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The Ohio Department of Education announced Horizon  Education Centers and their partners were awarded seven Nita M. Lowey 21^st Century Community  Learning Center afterschool grants. The awards provide for five years of free before and after school  programming at selected schools across Western Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties, and together amount to  more than $5.9 million dollars over the next five years.  

The seven schools awarded the 21^st Century Community Learning Center Grants with Horizon Education  Centers are Clara E. Westropp (Cleveland Metropolitan School District), Constellation Schools – Lorain  Community, Constellation Schools – Old Brooklyn Community Middle, Constellation Schools – Westpark Community Middle, Hamilton Elementary (Elyria City School District), Maple Elementary  (North Olmsted City Schools), and Wilbur Wright (Cleveland Metropolitan School District). Horizon’s  community partners include Constellation Schools, West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development  (Clara E. Westropp), and Westown Community Development Corporation (Wilbur Wright).  

This year’s new grant cycle saw 52 grants awarded throughout the state, totaling $10.4 million in new  awards for the current school year. Horizon Education Centers’ 21^st Century Community Learning Center  programs feature extensions of school day learning, tutoring from schoolteachers, college and career  readiness programming, and social-emotional learning and development.  

“We’re very excited to bring Horizon’s 21^st Century afterschool to Maple Elementary,” says Tom  Herbster, Vice President of North Olmsted Board of Education. “The new grant will allow students at our  Maple Elementary school to not only have access to afterschool care, but high-quality support that will  improve learning outcomes, social-emotional development, and provide new opportunities for family and  community engagement. And at no cost to our families!”  

The new programs will begin in early October, and continue through the 2026-2027 school year. Horizon  Education Center’s community partners will support the programming with neighborhood and local  business engagement, service learning opportunities, and other community supports.  

About Horizon: 

Horizon Education Centers’ mission is to provide high-quality early childhood education, care, and youth  development programs to the youth and families of Lorain and Western Cuyahoga Counties in Northeast  Ohio. Founded in 1978 as an afterschool program in North Olmsted, Ohio, Horizon has since grown to  offer high-rated preschool programs, toddler and infant care, and 21st Century, Say Yes, and other high  quality OST programs through its 14 high quality licensed centers and 17 mixed funding school-based  sites.

There is a new donation resource available to those in the Cleveland area. Here, individuals can find where they can take their clothing, furniture, electronics, construction debris and more, throughout the year.

This resource and site was created by dumpsters.com.

“We take waste disposal seriously, and that includes finding waste diversion opportunities whenever possible,” says Jon Behm, who works for dumpsters.com.

Find the directory here. https://www.dumpsters.com/donation-directory/ohio/cleveland

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On August 23, 2022, The Cleveland Department of Public Health began distributing the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine. Approximately 75 doses were given out. The next clinic will take place on Friday 8/26/2022 from 3‐9pm at 1313 E. 26^th Street in Cleveland. Vaccines are free and confidential. No pre‐registration or appointment is necessary.   

Due to a limited supply of vaccine available, individuals must be 18+ years of age and also fall into one of the following categories in order to be eligible:    

∙ Having unprotected contact between a person’s skin or mucous membranes and the skin, lesions, or bodily fluids from a patient or contaminated materials (e.g., linens, clothing) 

∙ Individuals with attendance at events/venues linked to known monkeypox transmission 

∙ Any individual who has or is likely to have prolonged intimate contact that would put them at higher risk of being exposed to monkeypox virus   

∙ Have not previously been diagnosed with monkeypox or do not currently have signs/symptoms of monkey pox. 

∙ Individuals who currently or previously were sick with monkeypox are not eligible because vaccination given after the onset of signs/symptoms of monkeypox is not expected to provide benefit.   

