Over a period of two evenings - October 31 and November 1, 2005 - around 150 folks from all walks of life and corners of NEO came together at two spectacular places - the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Palace Theater - to participate in "world cafes" introduced by futurist Rebecca Ryan. The response and outcomes were fantastic. Highlights and content created is posted in two books below:"Making NEO "More Better" at the CIA - October 31, 2005" and "Storming the Palace for a sustainable NEO - November 01, 2005" - more will be added for quite some time so check back frequently - the most important outcome is the development of ideas surfaced during these events, which are posting to our "Community Forums"... go there to participate in making NEO "more better" . To those who joined us, thank you so much!!!

Arts and the Community: What are the Benefits?

An Economic, Social and Cultural Perspective

Based
on the recent RAND Corporation study entitled "Gifts of the Muse,
Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of the Arts", Baldwin-Wallace
College is hosting a public forum to address what is of value to the
arts community and how the arts should be promoted.

Location

Both Mayor Campbell and Council President Jackson met with the arts community last week.  Attendance was low, both at the Play House on the east with Campbell and Cleveland Public Theatre on the westside with Jackson. The Campbell strategy was to identify a top 20 list of reasons Campbell has advanced the arts, with art summits, expansion of live/work zones and public funding through the "1% for arts" set aside that is a part of public construction contracts.  She says her track record merits her return to office for another four years.  Jackson said, through his leadership, he deserves credit for these initiatives as well, and his record in council deserves the public’s faith and confidence that he will work to represent them well.  But what would be an election without an added dose of cynicism? 

As I ride the RTA and run around the Cleveland area each day I appreciate how much good aerosol art talent we have. These artists are considered vandals 364 days a year and given a little festival 1 day a year. We should do more for these artists and their art.

There was an article posted on the Channel 3 website proclaiming "Graffiti becoming a big problem in Midtown".