland Orchestra.

I have a great photographer, Chuck Stewart, African-American photographer, who really cataloged jazz America and other things in the lobby there.

What will it take?

It takes cohesion.

It takes partnership.

There's a reason why my group is called assembly.

Assembly people, it's not as easy as it looks, but in unity, there is what strength?

Cleveland has an opportunity.

What does.

What does the future look?

What?

What is the exciting future?

What is that silver bullet?

Yes, it is about that vote I keep talking about, but it's also about how are we working across the silos?

That health story.

How are we addressing issues of maternal health, birthing beautiful communities is doing great work.

How are we working on democracy?

So in my mind, it's a bunch of bullets.

But we're created, so connected.

It's a mosaic of arts and culture intertwined in this.

We do have to come up with those the data and the dab their numbers all over the place, which we can use to make our case.

We'll continue to make that.

But it's the best and the brightest when you can see those stories right in front of you, those yellow school busses, those artists that that are shooting without bullets is showing and more.

Those printmakers.

And they look like Cleveland.

They look like Greater Cleveland.

One reason why I'm so proud of our Board of Assembly because they look like Greater Cleveland.

We need more of that.

To me, that is transformative.

How does Cleveland lead in not being only a great city for arts, but a great city for equity?

I will use that word.

A great city for equity.

Jeremy Johnson, thank you.

Thank you, madam.

So we are.

About to begin the Q&A for our live stream and radio audience or those just joining.

I'm Rhonda Brown, senior strategist for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy at the city of Cleveland and moderator for today's conversation.

Joining me is the amazing at the City Club.

All right.

Joining me at the City Club is the amazing Jeremy Johnson, president and CEO of the Assembly for the Arts.

We welcome questions from everyone, city club members, guests and those those joining our via our live stream at City Club dot org or radio broadcast at 89.7 W WKSU Ideastream Public Media.

If you'd like to text a question for our speaker, please text it to 3305415794.

That's 3305415794.

And the city club staff will try to work it into the program.

Remember that song?

Dial five, four.

One, two, three, two, three.

Garfield, Garfield.

One, two, three, two, three.

That just reminding me of that.

Sorry.

I had to just say, I'm I'm sure everybody who's from Cleveland, including myself, remembers that.

So may we have the first question, please?

Thanks to both of you for being so eloquent and presenting such incredibly creative and thought provoking ideas.

My name is Mary Beth Irons.

I'm a professional violinist in Cleveland.

And Mr. Johnson, if you had been at Metro the day before, you would have heard me it in the cafeteria and yesterday.

But instead, you heard my wonderful friend Gail playing flute.

And it is amazing how music changes the energy in a room.

And I play with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra on the assistant concertmaster to Carol Ruzicka, who is our concertmaster of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra.

Sovereign's Hall.

And we love working with that orchestra.

But I also work for MetroHealth.

They've created an arts in medicine department, and it's headed up by Linda Jackson, who's a former dancer with the Cleveland Ballet.

And it's a wonderful, wonderful organization.

I. I played for a woman in labor.

She was having a terrible labor.

And they sent me to labor and delivery.

And they said, just play outside the door.

Nothing else is working.

We've tried having a minister in there, we've had recorded music but do something.

So I played Over the Rainbow and halfway through I heard where where the baby came.

And they invited me in and I played Happy Birthday to the baby.

Oh.

And then later that day, I played for a wedding downtown at the cathedral.

And then in the evening I was at hospice playing bedside for a gentleman who was passing away in a assisted living facility under the care of hospice.

And he was from Ireland.

And I played Danny Boy and it was, well, what I'm getting at is there are so many there are so many other, let me use the word trenches in Cleveland besides just the Cleveland Orchestra and even our Cleveland Pops is wonderful.

But these orchestras, many traveled to Youngstown Symphony, Akron Symphony, Canton Symphony.

But there are so many other venues to bring music to unearth unorthodox places in Cleveland, like Metro, like playing as someone is passing away like a baby, being born to music.