People who get vaccinated should continue to take steps to protect themselves from infection by avoiding close, skin‐to‐skin contact, including intimate contact, with someone who has monkeypox. Fully vaccinated individuals are still recommended to protect themselves against monkeypox and to isolate at home 

Based on the limited supply received, we are committed to vaccinating as many people as possible to prevent disease. As more vaccine is allocated to Cleveland, we will be setting up more clinics to make it available to a larger group of at‐risk persons, as identified above. Please visit our website http://www.clevelandhealth.org for information on monkeypox, announcement for upcoming vaccine clinics, FAQ’s and to stay up to date on the current # of cases. Anyone with concerns or symptoms should talk to their healthcare provider. 

In collaboration with County Executive Armond Budish, and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, CDPH will be participating in a virtual press briefing today, 8/24/22 at 2pm to provide information on new county initiatives and updates on COVID‐19 and monkeypox. Media are invited to listen (via https://youtu.be/2plDsmZiRE0) and share the following Facebook and YouTube links on their social media platforms and websites. 

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The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) recently announced the appointment of Gabriel (Gabe) Pollack as director of performing arts. In his new role at the CMA, Pollack  will be responsible for overseeing the internationally recognized performing arts program at the CMA and its satellite locations, including Transformer Station and Community Arts Center on Cleveland’s near  west side.

Pollack will join the CMA in October 2022. Under Pollack’s leadership, the performing arts program will continue to include concerts from classical to contemporary music, will feature global  music traditions as well as dance and will expand to include a wider range of offerings. The CMA looks  forward to sustaining local partnerships, which have become a feature of the performing arts program,  and to fostering new relationships.  

Since 2014, Pollack has been manager and director of Bop Stop at The Music Settlement, an  extraordinarily vibrant music venue that was voted Best Jazz Club in America by readers of All About Jazz in 2019. Under Pollack’s leadership, nearly 20 live albums have been recorded at Bop Stop, including Terence Blanchard’s Blue Note Records release, “Live,” which provides musical commentary on police  brutality in America. During the pandemic, Pollack launched the terrestrial radio program and podcast “Live at the Bop Stop.” Currently, the show airs on 25 stations nationwide and has two international affiliates, and it won “Best Innovation by a Club, Venue or Festival” from the National Independent Venue Association in 2022. 

“We are absolutely thrilled that Gabe Pollack is joining the staff at the Cleveland Museum of Art as the  director of performing arts,” said Director William M. Griswold. “In his work at Bop Stop, Gabe has shown extraordinary vision and leadership. In the past eight years, he has organized more than two thousand concerts on Cleveland’s near west side where he spotlit national and international artists— including more than 180 Grammy Award winners or nominees—as well as featured a broad swath of local talent. We are looking forward to the ways in which Gabe will augment the performing arts program at the CMA at our main campus and at Transformer Station to attract wider and more diverse  audiences to the museum and help us achieve the goals of our strategic plan.”  

A graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, Pollack holds a bachelor of music in jazz entrepreneurship with a concentration in jazz trumpet performance. In addition to a degree in music, he  also holds a bachelor of arts in environmental studies, focusing on sustainable cities, enterprise and education. Serving as director of Bop Stop has allowed Pollack to assist with programming events  throughout Cleveland including the Ingenuity Festival, CAN Triennial and Concrete Concerts. Deeply committed to the future of the performing arts, Pollack is a CollegeNow Mentor and previously was an  adjunct professor in the arts management and entrepreneurship department at Baldwin Wallace  University. Prior to his role at Bop Stop, Pollack worked as an agent, administrator and sound technician  at Jim Wadsworth Production Agency. 

Pollack was the recipient of the Ida Mercer Community Impact Award in 2021, an honor that recognizes  an employee of The Music Settlement who demonstrates dedication, commitment and creativity in  advancing The Music Settlement’s mission and programming throughout the community. Additional  awards won by Bop Stop include Scene Magazine’s Best Jazz Club, Cleveland Hot List’s Best Jazz and  Blues, and Cleveland Magazine’s Best of the West “Live Music Venue.” 

