A Tale in Two Cities
Panel discussion: Fri 11/2 @ 5pm. Opening reception: 6 – 8pm
By Joe Baur
Alumni of the Cleveland Institute of Art’s (CIA) College of Art and Design living in Cleveland and Brooklyn, NY, will showcase their work at an upcoming gallery highlighting the diversity of urban-based art colonies.
“There’s a very large enclave of CIA alumni students that live in various sections of Brooklyn, and there’s no better capital for art in this country than New York,” explains Bruce Checefsky, Director of Reinberger Galleries where the exhibit will run from Fri 11/2 to Sat 12/15.
The gallery is part of CIA’s mission to promote graduated artists, and Checefsky specifically hopes to showcase the differences in life between the two urban environments.
“The question that I posed to myself and the artist is — does where you live make a difference in what you make?” explains Checefsky. “I thought these two cities would be great to compare, because New York is so competitive, so vital to the art world,” and graduates from the Institute face the question of whether or not to move to the coast or stay in Cleveland at some point in their career. “Do you leave Cleveland to go to the coast where the bigger part of the industry is, and if you do that, what do you give up and what do you gain?”
Attendees will have the chance to decide for themselves, but Checefsky believes the answer is dependent on what the artist wants from the field. The field of art production is not just studio work. It’s writing, documentation and publication. “Not all CIA graduates want to be studio artists,” Checefsky notes. “Some are interested in the production end, some are interested in curating a museum.”
Lifestyle plays an instrumental role as well when deciding between the two cities. Cost of living is approximately half that of Brooklyn in Cleveland. Checefsky recalls visiting alumni artists in Brooklyn living with several roommates in tiny apartments. “If you can deal with that kind of lifestyle, and if that’s the lifestyle that promotes the kind of work that you want to make — then that’s the place to be.”
But that’s not to sell Cleveland short. There are advantages to staying in Cleveland, Checefsky points out. “CPAC (Community Partnership For Arts And Culture) has $20,000 grants they give out every year,” he says. “It’s hard to get that in other major cities.”
Check out A Tale In Two Cities on Fri 11/2 through Sat 12/15 @ Reinberger Galleries in the George Gund Building in University Circle. More info: http://cia.edu/events.
Joe Baur is a freelance writer, filmmaker and satirist with a diverse array of interests including travel, adventure, craft beer, health, urban issues, culture and politics. He ranks his allegiances in the order of Cleveland, the state of Ohio and the Rust Belt, and enjoys a fried egg on a variety of meats. Joe has a B.A. in Mass Communication with a focus on production from Miami University. Follow him at joebaur.com and on Twitter @MildlyRelevant.