And I would love to see some funding go in that direction.

It's just so important.

It's humanitarian work.

It's it's a nonpolitical, it's noninvasive.

It's it's just all good.

You're right.

We've got to look at the silos, also the funding silos absolutely are.

When I walk into a room, I'm wearing my A for arts.

Sometimes I have to take the day off and say, I'm here for creativity, I'm here for health, I'm here for sustainability.

People sometimes see artists and culture and they think one thing.

So sometimes, especially as we're talking about health and science and dealing with trauma and opportunity and dealing with jobs, jobs is really important.

Workforce.

We are a workforce industry.

So I think that's part of the solution.

How do we change our language?

How do we tell our story that resonates with elected officials that is so important that we continue to beat that?

Trump Elected officials are our partners in this work, and if I leave you all with anything, it's that Cleveland can show how we're working together.

We've arrived with great leadership, new leadership across many sectors.

So the opportunity is here.

Thank wonderful conversation today.

Again, my name is Sheila, right?

So Cleveland is poised for growth.

We've been growing and there's so many opportunities here.

My question is, how can a city like Cleveland Streets magically integrate diverse art forms into our economic development plans that specifically drive growth and attract investment.

Specifically drive growth and attract investment.

Creative economy.

So as we think about the economy, we enjoy the arts.

So the back the context for my question is we enjoy the arts, we support the arts, but this is how people pay their bills.

This is how people send their kids to college.

And so when we think about it as an economy of the opportunities for our economy, as conversations are having happening around growth buildings, you know, companies coming here, how are the arts and the diversity around those mediums infused in that conversation?

You know, economic development should be at her door all the time, you know, because it is so important to, I think, the growth of the city.

So and we totally agree with you and we're really at the beginning of germinating and creating some of those ideas and putting people around the table to do just that.

And I talk a lot about how thriving cities when you go to Austin, Texas, Chicago and other amazing spaces, the first thing you want to see is what's cool, what's happening in the city.

And there's also usually good food connected to that, good coffee and also places just like shop vintage shops and other, you know, things that are just part of this ecosystem of cool and, you know, we're really thinking about that strategically, as you said.

And we all hope to see some really cool things coming in our in our future.

Thank you.

I've got to add part of that cool future the city has just announced or has taken applications.

More than 100 came in for something called the Transformative Arts Fund that is meant to be transformative across the city to the to the question, where is the economy connecting with workforce?

That's really a great opportunity for our artists that live in the city of Cleveland that have partnered with an institutional partner that's in the city of Cleveland to create a public a piece of art or art is experience within the public art domain in the city of Cleveland, within the 17 wards of the city of Cleveland.

So I am not going to talk about that.

We're not going to talk about that.

But we got some incredible ideas.

And the future is bright because our artists and our institutions, we're super excited about this.

And all I've heard about is including the TIP district is the test.

So that's pretty cool.

The Transforming.

Arts Fund.

And there are more funds coming by way of Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, a half million dollars to individual artists, specifically targeting our individual artists across the county.

The county among all disciplines.

Check out the website assembly.

L.A. Dawg If I could do a commercial assembly, see L.A.. Hello, guys.

Hi, I'm Jennifer Coleman.

And I have a question that's a little bit related to what Sheila was talking about, which is talk a lot about the arts sector.

And we're all very, very aware of the fact that Cleveland is known for the excellence of its art and its artists.

But sometimes we get a little distracted from the fact that art is a process and a state of mind, that creativity.

And that's also important and how we infuse that outside of our art sector so that we have organizations like Cleveland Vote that actually has an arts coordinator on staff or birth in beautiful communities or third space action lab that actually work and lead with creativity and the importance of arts and culture.

How can we continue to blow those arts sector walls, those sectors that we always talk about and realize that art and culture should be an integral part of all of those sectors?

Well, if I could start by saying at K through 12, we really need to have our young people in the city of Cleveland getting super high quality arts education because that spark.

That that spark that.

