The city of Cleveland created a pool of $3 million from ARPA money for the arts, awarding seven artist-led teams hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece last year to create neighborhood-engaging arts projects and events, with final projects taking place now. Ariel Vergez’s Art Garden at Storer Avenue and West 50th in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood seemed to check all the boxes for such a project.
The event, held on Saturday September 6, filled several vacant lots along Storer with a performance stage, installations, information tables from neighborhood groups such as the Young Latino Network, the Julia de Burgos Center and councilwoman Jasmine Santana’s office, as well as city agencies including the water and sewer departments, numerous tents where people could engage in hands-on art projects, a portable mural designed by artist Hector Castellanos that visitors could add to, and a lot across the street with food trucks. While a soul band, poet, and the drummers, dancers and musicians from Djapo Cultural Arts performed and people danced on the grass, Vergez worked on painting a wall, as watchers, including other artists, kibitzed. And neighborhood kids buzzed by on bikes to check out what the excitement was all about on a day blessed with perfect weather.
Another Transformative Arts Fund project, held later the same day, was inaccessible.
View the PHOTOSTREAM here.
Post categories:
- Science
- Nature/Environment
- college
- RSS
- Gallery
- Teen
- Kids
- Spirituality
- Anastasia Pantsios
- Photography
- Garden
- Music: Jazz / Blues
- Culture
- Education
- Technology
- Bikes
- ----WRITERS----
- Party
- Entrepreneurialism
- Drinks
- Workshop
- Sport
- Free
- Preview
- Pet Events
- Civic Affairs
- Eats
- Performance
- Music: Popular
- Dance
- Outdoors
- Visual Arts