Scenes from CAN’s benefit, Buy Art / Buy Ohio

Some of the most tenacious and generous and art-savvy people in the region found their way to The Hall at St. James in Lakewood for CAN Journal’s benefit, Buy Art / Buy Ohio November 8. Thanks to generous support from Walk Your Plans, the organization had a gorgeous venue with a projection system we were able to use to bathe the crowd in art created by dozens of Cleveland artists and animated by Jason Toth. Thanks to Emmanuel Wallace, we’ve got a slew of great pictures.

Dozens of artists sent their work to be animated and flowed together by Jason Toth. They included Adriana Russo Caso, Donna Coleman, Melissa Bollen, Aiyanna Mays, Douglas Becht, Melissa English Campbell, Alicia Telzerow, Eileen Dorsey, Michael Angelo DiLauro, Amelia Casiano, Elana Maraldo, Michael D. Zelenka, Amber Bishop, Gina Washington, Miranda Reynolds, Amber McElreath, George F. Kocar, Nancy Dinger Aikins, Andrea Schepis, Grateful To Be Here, Nadine Speidel, Andrew Reach, Gregory A. Little, Natalie Rich, Anthony Eterovich, Herbert Ascherman, Nicole Condon-Shih, Ashley Rose Krug, Hilary Gent, Nicolas Romano, August Radcliffe, J. Inky, Lorain Cantrell, Oliver Chapman, Barbara Martin, Jamie Richey.

Artists continued with Palli Davene Davis, Bella Smith, Jason Flakes, Paris Snyder, Ben Small, Jaymayokay, Peter Babula, Bob Peck, Jenniffer Omaitz, Rachel Ferber, Bob Perkoski, Jim Szudy, Rachel Yurkovich, Bonnie O. App, Johnny Alemagno, Ray Caspio, Brennan Cooper, Jordan Alexander Wood, Rita Montlack, Brian Asquith, Judy Takacs, Robert Wright, Brian Bundy, June Hund, Ross Bochnek, Bruce Checefsky, Karen D. Beckwith, Ryn Clarke, Calypso, Kelly Pontoni, Sarah Raban, Candace Barnhart, Laila Voss, Stephen Calhoun, Charisse Harris, Lauren Byrne, Stormy Sweitzer, Charles Mintz, Lawrence Baker, Susan Snipes, Christopher Kaspar, Lena Atomika, Sylvia Munodawafa, Claudio Orso Giacone, Lisa Kenion, Tanya Kaiser, Corwin Levi, Lisa Schonberg, Thomas Smith, Cynthia L. Penter, Liz Maugans, Tumnus Rex, D.D.S. Percocet Push, Luanne Bole-Becker, Valerie Marek, Dana Dzurko, Madeline Kissinger, Daniel Levin, Makaylah Clark, Diane Britt, Mary Defer.

Thanks to our Toast Sponsor, the Cleveland International Film Festival, represented by Director of Programming Paul Sloop, who saluted the Makers of Northeast Ohio, including the film makers. CIFF Executive Director Hermione Malone will join CAN at the Winter Launch Party at Julia de Burgos Cultural Center November 21 to talk about the festival’s news and plans for the future.

Thanks to brands El Jimador Tequila, Diplomatico Reserva Rum, Jack Blackberry, Gentleman Jack, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, and Tito’s Vodka for an amazing bar. And thanks to the following sponsors, our cocktails honored the following artists: The Tony Eterovich, sponsored by Karen Eterovich in honor of her father, Tony Eterovich; The Dexter’s Delight, sponsored by Grafton Nunes in honor of Dexter Davis; The Full of Promise, sponsored by John Farina and Adam Tully, in honor of Eric Rippert; The Fizzy Lizzy crowd-funded in honor of Liz Maugans; The Tom Hinson TNT Martini, sponsored by John C. Williams in honor of the late curator; and the Gina Washington Is Dynamite, sponsored by Sharon Milligan in honor of Gina Washington. Watch for all those Cleveland artist cocktails, and many more past and future, to be included in CAN’s eventual Cleveland Artist Cocktail Recipe book.

Thanks to all our raffle item sponsors, and all the guests and patrons who bought tickets! Thanks to Walk Your Plans and The Hall at St. James not only for the venue, but for the Night of Immersion at The Hall at St. James raffle item, won by John Farina. Thanks to Dan Bush for the guided tour of 78th Street Studios, won by Alaska Thompson. Thanks to Darl Schaaff, for offering a private tour with nibbles and wine at The Darl Center for the Arts, won by Jame McNight. CAN Editor and Publisher Michael Gill was more than happy to offer an afternoon of letterpress instruction and printing, and is looking foward to working with Corey Snipes and Susan Snipes. Thanks to the Cleveland Museum of Art for offering a private tour of the museum with curator of contemporary art Nadiah Rivera-Fellah, and a museum membership, won by Michael Wolf. Thanks to Beck Center for the Arts, Cleveland Public Theatre, and Great Lakes Theater Festival for giving the tickets to form the Cleveland Theater Sampler package, won by Matt Jorgensen.

And, you can still get tickets for the CAN Journal First Decade Archive Raffle! There are just 100 tickets available (fewer than that now), and the winner will be drawn only when the 100th ticket is sold! That means your odds are quite good: 1 in 100 for one ticket, 1 in 20 for 5 tickets. This is a gorgeous, archivally boxed set of the first 10 years of CAN Journal, lined with handmade / marbled paper by Cleveland artists, just like those in collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art Ingalls Library, Cleveland Public Library Special Collections, Case Western Reserve Library Special Collections, and others.

Thanks to designer JoAnn Dickey, writer / compiler Anastasia Pantsios, copy editor Julaine Duffield, and advertising executive Tara Tonsetic for making our fabulous party favor happen–the pocket-sized, preview Holiday Market Guide! If you did not get your copy, we may have a few left at the CAN launch November 21. And of course the whole guide is a part of the Winter 2025-2026 issue of CAN Journal, too. Watch for the Holiday Market Guide every year, and if you have a market, you should be a part of it.

Of course there were speeches.

We’re especially thrilled to congratulate Gina Washington for being recognized with the inaugural CAN Full of Dynamite, which will be occasional recognition of a Cleveland arts volunteer or professional who is simply doing great things, within or outside of the realm of Collective Arts Network. The award recognizes energy, connectivity, generosity, brilliance, and all manner of other subjective criteria that make the arts in Cleveland so dynamic. The award is represented by a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

Thanks to Cleveland State University and ReviewStar submission platform for sponsoring student tickets for Cleveland State University and the Cleveland Institute of Art.

And finally, thanks to all the volunteers who made the evening run smoothly!