Happens at a young age is transformational for young people.

I will just say before I'll let Jeremy answer this, because I know this is your show, not my show.

The the way that I was trained in art school as an artist, I went to the Ohio State University, I went to go Buckeyes and I, I started my foundational coursework learning how to problem solve through everything that I do as an artist.

And every single artist, no matter what field you are trained in, the foundation is around problem solving because you're your instrument, whether it's your hands, your eyes, your body, you have to train it to be able to speak to others.

And that's really difficult.

So that type of training, whether you get it in K through 12 or whether you get it really fundamentally in two years or four years, institutions at that level, it really allows you to be the best employee you can be.

Artists are great additions to the workforce.

That's really important because we're trained to think in ways that are highly creative, highly different and highly desirable in environments where folks are trained in singular or kind of monolithic ways.

So that's my addition to your your question, Jennifer, and I'd love to hear as well, please.

We think we can think locally, regionally, but there are some national things that I think we could model after the head of the National Endowment for the Arts has created a partnership with the EPA looking at major ecological environmental issues across the country, I think maybe in six regions.

Her point is to have creatives implanted in environmental sustainability departments that are working on things in California and Washington.

I'm going to get the regions wrong.

We are a Great Lakes region.

How do we implant those creatives that are driving the work that we're doing?

Our waterfront, there's a lot happening there.

How do we borrow from those things where a person who's head of arts is also working with sustainability, is also working with workforce, is also working with food security for that matter.

Some of our artists are dealing with 60% of the folks that we've provided funds with for art are 60% of artists.

We're dealing with food security, food security.

How do we implant and be synergistic and be intentional about it?

So it's not a one off.

And I'm looking here at Jennifer of the Gun Foundation, which has been very intentional about how do we connect those dots with systems and other funders in the room have supported that.

It's not as sexy as you would think, but the end result is very powerful.

It's very sexy.

Okay.

Coming from a person who was sitting up.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

You can do whatever you want with this question.

Cite a specific example, anything you want, but tell me how immigrants and refugees have contributed to the art scene.

That is so great.

A question I'm going to keep coming back and referencing City Club and what I've seen on this stage.

A month ago or so, there was a person from the Mellon Foundation here with theaters from across the country, including one theater from right here in Cleveland.

Cleveland Public Theater.

They were on this stage because they have made a name for themselves and working with immigrant communities and using theater as a source of support, as a source of connection, as a source of communication to the greater Cleveland population, about the power of immigrants, the stories they have to tell, tell their struggles, how that mirrors the struggles of those of us who are already here.

That group that was on this stage, including Cleveland Public Theater, it's each of those groups got a half a million dollars to help forward their work.

Cleveland is leading the way with arts and culture and immigration.

I could speak about theaters that are doing this work, dancers, writers that are doing this work.

Of course, someone's going to say afterwards, Jeremy, you didn't mention our discipline.

It's across the board.

But immigration and Cleveland, remember, as a city, as a region, we're dealing with some population growth issues.

Immigration is a plus.

It's a positive to keep our our our area growing.

So we have a text question.

It says, hello, I'm a student from Cleveland School of the Arts.

We are an art school without an auditorium.

How are you supporting young artists and making sure they have the spaces that they need?

Do you want to take that?

No, I have.

I'm happy to take that.

Oh, that's a school without an auditorium.

So Cleveland School of the Arts, we have many fans in this room.

It is our key magnet for arts and we need to have facilities that have, you know, that artists and creatives can expand their opportunities.

How do we look at what's going on at all of our educational institutions?

How do we support that?

I have four letters for you.

V t do I keep coming back to that?

Are how do we as citizens and residents support reinvestment and in places like the Cleveland School of the Arts in the nonprofits that support that work, there are capital funds that are available, for example, through state legislature and other places.

I mentioned the NEA.

Sometimes it takes the work and the investment to get those grants going, to get those relationships going.

But that's right underneath our nose.

How do we address that?

