Art, in and of itself, is worth supporting. Both the FRONT Triennial and its accompanying CAN Triennial bowed out this week, citing a funding environment unfriendly to art, changed to focus on social needs.We believe in our heart in an art that serves no other master. Not art for hire. Not art for decoration or entertainment. Art that serves no political or didactic or social end. Art for art’s sake. L’art pour l’art.
Like the stuff that happens at the monthly Outlab jam sessions at BOP STOP. Or the musicians’ workshop on how to press vinyl hosted by Cleveland Rocks. A Melanin Market that showcases Black creators and entrepreneurs. Apollo’s Fire’s examination of 17th-century violin composition. Or a Shakespeare open mic at a brewery, or a book about mushrooms on Larchmere, or poets responding to works of art in Cleveland Heights.
The Forest City is losing its forests, and Dr. Kathryn Flinn of BW knows why; watch her interview with CoolCleveland correspondent Liv Ream and learn more. Explore the destruction and potential restoration of the FLA coral reefs at the next Kent Tap Talk. A couple of CWRU professors lead a forum on the impact of tech companies on our lives, or take to heart another forum at the City Club about combating gun violence.
Register by Tue 2/20, or you’ll miss voting in the upcoming primaries. CoolCleveland’s Anastasia Pantsios asks why the next Rock Hall induction ceremony in Cleveland will be so laughably weak, when there are so many staggeringly influential artists who haven’t been considered. Put your energy where your heart is and show up at the CAC’s next meeting to talk about the distribution of arts funding. You have one heart. Put it in the right place.
TheWilliam N. Skirball Writers Center Stage Series presented by the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation and Case Western Reserve University welcomes Hernan Diaz to the Maltz Performing Arts Center on Thu 3/7 at 7:30 PM. Diaz is the acclaimed author of the bestselling novels, Trust, winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and In the Distance, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Presentation will be followed by a Q&A and book signing. Get tickets here.
Coming next to Writers Center Stage on Wed 4/10:Rebecca Makkai (The Great Believers), and on Tue 5/7:Imani Perry(South to America) and Keise Laymon (Heavy: A Memoir).
CoolCleveland Correspondent Liv Ream interviewed Dr. Kathryn Flinn, an ecology professor at Baldwin Wallace University. In a recently published study of Ohio’s urban development and its effect on forests, co-authored with her student Zachary Hughes, Dr. Flinn researched land use changes in Cuyahoga County over the last 220 years.
The duo compared ariel photos from 1938 to 2021 and gathered survey records to better understand the development affecting Ohio’s forests. Noting the difference in biodiversity seen among former farmland in comparison to untouched land, Dr. Flinn discusses the importance of recovering the affected landscapes. Read more and view the VIDEO here.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s popular Think & Drink with the Extinct series continues with a special Leap Day edition. The 21+ event will allow guests to explore the Museum’s newly transformed spaces while sipping on selections from local breweries. The evening puts a spotlight on some of the Museum’s most iconic specimens, including the sauropod dinosaur Haplocanthosaurus delfsi, affectionately known as Happy.
Guests can enjoy this towering giant while enjoying a deep dive into the science of hops and fermentation, conversations with Museum scientists, and special planetarium shows. For information and registration, visit CMNH.org.
It’s not about influence, is it? It’s about record sales. The Rock Hall nominating committee has produced a laughably weak list of nominees this week, insuring the fall induction ceremony, scheduled (finally!) for Cleveland, will be a bland affair. And no, we’re not among those online white boys insisting any artist who’s not a guitar-playing white male isn’t “real” rock & roll. In fact, their favorite “should be in” choice — Foreigner — is our #1 “Don’t induct this run-of-the-mill rock band” pick.
It’s not like there aren’t staggeringly influential bands who haven’t been inducted — or even nominated in many cases. For a start, there are bands who virtually created ’80s post punk, such as Joy Division and Bauhaus. Yet bands who followed in their footsteps, such as Depeche Mode and The Cure, are. We’ve managed to come up with a list of a few dozen nominees more deserving than almost anyone on this year’s list. Read more.
The FRONT International Triennial was a big deal for northeast Ohio, Launched in 2018, it showcased artists from around the world in numerous venues. The second, pandemic-delayed, edition took place in 2022. The third was scheduled for 2025 but the organization has announced it will permanently shut down, due to increased difficulties in fundraising. Also ending its run is the CAN Triennial, sponsored by the CAN (Cleveland Arts Network) Journal, which presented local art during FRONT’s run. Read more.
In 2018, the Cleveland Arts Prize awarded its first round of Verge fellowships, given to area early career artists of exceptional promise. After another round of awards in 2019, the program fell victim to the pandemic. But after four years off, CAP has named five new artists in various disciplines to receive the stipends and resources that go with the fellowship. They’ll be honored at a special event at Karamu on March 12. Read more.
WED 2/21 Start Pickin’ The Music Settement’s Ohio City campus hosts its old-time jam, where musicians of all ages and degrees of proficiency can learn to place traditional folk tunes.