“I’m looking forward to bringing my collaborative spirit to the Cleveland Museum of Art and working  with the community to program a diverse lineup up of multidisciplinary world-class talent,” said Pollack.  “The Cleveland Museum of Art is uniquely positioned to enhance Cleveland’s cultural landscape while  providing exceptional opportunities for performers. Reimagining and redefining what programming  looks like at a world-class institution is an amazing opportunity that I cannot wait to be a part of.” 

Pollack will begin his new responsibilities at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Monday, October 17, 2022.

City selected for Trust for Public Land’s 10-Minute Walk Park Equity Accelerator program 

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On Friday, the Bibb Administration released an RFP for a consultant to assist with a comprehensive Citywide Parks and Recreation Master Plan.   

The announcement comes on the heels of Cleveland’s selection in July as one of six inaugural cities chosen by the Trust for Public Land for the 10-Minute Walk Park Equity Accelerator program. Cleveland was selected based on commitment to advancing local park goals; readiness to explore, experiment with, and adopt new strategies or approaches; and potential to advance field understanding around a common issue or challenge. 

“Parks and recreation offerings, and the public spaces they inhabit, are a critical component of quality of life in any city,” said Mayor Justin M. Bibb. “Playgrounds, pools, and basketball courts, along with the many resources and programs provided through our Neighborhood Resource and Recreation Centers, are fundamental to healthy, connected and revitalized communities.” 

Led by the Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects (MOCAP), the 15-year master plan will create a roadmap that ensures just and fair capital investment in parks andrecreation, provides equitable connections to quality parks and rec activities, and meets the needs of City residents, community groups, and other stakeholders.  

The City is seeking a system-wide approach in order to develop goals, policies and guidelines and prioritize strategies based on current and future funding scenarios. This will include a robust community needs assessment, a long-range parks and recreation plan, and a strategic plan that identifies finding sources and implementation strategies.  

TPL and the accelerator program will be heavily involved with the Strategic Plan component of the master planning process, specifically on developing a framework for strategic and equitable resource allocation that benefits all residents and stakeholders. 

“We are grateful for the support coming from TPL and we look forward to working with them as we go through the planning process with our selected consultant,” said MOCAP Director James DeRosa. “This is an incredible opportunity to be forward thinking and comprehensive in our approach, to remove barriers to access, and to ensure that our public recreation spaces truly serve our residents in an intentional way.”  

The City of Cleveland currently owns, operates, or leases 177 parks and recreation sites that total nearly 1,843 acres. They include 172 parks, 23 Neighborhood Resource and Recreation Centers (NRRC), 106 playgrounds, 40 swimming pools and hundreds of other public spaces and programs.  

Proposals are due by Friday, September 16, 2022, at noon EST. The full RFP can be found here. 

MEDIA RELEASE

Today, Mayor Justin M. Bibb reaffirmed his unequivocal position that abortion is a form of reproductive health care and access to abortion is a human right. 

“With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the dangerous restrictions on abortion that have followed, the City is committed to protecting residents’ ability to seek the reproductive health care options that they choose for themselves,” Mayor Bibb said.  

Over the last few weeks, the administration has been hard at work—listening to community leaders, assessing our capabilities, working with City Council, and reaching out across the City and the country in the spirt of collaboration. 

“We must do everything in our power to defend a woman’s right to choose what happens with her own body – not allow government or activist judges that control,” said Council President Blaine A. Griffin.  

To that end, the Mayor and Cleveland City Council are pleased to make six major announcements on how we will protect reproductive rights in the City of Cleveland: 

 

1. Non-Prosecution 

Chief Prosecutor Aqueelah Jordan, in collaboration with Law Director Mark Griffin, have pledged that no City attorney will prosecute, refer for prosecution, or otherwise participate in charging any abortion-related crimes. 

2. De-Prioritizing Enforcement  

Any investigation into and enforcement of criminal abortion-related charges will now become the lowest priority for the use of City resources, including personnel, time, and funds. This applies to all employees in the City’s executive branch, including the police.
  