I don't have a simple answer for that question, but I can tell you we are talking about that as we in the arts community build bonds with our partners at City, the county and others with the support of of public and private support.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Morse.

Man And I was born with a degenerative eye disease and art therapy was a part of my growth.

I used that to learn how to become an award winning designer and fortunately, as I matured, I began to lose my vision and I never stopped utilizing art as my therapy.

My question is what?

This is considered an invisible disability.

So therefore we need funding as adults, of course, as children, to continue the road to art.

Anything that we want to do, we as visually impaired individuals don't just sing.

We also can sculpt, we also can create.

And I am an example of all of those things.

I wanted to know what are you if there's anything in plan that you will do to continue to help support someone such as myself with the Invisible Disability?

That's a great question.

The work that we do in the art sector at Assembly for the Arts is meant to reinvest, to connect all of us, those of different disabilities, these different abilities, those of different backgrounds, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation.

One thing that we see a lot of partnerships.

The county has a wonderful office that we're working with to devote grants, and we've helped to amplify their grants to organizations and individuals that promote and support individuals with various abilities.

We've got to double down on that, and we're thrilled to have partners in the county and with the city out there.

So you can look for more doubling down.

We've met before, so I'm looking forward to continuing the fight for so that those supports will be there for you.

Jeremy Rotter, thank you so much for being here today.

My name is Joshua Hill and our service director of Community Engagement and Partnerships with the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.

And as a son of Mount Pleasant and Cleveland, and to what you mentioned, Jeremy, having been shaped by so many great cultural experiences growing up, one of the pieces that I battle with personally and is the reason why I decided to make the transition from health care to the arts is dealing with the dichotomy of needing to choose between being a creative and being an academic.

And I want to know, as we talk about change in the landscape, what are some things that we as community members, also us as arts administrators and cultural leaders, can do to begin to cultivate a normality that students can both.

Students definitely can and should pursue both.

We're surrounded by the world's top health institutions and the world's top cultural institutions connecting that light.

And I include among those love, love, what's going on there?

You know, there's things happening and those institutions, but even even locally or even in our neighborhoods where afterschool programs are bringing trauma informed care and they need professionals.

So I will continue to look to our higher education K-12.

How are we lowering those lines?

Is there are there into just interdisciplinary studies where you don't have to give up that academic part to be the creative part?

That that's what excites me about this role.

Our role we get to be just bring it all together the Renaissance folks to be part of a Renaissance city.

Happy to talk with you and the folks at MOCA, which is doing this in a big way.

How are we blurred those lines?

And you're not just an academic, you're not just a creative.

There's power in being both.

What are the elements that you would say organizations, nonprofits like ours need in order to support what's the come around artists in the transformation that's that's happening here in Cleveland?

One of the things that we noticed from the Transformative Arts Fund opportunity is a lot of artists reached out to us for partnership and we had to really assess whether we were ready to be able to support that, that level of partnership and support.

And so I want to get ready.

Thanks for that question.

I do think that there's lots of opportunity for community organizations, corporations, private entities, large educational institutions to really think about what it means to engage artists, not after you make the decisions right, but well before right.

So what that means and what that could look like is regarding the artists creative genius, like you would regard a infrastructural engineer if you are building a bridge, right?

And so I think that there is lots of opportunity for us to kind of reconnoiter and refocus how we work with creativity, because I think in some ways it can be scary, right?

Especially as it relates to someone who considers himself a practicing artist.

So thinking through what aspects your mission or your vision could require or benefit from some like real creativity and how that creativity then can be paid for first and foremost, if you need to incorporate that into your budget, you know, that's that's part of getting ready and then actually, you know, building relationships with practicing artists in your community, in your sphere of influence, you know, someone's got to figure this out.

And that's really part of the vision of the Transformative Art Fund, because it was a little bit of turning the the tables upside down where the artists were in the driver's seat, ask.

How do we engage?

How do we make it more inclusive?

