Last Year I was chosen to represent the Bunnell Street Art Center in Homer, Alaska in a residency exchange with Zygote Press, sponsored by the Rasmuson Foundation. I knew little about Cleveland when I arrived in June, and was unprepared for its vibrant arts community and my welcome at Zygote Press.

The people at Zygote helped flesh out my idea to create a collaborative letterpress book, and provided a connection to a large and supportive community, the result of years of extensive involvement in the Cleveland arts scene.  Zygote’s accommodations and workshop greatly exceeded my expectations, as such space was unimaginable in Alaska, or any other place I had lived in the last 10 years.

It is that space and accompanying feeling of opportunity permeating Cleveland that has stuck with me over the past year. If there is anything I can share with other artists coming to Cleveland (there is a robust series of residencies at Zygote alone), it is this relationship to space, and the generosity, collaboration, and innovation it seems to breed.

To you artists living and working in Cleveland, do not take your situation for granted. You are living in a city going through a true renaissance, that can teach a great deal to many other cities, artists, and makers, like me.

 

Zygote hosts eight resident artists annually through collaborations with national and international partners. We work closely with these partners and artists in an effort to foster a robust and diverse network of opportunities for both artists and curators to exchange knowledge and experiences in the Cleveland community and beyond. To learn more or to sponsor a resident artist please visit www.zygotepress.org

 

Zygote Press

1410 East 30th Street

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

zygotepress.com

216.621.2900

 

Dresden Exchange Program sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council
Foreign Affairs Exhibition featuring German resident artists Sunjte Sagerer & Nina Holzweg
In residence at Zygote August 17 – October 21

Opening reception: 1 – 3 pm September 10, artist talk at 2pm.
Artist in Residence in Dresden, Germany featuring Ohio artists Kate Snow & Deb Pinter. In residence at the Grafikwerkstatt September 19 – October 22.

 

Zygote Press artists Liz Maugans, Lisa Schonberg, Amy Casey, Wendy Partridge, Nicole Schneider, Abbey Blake and  Paula Zinsmeister  at Beachwood Community Center through the Beachwood Arts Alliance: October 15 November 5

 

2016 Artist-in-Residence: Darius Steward. Exhibition September 23 – October 29
Opening Reception: 6 – 8 pm September 23.  Artist Talk: 1 – 3 pm October 8