While employees have a duty to uphold the law, the Mayor must also make decisions about how the City spends its limited resources. For police, job number one is keeping Cleveland safe, not prioritizing enforcement of unjust restrictions against vulnerable people. This is even more important considering that both Cleveland and Cuyahoga County prosecutors have committed not to prosecute any abortion charges that reach their desk. 

3. Reproductive Freedom Fund  

The Mayor is working together with Cleveland City Council to introduce and pass legislation to create a $100,000 “Reproductive Freedom Fund” that would cover travel, logistics, and lodging expenses for Cleveland residents and City employees seeking a legal abortion in a nearby state. This will be an essential resource that ensures all Clevelanders can get the care that they choose for themselves, even when that care is not available locally. 

4. City Employee Insurance 

Human Resources is exploring the City’s options for its employees’ health insurance plans, to determine whether all health insurance plans offered could cover elective abortions if an employee seeks care out-of-state. 

5. Commitment to Not Keeping Pregnancy Information 

Under the Bibb Administration, information about individuals’ pregnancy status that would identify a doctor or patient will not be exchanged except in the case of a medical emergency to treat a patient or with the patient’s consent for the purpose of treatment, payment, or health care operations. This is to ensure that this information, inadvertently or purposely kept, is not used against those individuals in the future prosecution of an abortion-related crime or to stigmatize or retaliate against them.  

The City will do everything that can be done to refrain from keeping or disclosing this information unless medically necessary or otherwise required by law to disclose for the purpose of treatment, payment, or health care operations. 

6. Representing Clevelanders at the Ohio Supreme Court 

All people and families in Ohio have been under attack since Roe was overturned, but Clevelanders face unique challenges—not just because we are the only majority-minority big city in Ohio, but because of the unique disinvestment that has plagued the City relative to its peers. 

The Ohio Supreme Court is currently considering a challenge to the state law banning abortions after six weeks (S.B. 23). Ohioans’ reproductive rights are directly before the Court, and to elevate Clevelanders’ voices to the highest court in the state, the City is in the process of submitting an amicus brief (“friend of the court” brief) on its residents’ behalf in support of overturning Ohio’s six-week ban. 

“As we hear about more and more extreme measures being considered at the state level, my administration will continue to look at all possible options—executive, administrative, legislative, and from the bully pulpit,” Mayor Bibb added. “Reproductive rights are human rights, and I am committed to protecting those rights to the maximum extent that I can.” 
 
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Related:  
 
Councilwomen Stand United | Cleveland City Council 

Mayor Bibb Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade | City of Cleveland Ohio – Mayor Justin M. Bibb 

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Last week Cristina Sarsama and Marilyn Henderson, two longtime workers at Cuyahoga County’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), spoke to County Council about unsafe conditions at the DCFS headquarters. Among the allegations were violence between children and staff, sexual assault, and abuse. 

“We have a broken system right now, a situation that is completely unacceptable. There is nothing more important than protecting children in the county’s care and supporting county workers.” said Chris Ronayne, Candidate for Cuyahoga County Executive. “I’m asking for all County officials to cooperate with the ODJFS Rapid Response team for a transparent evaluation process. We need solutions and everything must be on the table to add and retain staff at DCFS, protect children and workers, and solve this crisis.”

Ronayne is calling for several changes to protect workers and children:

• A streamlined hiring process for new DCFS case workers and social workers that doesn’t cut corners but does expedite the hiring of new, highly trained staff
• Emergency contract renegotiations with juvenile placement agencies to increase wage maximums that prevent nonprofit partners from competitively hiring workers
• A retention bonus for frontline DCFS workers in an effort to stem further resignations and a hiring bonus to increase applicants for open positions
• Onsite law enforcement presence at the DCFS headquarters for the protection of workers and children
• A Child Placement Crisis Committee including the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, local and national juvenile behavioral care agencies, AFSCME union representatives, and university partners to develop long term solutions. 