I'm happy to see Rhonda and you, Jeremy, doing this work, but I'm looking for the the answers and the opportunity for creative people like me.

What we've got to do is continue to create forums and what I call make Cleveland stickier.

So that creators and entrepreneurs will find it difficult to leave because they have their their cohorts, their forms that they're connected to.

Any week of the year, you'll see Arts and Culture Night or an assembly are oftentimes they are discipline specific for whether it's for musicians, for designers.

We need more of that.

We're hearing from the dance world, for example, the need to bring bring the dance community together.

We've got to be consistent and intentional.

But to Rhonda's point, it takes people planning seats so that stickiness will stick.

It's not natural that you're going to keep going to all of these gatherings and exchanging business cards or are how do we as a city, as a region, as a county, continue to cultivate that?

I encourage you to, as you already have done, show up in person, look at the form, certainly through assembly in our partner organizations, through our writing institutions, design.

But there needs to be more done.

I'm not saying that there's not more.

We've got to do more.

And we're thankful that we have the support of public and private partners to to make it possible for you to continue to come back to Cleveland and do your work.

But can can if I could just say one more word to that.

You know, I'm from here and I'm pretty cool, right?

So and I think I think that's the case about, you know, the rest of us.

Right.

You know, I moved from Chicago.

I left the big windy City to be in my hometown, which I love.

And there is nothing no place better than this city.

And I mean that at that.

And so I would challenge you to stay.

Don't leave for the weekends to do stuff.

Cool.

They're created here.

All the cool.

Kids are definitely here in Cleveland.

Thank you to Jeremy Johnson and Rhonda Brown for joining us at the City Club today.

Forums like this one are made possible thanks to generous support from individuals like you.

You can learn more about how to become a guardian of free speech at City Club Dawg.

Today's form is part of the City Club's local heroes series in collaboration with Citizens is also the Steel D and Robert Hayes Greece Forum on the Cultural Arts.

Lucille and Robert Greece were lifelong Clevelanders dedicated to the welfare and enhancement of the philanthropic institutions of their city.

Thank you to the whole Greek family.

We are so grateful for your passion and your longtime support of the City Club.

Our gratitude also to our community partners, especially to Lauren, our wisdom with their Western Reserve chapter of the Links Incorporated and Sheila Wright with the Crew Foundation.

Yes, round of applause for our esteemed community partners.

And we would also like to welcome guests at the tables hosted by the Crew Foundation, Cleveland Federation of Musicians Affirm Local for the Cleveland Foundation, Cleveland State University.

Friends of Dave Nash, The Hope and Stanley Essay Contest, a Huntington Land Studio, The Cleveland Playhouse and the Western Reserve chapter of the Links.

Thank you all for joining us today.

Just announced here.

At the City Club on Thursday, April 30th.

Barb McQuade, former U.S. attorney of the Eastern District of Michigan and professor from practice at the University of Michigan Law School will join us as part of Law Day.

She will be in conversation with Carol Reardon with Baker Hostetler, also a former U.S. attorney from the northern district of Ohio.

They will be discussing the Quaids new book, Attack from Within How Disinformation is Sabotaging America.

Then on Friday, May 3rd, we'll hear from leadership of the four Cleveland nonprofits who received transformative gifts in the latest round of Mastcam-Z Scouts donations, birthing beautiful communities, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland towards Employment and Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation will be in the House.

You can get your tickets and learn more about these City Club forums and others at City Club dot org.

And before we wrap, I'd like to give one last round of applause to the winners of the City Club's 2024 Hope and Stanley Adelstein Free Speech Essay Contest.

Gratitude to our Students.

There are over three.

Hundred and 32 entries for this essay contest.

The most entries we've seen.

We began the contest in 2015.

Well done, students.

And that brings us to the end of today's forum.

Thank you once again to Jeremy and Rhonda and to our members and friends of the city club.

I'm Cynthia Connelly, and this forum is now adjourned.

For information on upcoming.

Speakers or for podcasts of the City Club, go to City Club, dawg.

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