Tenacity and Love, Not To Mention Brilliance

In this election season CAN celebrates the creativity, entrepreneurship, tenacity and love that make humanity great, and make the Cleveland art scene as vibrant as it is.

Some readers will remember the original Sankofa Fine Art Expo, which was held annually at Tri-C East from 2001 to 2011. It drew artists from around the region and the US to show and sell their work, and hundreds of customers to buy it. Our cover artist Jerome White was there back then. The economy and the overwhelming challenge of managing such a thing conspired to bring that run to an end. Fifteen years later, though, led by Executive Director Robin Robinson and Board Chair Deidre McPherson, Sankofa brings the Expo back—this time to Shaker Square, September 18–20, in conjunction with the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival. The timing seems right: with venues such as Sltwtr Gallery, Deep Roots Experience, and MoCHA building community, and with Framed Gallery selling African and African American Art worldwide out of a storefront on Waterloo, in addition to historic venues like Karamu and Edward E. Parker Museum of Art, Cleveland’s Black art scene has never been more rich. And Jerome White—who was among the apprentices to Kent Twitchell when Sankofa commissioned the giant Ruby Dee mural at Karamu in 2013—is the featured artist for the Expo’s 2026 return. The theme: 15 Years of Storytelling; One Powerful Community.

A month later, book artists, zinesters and other devotees of the printed page will gather here when designer and CIA adjunct faculty member Scott Hartzell opens the Cleveland Art Book Fair. It’s slated for October 24 at 78^th Street Studios. It also has a precedent: for several years, moCa Cleveland hosted BOUND, an artist book fair in University Circle. The Pandemic brought that to an end. But since then, book artists around the Rust Belt have established networks of artisanal and independent publishing with Risograph and Letterpress to make gorgeous bound works. The Pittsburgh Art Book Fair, Cincinnati Art Book Fair and Detroit Art Book Fair are a solid foundation. And Cleveland organizations bring a truly strong book arts game, with Zygote Press, the Morgan Conservatory, and Artist Books Cleveland all lending their particular strengths. Those are complemented by the Cleveland Institute of Art and historic book collecting institutions such as the Rowfant Club and the Northeast Ohio Bibliophilic Society, not to mention the outstanding special collection at the Cleveland Public Library. Mark your calendars.

Speaking of Risography, don’t miss Brittany Mariel Hudak’s introduction and survey of the Riso scene in Northeast Ohio, also in this issue. Besides being an artist of the medium in her own right, Hudak spoke with publisher Anna Tararova, whose imprint Empress Editions recently released the gorgeous Riso-printed volume, Swamp Water.

And speaking of tenacity and love, not to mention brilliance, this issue of CAN celebrates multiple stalwart artists of the region with feature stories occasioned by current projects: Erin Hollenbank explores Judy Takács’ exhibition We The People…All The People, on view through Election Day at the Midtown Collaboration Center. Meanwhile, Mary K. Thomas has turned to art throughout her life as a source of peace, and it has been indispensable as she faces current challenges, as she discussed with writer Vince Robinson. Christopher Johnston interviewed the beloved Akron artist Don Drumm as he prepares to celebrate fifty years in his studio, with a retrospective exhibit. And William Busta tells—as only he could—of the ranging work of artist, writer, musician, craftsman, and longtime professor Michael Loderstedt.

We look forward to seeing you.