Ronayne’s Republican opponent, Lee Weingart, has called for further staff reductions in County government to cut payroll costs including getting rid of the county’s most experienced workers. 

“Leaving positions unfilled and cutting experienced staff put lives at risk. I’ll take every step possible to ensure that this doesn’t happen when I am County Executive.” said Ronayne. “We must bring in qualified workers, retain overworked staff and invest in systems level changes that improve outcomes for children in need.”

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The Cleveland Foundation released a request for proposals for the third round of grantmaking from the Cleveland Black Futures Fund. Black-led nonprofit organizations with a budget less than $1 million in Cleveland can begin applying on Monday, Aug. 1 at noon. The Fund has amassed more than $4 million since its inception in late 2020 to support the capacity of Cleveland-based nonprofit organizations that are both Black-led and Black-serving.

The overarching goal of the Cleveland Black Futures Fund is to strengthen the ecosystem of Black leaders and Black-serving organizations in Greater Cleveland by providing intentional resources to help grow organizational infrastructure and capacity. Long-term, the foundation aims to deepen the field of leaders working to dismantle systemic racism and advance the community towards racial equity.

The timeline for the third round of grantmaking is as follows:

• Aug. 1: The online application portal opens at noon. Please continue to check the Cleveland Black Futures Fund website for more information. 
• Aug. 1-31: Three Technical Assistance Workshops are available for applicants, please use the drop-down box on the registration page to choose the date and time that works for you. Click here to register.
• Aug. 1-31: Grant-writing Assistance Sessions are available. All applicants that attend a Technical Assistance Workshop are eligible to receive grant-writing assistance. Please click the link above to attend a Technical Assistance Workshop to sign up to receive grant-writing assistance.
• Aug. 31: The 2022 application deadline is August 31, 2022. 
• Sept. 2022: Applicants who are advancing to the second stage in the review process will receive notification. 
• Mid-Oct. 2022: Applicants who are advancing to the final stage in the review process will receive notification. 
• Dec. 2022: Notice and announcement of final funding decisions

Over the past two years, both the COVID-19 pandemic and the historic protests happening nationally and locally have prompted a bolder call to action to address systemic racism and its devastating effects in the Greater Cleveland community. In light of the crisis brought on by the spread of COVID-19, the advisory committee of the Fund asks applicants to reflect on the effects of the pandemic in the community. This framing is not intended to limit the applicant pool to strictly health, public health or social services work; we believe that work across sectors will be important to the health and resilience of the community during this pandemic, including environmental work, technology, arts, policy and advocacy, and much more.

Starting Monday, Aug. 1 at noon, applications can be submitted online by visiting theCleveland Foundation grants application page.

For more information on eligibility, the application and scoring process, opportunities for applicant support, and other pertinent information – or to donate to the Cleveland Black Futures Fund – visit ClevelandFoundation.org/Futures.

PRESS RELEASE

Tax Credit Authority should find out before approving more aid 

When the General Assembly approved the capital budget bill last month, it OK’d multiple new tax breaks for Intel Corp. and its planned semiconductor plants outside Columbus with only a vague idea of what the cost would be. Before it considers the Intel project for another tax credit, estimated to be worth $650 million, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority should seek an estimate from the Department of Taxation on the cost of the new tax breaks approved in the capital bill, House Bill 687.  

“Policymakers are giving our public dollars to Intel without understanding how they might affect state and local governments’ future ability to provide critical services like public education or trash collection,” said Zach Schiller, Policy Matters Ohio research director. “Ohioans and our elected representatives need to know what tax breaks cost — and what we could be giving up to pay for them.”

HB 687 contained five new tax breaks for the Intel project, covering the sales tax and Commercial Activity Tax, as well as more liberal property-tax exemptions for some suppliers. There was no estimate of the cost of these, either from the taxation department or the Office of Budget and Management. The Legislative Service Commission, which often has access to less information than the administration, said only that the cost would be “hundreds of millions of dollars across several fiscal years, depending on the level of investments by the semiconductor business and its suppliers in Ohio.”  

