Fri 6/23 @ 6PM-Midnight
Sensing that an underground community of talented Cleveland artists lacked promotion and cultivation to reach their potential, Butterfly Consulting Group owner Shelly Gracon decided to take action. Not only did she open GLO Cleveland’s Lab Studios, but also The Lab: Urban Arts Incubator Shop located in the Fifth Street Arcade.
The next part of her vision is a bimonthly GLO Cleveland Garage Series, which will showcase emerging talent. The kickoff event Fri 6/23 at the Lab Studios (2460 Lakeside Avenue/enter from the back) features local artists Jordan Arnell and Beezi Customs, work from fashion designer Caij Milan, visuals by VJ Kevin Jackson and music from White Rims, DJ Jimmy Beats and DJ Microfromohio.
There will also be live performances by local hip-hop artists Joey Aich, Jae Walk, Car2n Hooligans and Carti Yae. Not only will “The Attik” podcast will be in attendance to cover the event, but an urban vendor market featuring Cleveland brands will be set up throughout the space.
CoolCleveland talked to Gracon about how she’s making her unique vision a reality.
What is GLO Cleveland?
It has sort of an overarching mission of bringing light to the city. How we do that is really focusing on promoting and cultivating the creative class in the city of Cleveland. Underneath that, I developed Lab Studios and also my Lab: Urban Arts Incubator Shop downtown in the Fifth Street Arcade.
Let’s start with your impetus for GLO Cleveland?
I’d say for me it’s really about building community, especially among visionaries and creatives, because I feel like when we do that, we have a greater impact on the city in a positive way. There are a lot of things we can do together rather than working separately, which a lot of artists tend to do. I’m really trying to focus on urban artists.
Tell us about the Lab Studios.
It’s 5,000-square-foot warehouse space in the campus district. We have an events space, screen-printing studio, a resident photographer that has a studio here, a really big photography and videography backdrop that we call The Castle, which is sort of our big signature asset. We also have a design lab that we’re building out right now. It’s really like a collaborative work and creative space.
What’s the idea behind the Lab Studio?
I honestly want to help people be self-sufficient. There’s so much talent and there’s so many visionaries and creatives in the city. If I can give them the platform to really launch their brand, help them with the marketing, help them with everything else, we can create a new economy in the city. There’s a much larger vision to what I’m trying to do. It’s not just a studio space. It’s really about community. It’s really about trying to find people especially within these neighborhoods that just don’t have the assets or the capability of having their own spaces, their own studio, their own shop and giving them that opportunity. This is really about urban art. We have a pretty strong arts scene in the city of Cleveland, but I don’t feel like we’re focused on the black community and also the Hispanic community.
So what exactly is the Garage Series V.1?
We’re launching the Garage Series at the Lab Studios space. I’m doing that with partnership with Jordan Arnell, who is an up-and-coming artist from Sandusky. He just moved closer to Cleveland and he’s a visionary artist. He’s bringing in Beezi Customs. We have a fashion component with Caij Milan, another up-and-coming fashion designer. We also have live projection, which is like something I’ve never even seen before. Kevin Jackson is so talented. He’s going to be creating just a whole sort of feel of the space.
From a distance, it appears as though Garage Series V.1 pulls from different directions.
It’s really focused on the urban arts, which I haven’t seen done. The space itself feels almost like you’re in Brooklyn, New York. It doesn’t really feel like you’re in Cleveland. I really want to create that vibe that I haven’t participated in in the city and fill that gap. That’s why it’s called The Garage. It’s kind of underground.
These must be exciting times for you.
It’s interesting because I used to produce these events almost 12 years ago called The Lab in different galleries in the city. They were always multimedia, film, art, music. And then my life went a different direction for a while, and now it’s come full circle. I have my own space. That has helped people from start to finish with an idea or brand they can sell right in my shop. It’s like a one-stop production line for creative people.
Overall, it seems as though a goal is for people to leave the Garage Series V.1 with a feeling of momentum for the underground arts community of Cleveland.
Yeah, I want them to just leave feeling inspired and knowing there are people collaborating and trying to really do cool stuff in the city and really promote collaboration, which is a word I think a lot of people have a hard time with. It’s like, we all don’t need to be doing things separately. We have a much greater impact when we do them together.
Cleveland, OH 44114