Under a century-old sweetgum tree on Cleveland’s West Side, newly-planted clumps of ornamental grasses sway in the wind. Birds swoop between bushes ringing two bioswales that dip away from each other, creating a natural land bridge. This swath of green interrupts the march of apartment buildings, schools, and old homes near the intersection of Denison Avenue and Pearl Road in […]
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Thanks to a very unexpected and amazing gift from the George Gund Foundation, Art House has been able to replace the HVAC system, a much-needed upgrade. This award will also help Art House make progress towards our campus vision and work with other neighborhood organizations to find ways to better support each other. In late May, we’re launching our first […]
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Many words have been used to describe 2020: unprecedented, challenging, tough, exhausting, uncertain, disorienting, depressing, stressful—the list goes on, but I want to use the rest of my allotted word count to talk about something else. Unsolicited, volunteers contacted Art House offering to help in any way that they could. Some were strangers or former interns: others, our teaching artists. […]
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Although most of our programming remains virtual, creative energy continues to thrive under Art House’s domed roof. Once doors began to reopen in May, several retired or semi-retired seniors started taking advantage of our clay studio facilities. Having had productive earlier careers, they are now devoting themselves to further honing their ceramic skills, taking risks, and exploring new ideas. Recently, […]
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That we are still in this place after so long and so much work has been done to dismantle the racial and social inequities that are too deeply embedded in the fabric of our country is unconscionable—it is painful, tragic, inexcusable. The knowledge that it is based on power, economy, and divisive strategies set to disempower targeted groups only serves […]
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A dynamic chemistry always results when artists develop curriculum that addresses VOS/SEL standards through thoughtful projects and challenging ideas. Combine this with student responses, their engagement and growth, and powerful reactions occur. This past fall, Ron Shelton combined education about the global ramifications of plastics with hat and jacket-making projects. Denison Elementary third graders learned how to work with wire […]
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My mind fills with ideas, linked together like a string of summer festivals running through the city. These different topics are related by the vibrant energy that art generates. What is common to all festivals? It is the magic of being in the moment that the visual and performing arts invite. This is also how children approach making. During a […]
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March: Art from our partner schools has started arriving. This moment in time invites the opportunity to reflect on the processes through which this work comes into being. The artists teaching in our programs make all the envisioning and scheduling come to fruition. They do so with great skill, patience, planning, and the ability to be flexible in changing circumstances. […]
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For several months, Art House had a high school project hanging on our largest wall. Living with these works over an extended period led to comparing them to some of the others that had been part of the 2018 Urban Bright Exhibition. Eight paintings focused on nature, technology, and augmenting human capacity. The students used various acrylic painting techniques and […]
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The Old Brooklyn Community Elementary School no longer has an art teacher. Sadly, such is the case at many area schools—art is one of the first things cut in high-need, high-poverty, urban school districts facing difficult budget decisions. For nearly twenty years, the Art House in historic Brooklyn Centre, a nonprofit arts center, has tried to fill that gap by […]
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