These new tax breaks include a major expansion in the sales-tax exemption for equipment used primarily in research and development. When policymakers first approved the sales-tax exemption for property used in research and development, they took steps to protect public dollars by not including expensed R&D costs. Expensed costs are written off the same year they are incurred, compared to capitalized costs, which are written off more slowly over time. But in the capital budget bill, Ohio policymakers included a provision to give Intel a sales-tax exemption for those costs. Another significant expansion covers tangible personal property used to “regulate, treat, filter, condition, improve, clean, maintain or monitor environmental conditions where manufacturing activities take place.” This, too, represents a dramatic departure from the existing exemption, which only covers this kind of equipment “in a special and limited area of the facility, such as a clean room or paint booth, where such total regulation is essential for production to occur.”   

These and other new tax breaks are explicitly tied to Intel being awarded a Job Creation Tax Credit. Under the state’s rules for such credits, the Tax Credit Authority “may from time to time set additional eligibility requirements for job creation tax credit applications.” It should require that the taxation department provide an estimate of the cost of the new tax breaks and all the state and local aid being provided. The TCA also should ensure that community input is sought on the substantial impact of the project and its effects on housing, transportation, schools and the environment. 

“The size and scope of the Intel deal approved by Ohio’s lawmakers are unprecedented for the state,” said Schiller. “We should expect to know the financial costs and tap the public so policymakers can ensure Ohio makes the most of this huge outlay.”

READ ONLINE

Policy Matters Ohio is a nonprofit, nonpartisan state policy research institute with offices in Cleveland and Columbus.

PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 – Cleveland – Today, the Bibb administration announced the financial allocations for the distribution of American Rescue Plan & Recovery Act (ARPA) funding under the guidance of Mayor Bibb’s Rescue & Transformation Plan. 

Last week, the City received the second tranche of ARPA funding.  

The Center for Economic Recovery (CER), the internal policy team tasked with carrying out the plan, has been making steady progress in its strategic process to ensure that Cleveland invests this once-in-a-generation federal funding in transformational, sustainable, ethical, and equitable ways.   

These investments are being made around priority areas, which Mayor Bibb shaped from recommendations that the Cleveland community set forth in the transition report.  

Mayor Bibb has directed that each priority area receive the approximate amount indicated below. These numbers are estimates and are subject to change as several of the priority areas may have overlapping success measures, share initiatives, or require less or more funding than anticipated.   

* This amount is intended to come from one-time funds in the General Fund 

“We must think creatively and strategically about how we allocate these funds,” said Mayor Bibb. “My administration is focusing on initiatives that will set a foundation for long-term, tangible impact for the residents of Cleveland. These allocations allow us to maximize the use of federal funds in the areas that our community identified as their priorities.”  

Mayor Bibb’s Rescue & Transformation Plan also provides a strong framework for the city to be prepared to compete for additional funding from a variety of sources.  
 
The CER team is actively engaging with Cleveland City Council to equitably and strategically shape and evaluate ideas for ARPA-funded projects that address our most urgent challenges. The team is assessing applications for ARPA-funding using the same evaluation criteria to make strategic decisions to achieve our long-term vision. They are also considering all possible sources of funding to ensure the City makes the best use of ARPA and other one-time federal dollars.  

Read the latest update and learn more at Mayor Bibb’s Rescue & Transformation Plan.  

Press Release 

July 12, 2022

Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing (CLASH) joins the EarthJustice, a national environmental justice law firm, in calling on Congress to pass the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act.

The Lead Safe Housing for Kids Act (LSHKA) would require owners of HUD assisted housing to test for lead hazards before children are poisoned. 

LSHKA would cover public housing, privately owned assisted housing, and properties receiving housing choice vouchers where there is a child under 6 years of age.

