After more than a year of planning, community leaders have announced the formation of a new nonprofit arts advocacy organization called Assembly for the Arts, set to launch in mid-June with a goal to “provide a unified voice, set regional goals, and represent shared priorities for the creative economy in Northeast Ohio.”
Planners of the new organization include Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (whose function will now change), Arts Cleveland (originally Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, which will now fold), and the Arts and Culture Action Committee, with support from the Cleveland Foundation and the George Gund Foundation.
The organization’s mission statement says, “Assembly for the Arts will focus on an ambitious advocacy and cultural policy agenda; racial equity initiatives; informed and focused research; cooperative marketing that elevates the region; a diverse portfolio of membership services; and capacity building for nonprofits, artists and creative businesses. The new organization will be governed by a volunteer board with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. At least 50% of board members will be women or non-binary people and at least 40% will be BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).”
The group has hired native Clevelander and most recently executive director of New Jersey’s Newark Arts, Jeremy V. Johnson, to lead the new organization.
To learn more about the Assembly go to assemblycle.org.