Local arts offerings reflect and represent the tremendous cultural and demographic diversity of the Cleveland community. [theatre production at Karamu House]

ARTS AND CULTURE

GOAL: Enrich the lives of Clevelanders and strengthen economic vitality by establishing Cleveland as a world-class center for the arts

Issues

The City of Cleveland enjoys celebrated status in the realm of arts and culture.  Cleveland is home to two truly world-class institutions in the Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Museum of Art, the nation’s second largest performing arts complex in the theaters of Playhouse Square, and a number of nationally recognized arts organizations including the Cleveland Institutes of Music and Art, the Cleveland Playhouse, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the Tri-C Jazz Fest, among others.  Cleveland also hosts several adventurous theaters and music ensembles, opera, dance, an expanding contemporary art gallery, and a growing number of venues for contemporary music.

Today, the arts have become increasingly important as a magnet for attracting people and businesses to regions across the nation.  Cleveland has the opportunity to capitalize on its enviable cultural assets as catalysts for neighborhood regeneration and community-wide economic development – even beyond the estimated $1.3 billion current impact of the arts on the regional economy.   One of Cleveland’s challenges in accomplishing this goal will be to find the resources needed to support the arts – maintaining the quality of the region’s most prominent institutions in the face of the region’s long-term relative decline in population, while supporting those emerging arts organizations and artists who are exploring new territory at the edges of the contemporary arts scene.

Public art can help ?tell the story? of a place and add a new dimension to its image. [fence at Mill Creek waterfall]

Policies

1. Arts and the New Economy.  Support and market the arts as a magnet to attract creative and entrepreneurial individuals to the Cleveland region, thereby generating economic activity and jobs.
2. Arts Districts.  Establish and market “arts districts” as an approach to revitalizing neighborhoods where galleries and other arts venues are concentrated.
3. Catalysts.  Capitalize on the presence of theaters, museums and other major arts venues as catalysts for neighborhood and regional development.
4. Public Funding for the Arts.  Create local mechanisms for permanent and predictable public funding for a diversity of arts endeavors in the Cleveland region, supplementing private and other governmental funding sources.
5. Public Art Programs.  Strengthen the City of Cleveland’s new public art program and work with other governments, developers and corporations to incorporate public art as a standard component of development projects throughout the city
6. Neighborhood Place-Making.  Use public art to strengthen the “sense of place” and highlight the heritage and character of each Cleveland neighborhood
7. Live-Work Districts.  Create supportive environments for local artists by establishing live-work districts, where obsolete industrial buildings are transformed into residences and studios through use of financial incentives and innovative zoning.
8. Accessibility.  Ensure that the arts are accessible and affordable to residents of all neighborhoods, income levels and ages, including arts programming in the public schools and expanded publicity and outreach.
9. Cultural Diversity.  Ensure that the arts in Cleveland fully reflect and represent the cultural and demographic diversity of the Cleveland community.