City governments and community organizations often turn to local artists to brighten-up abandoned neighborhood walls. Eyesores are beautified and artists get a chance to earn some money. But, arts advocates argue that artists offer much more than decoration to area neighborhoods.
A couple of years ago, Cleveland artist Will Sanchez bought an abandoned convenience store at West 54th Street and Storer Avenue, in the heart of the city鈥檚 Latino community. He's transforming it into an art gallery. Sanchez is part of a growing movement of . That's the topic of a national conference coming to town this week, , sponsored by the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation
Will Sanchez said the inspiration for creating his gallery came from the lack of options for artists of color. He and his friends couldn't find a place to display their work.
鈥淲e were trying to get shows in Tremont, but we couldn鈥檛 get any shows,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t the time, they were calling us 鈥榦utsider artists,鈥� basically artists that weren鈥檛 going to school. We just loved art. And there was a big group of us.鈥�
The now trendy Tremont arts district was once considered a dangerous neighborhood. When aspiring artists like Sanchez saw how painters, sculptors and other creative people were starting to make Tremont a popular destination, they wanted in on the action.
鈥淵ou want to have an impact on the community around you,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淚 grew-up in this area, and for me to go to different neighborhoods that were developing, and not do it in where I鈥檓 coming from is wrong.鈥�
The Gund Foundation is co-sponsoring this week's civic art conference. Jennifer Coleman is Gund's senior program officer of the arts. At , she noted artists bring unique skills to community development that go far beyond painting murals to beautify decrepit streetscapes.
Artists can bring "creative thought that might end up not having anything to do with a mural, but the process that artists bring to the conversations,鈥� Coleman said.
LaShawnda Crowe Storm will bring some examples from her hometown of Indianapolis to the conference. Crowe Storm is an artist, urban famer and a community activist. She said artists are helping area residents re-imagine her city鈥檚 landscape of vacant properties and food deserts. For instance, a 10,000-square-foot raised vegetable garden was built on the parking lot of a dying mall.
鈥淚t was a space to get people to re-think when they say, 鈥極h, this is a mall.鈥� And you know, my perspective is that, no, it鈥檚 not a mall. It鈥檚 just a building and it can be whatever we want it to be,鈥� Crowe Storm said.
LaShawnda Crowe Storm [photo: LaShawnda Crowe Storm]
She thinks the community development process won鈥檛 change with the same people at the table.
鈥淏ut, we can bring new people to the table, that includes artists and a lot of community voices to mix it up,鈥� she said.
Cleveland photographer Amanda King will also make a presentation at this week's conference.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very important to speak through art, but I think it鈥檚 important to use art as a form of pressure for change,鈥� King said.
Three years ago, she founded 鈥�,鈥� a non-profit organization teaching teens and young adults how to push for social change by documenting the reality of their lives. In 2016, she organized an exhibition by some of her photography students for the police.
This image of a neighborhood basketball hoop was part of the "Shooting Without Bullets" exhibition for police officers [photo: Jasmine Banks]
鈥淚 think that police officers consider themselves to be the gatekeepers of the community, when really the young folks are the insiders,鈥� King said. 鈥淪o, I wanted the insiders, the people who are living in this community every day, to be able to tell the officers how they truly and authentically feel about their community and their own experiences in a way that is productive.鈥�
The common theme for all of these artistic civic activists is giving a voice to neighborhood stakeholders who don鈥檛 typically have much control of their own narratives. Will Sanchez is putting the finishing touches on a sign that will christen his ), next month. He thinks artists can put a fresh spin on community change.
鈥淭he entire process of being an artist is envisioning something that鈥檚 not there. And then using whatever you have to make it happen,鈥� he said.
Copyright 2021 90.3 WCPN ideastream. To see more, visit . 9(MDA5NTM4MTIyMDE0MTg3NDc2MTVlZjdmNQ001))
