Another ARTFUL year... No images? Click here Our growth and expansion continued in 2019 with the addition of the NJM Ceramics Studio, and five new studio spaces! We partnered with the Coventry Special Improvement District on their Final Fridays events by hosting Open Studio Nights and Ceramics Workshops with teacher Marcie Allen in the NJM Ceramics studio. We also partnered with FutureHeights on their 2019 Music Hop event by hosting a Community Mural Project, the results of which are now on display in the Coventry Building Lobby. Many ARTFUL artists have been showing their works in various galleries and shows throughout the region. LaSaundra Robinson, one of the first artists to move into ARTFUL, has had a particularly productive year and was awarded a prestigious Artist In Residence at Karamu House. Her works from this project will be on display at Karamu at the end of 2019. The artists known as Mandem also had a great year, bringing home several Best In Show Awards, and they continue to advocate for disabled artists via speaking engagements and a series of articles in the CAN Journal. ARTFUL also became one of the main partner organizations in the newly formed Coventry PEACE Campus organization. This organization will oversee the management of the Coventry PEACE Building, and ARTFUL has already contributed by making improvements throughout the building. Executive Director, Shannon Morris has added a gallery space in our main lobby. She has also overseen the addition of new way-finding signage and updated wall colors throughout - making the building fresh & welcoming, much to the delight of all the tenants and visitors! ARTFUL Board President, Brady Dindia is also serving on the Coventry PEACE Campus Board as Board Secretary. As we look to 2020, we aim to grow our organization in ways that continue to fill the gaps we see in the art world in our area. Our three main goals for 2020 are to add an Artist In Residence program, launch a College Portfolio Prep summer program for local high school students, and add a Public Studio Night. Our Artist in Residence Program will allocate one of our studios to a local artist for a specific term, and culminate in a show of their work at the end of their term. We are finalizing the details, but have made this a priority for 2020. With Sarah Curry and David King leading the charge, we are excited to announce that we will be launching our first College Portfolio Prep program this summer! This two week intensive course will provide detailed guidance on how to prepare a portfolio for submission to art programs and colleges. Sarah and Dave have many years experience serving as National Portfolio Reviewers where they, and hundreds of art educators from all over the U.S., come together to review and grade students’ advance placement works. Their intimate knowledge in this area, and their years of educational experience make them the perfect teachers for this program and we consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have them. We have received many inquiries from people in our area about whether we allow the general public to come in to our space to work on projects, so we have decided that another goal for 2020 is to begin a Public Studio program. This will allow the general public to access our Flex Room on specified days and hours where they can work on any special projects they may have. We want to encourage people to come in and work, mingle, and share their thoughts and ideas. ARTFUL will support them with gentle guidance and basic supplies. While these are our three main goals, we are constantly brainstorming about what more we can do, while finding the balance between what we’d like to offer and what we’re equipped to offer through staffing, supplies, and physical space, etc. We have begun to research the potential of adding a woodshop, but have determined this will be a long-term goal that will require significant planning and research, including identifying the proper space/location, architectural/electrical/mechanical drawings, the purchase of equipment, identifying potential partnerships and more. As we continue our research, we will be sure to keep you posted Other goals we are aiming for include:
And lastly, we just want to say how grateful we are to all of you who continue to support our efforts to stay in the Coventry area. In the upcoming months, the Coventry PEACE Campus organization will be working out a long-term lease option with the Heights Library System (the current owners of the building and park). While we anticipate that our rent will go up slightly, we are expecting that it will be an increase that our organization can absorb. We intend to continue a steady, but thoughtful expansion of ARTFUL in order to be able to meet these increased costs, while adding value to our community, Any donation you are able to give will help us to meet these goals and increased costs, and continue to make ARTFUL an asset for the Heights and beyond! You can click here to make a donation online, or you can make checks payable to ARTFUL Ohio, Inc. and mail them to 2843 Washington Blvd., Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.
Most Sincerely, And the entire ARTFUL Board |