Thu 7/13 @ 5:30-8PM
For years Liz Maugans was known primarily as the sparkplug behind Zygote Press, one of its co-founders and its executive director, creating the model of a studio/classroom/gallery devoted to a particular artistic discipline. Many also knew her as a talented printmaker herself.
But in recent years she has been the catalyst behind the area’s burgeoning arts scene. She helped found CAN (Collective Arts Network) Journal, the quarterly visual arts publication, five-and-a-half years ago. The Zygote model spun off similar organizations in other disciplines, including Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory, the Cleveland Print Room, Brick Ceramic + Design and Praxis Fiber Workshop, all with Maugans’ encouragement and, when needed, advice.
In the past year, as the controversy escalated around Cuyahoga Arts & Culture’s plan to re-allocate the money reserved for individual artists to more community-focused projects, Maugans emerged as one of the main spokespeople for the artist community. The role fit, and Maugans has announced her intention to step down from Zygote at the end of this year to develop projects and ideas around artist advocacy.
She hasn’t fully fleshed out what shape that will take, but some projects are already emerging. One is a group of local artist self-portraits she collected for the current MOCA Cleveland exhibition Constant as the Sun, titled The Artist’s Trust: A Portrait of the Artist in Cuyahoga County (2017). It features hundreds of works submitted by artists who live and/or work in Cuyahoga County.
Now Maugans has extended an invitation to the participating artists and those who love and support art to an “Appreciation Mixer” at MOCA to celebrate the strength, beauty and diversity of the art community. It will feature music, light food and a cash bar, as well as interactive art-making opportunities. It’s free for artists and MOCA/Zygote members; $10 for others.
artists-trust-appreciation-mixer
Cleveland, OH 44106