Jada Renee Hobson brings positive messaging and plenty of energy to all she does. Her messaging includes phrases like “Be Happy,” and “Inspire the Uninspired.” That positivity extends to her vision of INDI Art House, a studio-in-the-works for local artists and youth looking to enhance their skills. It will offer activities for youth through her non-profit Destination Dream Foundation. She’s currently raising money through an IOBY campaign, to renovate the property and get it ready for classes. The goal is to raise $30,000.

Readers of CAN know Jada as the manager of the CAN Weekly e-newsletter—our free weekly listing of art events in Northeast Ohio.

INDI Art House is her own venture, a Forest Avenue home in the Buckeye neighborhood. It used to be her grandma’s house, but Jada acquired it in 2020.  Ultimately, she says it will be the place that her Destination Dream Foundation will offer free business and art education to the youth of Cleveland ages 8-18 to help them become successful and confident in their creative endeavors.

Renovations of the house are currently underway to make that possible. She’s had support from the St. Luke’s Foundation and from Neighborhood Connections, and earlier this year launched the IOBY campaign. Here’s the website to support the project. It’s eligible for up to $3,000 in matching funds from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

Destination Dream began in 2012 as a video platform for aspiring musicians, while Jada was a student at Kent State University.  She acquired the house in 2020.  The brand became the Destination Dream foundation when she incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 2021.

“INDI Art House is a studio for local community artists and creative youth looking to enhance their skills in the arts,” she says. “We are currently in the process of renovating all rooms into photo studios, music studio space, co-working space and a fashion merchandising space for the youth.”

So far she has organized several community clean-up and networking events both to build community and to promote the crowdfunding campaign, as well as what’s to come from our INDI Art House Project. The exterior of the house got a coat of paint from the Cleveland Paint Program. She has also invested more than $15,000 of her own money in the effort.

She aims to have the house complete in November, and to have a grand opening in December.

You can support the effort here.