“You’re so brave,” people have been saying. “I can’t believe you are moving away.” Part of me laughed at the notion that relocating from Dayton to Cleveland constituted a bold action—after all, I don’t even have to get a new driver’s license. And there are a lot of similarities between Zygote and the Dayton Visual Arts Center, where I was executive director for eight years.

On the other hand, I am leaving my hometown (not for the first time—there were those ten years I spent in California) and stepping into the leadership role of an organization that has the biggest community footprint on the most frugal budget I’ve ever seen, while maintaining three physical locations: ZPASS, the residency apartment; the main workshop on East 30th and Superior; and Ink House, our contract printing space in the Waterloo Arts District.

Plus, thanks to its robust residency program, there’s a worldly flavor at Zygote that seems more exotic than one would expect when moving just three-and-a-half hours upstate. During my first two months at Zygote, I stayed in ZPASS with Jocmarys, an artist and intern who grew up in Puerto Rico. In late February, Khehla Chepape Makgato, raised outside Polokwane in Limpopo, South Africa, arrived. He is making prints and doing educational programs with us until mid-April. Then David Armes arrives from the UK, followed by Peter Bankov of Minsk, Russia. In the fall, our exchange programs with Dresden, Germany and Taipei, Taiwan, continue.

Meanwhile, staff members are curating exhibitions in Zygote’s gallery that will definitely update and upgrade my printmaking knowledge.

• In March, we have Processing the Present. If you want to truly understand hand-pulled printing in all its technically and conceptually interesting and infinite variety, check out this show curated by Zygote’s Rebekah Wilhelm.
• In April, we will present an important piece of NEOH history with The Legacy Show, featuring artists from Cleveland and Lorain County who spent their lives influencing the printmaking communities here and beyond.

The more I think about it, this move is a big deal. So—hi, Cleveland! I’m happy to be here. If you’re curious about who could possibly consider trying to fill Liz Maugans’ shoes, consider this your personal invitation to say hey to me, Jane Black, new Zygote ED, when we open Processing the Present on Friday, March 9 from 6 to 9pm.

PROCESSING THE PRESENT, CURATED BY REBEKAH WILHELM | MARCH 9—APRIL 7

Reception 6–8pm Friday, March 9

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE KHEHLA CHEPAPE MAKGATO POP-UP SHOW | MARCH 29—APRIL 19 | Harris Stanton Gallery

Reception 5:30–8pm Thursday, March 29

THE LEGACY SHOW | APRIL 20—JUNE 2

Reception 6–8pm Friday, April 20

 

Zygote Press

1410 East 30th Street

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

zygotepress.org

216.621.2900