While Cleveland’s Lead Safe Certificate Program currently covers privately owned assisted housing and properties receiving housing choice vouchers, roughly 10,000 units owned by Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority are not covered by Cleveland’s ordinance. 

Outside of the City of Cleveland, LSHKA would extend new protections to tenants living in HUD assisted housing all around Ohio.

Proactively testing Federally assisted housing is not a new issue. For two decades, the Government Accountability Office has been issuing reports about the gap in HUD programming around the issue of lead paint. Three recent examples are: 

• The Danger of Lead Paint Hazards in Two HUD Programs
• Lead Paint in Housing: Key Considerations for Adopting Stricter Lead Evaluation Methods in HUD’s Voucher Program and
• Lead Paint in Housing: HUD Has Not Identified High-Risk Project-Based Rental Assistance Properties

Darrick Wade, a founding member of CLASH says: “It is past time for HUD to adopt a primary prevention strategy for addressing lead in federally assisted housing. Preventing lead exposure is cheaper than fixing the problem after a child has been poisoned. Not only cheaper, but morally imperative.…” Darrick’s son Demetrius Wade died as a result of lead exposure at Cleveland’s Lakeview Terrace Estate.

Two global music concerts scheduled for Wednesdays, August 3 and 10 

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The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) announces the return of City Stages, the museum’s FREE acclaimed summer concerts featuring the best in global music. The block parties will take place on consecutive Wednesday evenings in front of Transformer Station, the museum’s sister contemporary art museum, August 3 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. 

Before or during the concerts, attendees are encouraged to visit Transformer Station, one of 30 venues across Cleveland, Oberlin and Akron participating in the 2022 edition of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art through October 2. Titled Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows, the free exhibition explores art as an agent of transformation, a mode of healing and a therapeutic process. Staff at the PNC Exhibition Hub at Transformer Station will help visitors plan their journeys through 30 sites, where they will encounter the work of more than 100 contemporary artists. 

Transformer Station is located at 1460 W. 29th St. (at the corner of Church Avenue), Cleveland, OH 44113. Normal hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., but Transformer Station will remain open until 9 p.m. during City Stages. For more information, visit transformerstation.org.

Street parking as available, or the Lutheran Hospital parking lot is located at West 28th Street and Franklin Boulevard. FREE to all. 

Arrive early and grab dinner and a drink at one of Ohio City’s bars or restaurants or visit one of the local shops. Seating is limited—bring camp chairs and enjoy an evening of music and dancing in the street. 

City Stages Schedule 

Wednesday, August 3 

Dobet Gnahoré 

Hailing from Côte d’Ivoire, Dobet Gnahoré is a virtuosic singer, dancer, percussionist and songwriter who has taken the modern Afropop sounds of her country in exciting new directions. One of Africa’s brightest stars and most striking talents, Gnahoré uses her words and image to empower a new generation of daring, strong and independent African women. “I want to be able to dance to my music,” asserts Gnahoré. 

Wednesday, August 10 

Cimafunk 

Named by Billboard as a “Top 10 Latin Artist to Watch,” Cimafunk is making a name for himself as one of today’s great showmen, performing an electric live show with his nine-person band from  Havana. Cimafunk masterfully blends Afro-Cuban sounds and rhythms with global funk, hip-hop and  soul—resulting in a progressive, head-bopping celebration of Black music’s power to eclipse borders and  cross-pollinate across cultures. 

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About the Cleveland Museum of Art 

The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 63,000 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovations. One of the top comprehensive art museums in the nation, recognized for its award-winning Open Access program and free of charge to all, the Cleveland Museum of Art is located in the University Circle neighborhood. 

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and  made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National  Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio  communities culturally, educationally and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs  and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org. 

About Transformer Station 

Founded in 2013 by the Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Foundation, Transformer Station is a free, privately owned contemporary art museum located on the west side of Cleveland. The exhibition schedule at Transformer Station is shared with the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the facility is a promised gift to the museum.

Photo courtesy of Scott Shaw Photography for the Cleveland Museum of Art