Yellow Springs, OH

[chris richards]

New space first step in arts plan

I know that Lakewood has Lakewood is Art. But I found this article interesting and really, other than the Art walk, I'm not sure what Lakewood is Art does. I don't think it has a physical location. But that is partly why I'm posting about the activity of the Yellow Springs Art Council and its reaching out to other art and non art organizations.

Visibility is everything.

How can we better utilize and/or expand Lakewood is Art?[/url]

[Jim O'Bryan]

How can we better utilize and/or expand Lakewood is Art?[/url]

Chris

If I may be so bold...

Lakewood is Art was formed after a series of "arts" meetings with various groups that seemed to miss the true flavor of the arts in Lakewood. Now while all of these groups presented scenarios, and "districts." After one of the meetings residents involved in the arts were sitting at bela dubby, discussing the under whelming ideas. It was decided to take a quick look at the arts, what was found out was amazing.

The number of people involved in the arts in this community was staggering. 42 bands with at least 3 CDs our with one member here. Some of the top illustrators, cartoonists, and painters in the county live here. A slew of well know photographers including Paul Teply, Annie Levy(PD with so many awards it is amazing), Ivor and many others. Then we look at designers from buildings to websites, 5 graphic designers on 1 street in the yellow pages! Near me, I have 6 artists that work for American Greetings. We have not even gotten to the hobbyists! Poets, writers, artists that work with metal, fabric, paint, glass, neon, video. Birthplace of Punk Music, and on and on and on.

At that moment it became clear, "Lakewood Is Art." The group formed to address a few simple ideas. 1) Bring public art to Lakewood, in all forms. Current programs include Art Walks(3 this year), Public Art(placing art in parks), Band2Gether (music to the streets of Lakewood), Busking Days, Artist survey, Lakewood Film Festival, and saving and restoring art at Lakewood High, from murals to the Scrhkengost, Johnny Appleseed. and now judging the Lightspeed Boxes. 2) Provide an open structure of support for others with their ideas and concepts. 3) "Sustainable Art Districts" an idea championed by DL Meckes. For LIA that would be a sustainable arts community, not just district. 4)No agenda other than helping the arts. No politics, etc.

I do hope Ruthie Koenigsmark or Barb Michel jump in from here.

(shhhhhhhhhhh don't tell anyone but those two are two of the most dynamic people in Lakewood)


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[chris richards]

Provide an open structure of support for others with their ideas and concepts.

It's a great idea, how long has it been in LIA been active?

I think it could be a very strong feature to the city. Perhaps I should have titled this thread Lakewood is Art.

There is a lot of talk about emtpy store fronts in Lakewood. And I wonder if we can't do something similar that was done I think on Euclid Ave where they put art displays in empty store front windows.

I also wonder if LIA would be able to work with owners of buildings with empty store fronts to convert them into weekend galleries for the many artists in the city to exhibit work more frequently. They could show their body of work or do unique installations. I know some empty store fronts were utilized in the first art walk, but having shows throught the year would be a good way to promote the arts and for building owners to show off their vacant spaces.

[dl meckes]

Chris-

A couple of folks have spoken with the fellow who is most responsible for the storefront art along Euclid Avenue, but at that time, the people doing the inquiry could not move the idea forward and could not, at that time, enlist others to run with it.

LIA is a fairly new group and as such, has accomplished much in a short period of time - and there is much, much more to come. (Do I sound like Jim OB?)

One of the challenges of any group like this is that volunteers have limited time to devote to activities. What LIA has done is to get started and set some wonderful things in motion. I'm hoping that increased visibility will increase participation, because there are many wonderful ideas but not enough good neighbors to shepherd them to fruition.

There is much to glean from what other cities have done, but we have to do whatever we do "Lakewood Style" (whatever that may be) or it won't make sense.

I'll sloppily define Lakewood Style as being that which is inherent in and organic to Lakewood.

[chris richards]

I'm hoping that increased visibility will increase participation, because there are many wonderful ideas but not enough good neighbors to shepherd them to fruition.

There is much to glean from what other cities have done, but we have to do whatever we do "Lakewood Style" (whatever that may be) or it won't make sense.

I'll sloppily define Lakewood Style as being that which is inherent in and organic to Lakewood.

Perhaps a way to get more volunteers would be to go directly to the artists. If they know thye are working for not only the cities benefit, but their own as well, I'm sure their interest in getting their art out there would be a good payback for volunteering.

It's definitly an organization I'd like to get involved with. Especially if it means art becoming more appreciated in Lakewood.

As far as lakewood style, that will come in as how we apply what we learn from other cities. We should never do exactly what other cities do, but apply what we see and fit them to suit if it's an idea worth pursuing.

[Rhonda loje]

I have been thinking about the same idea...I found out that there is some grant funding out there for a similar idea...

http://www.exhibitcleveland.com/index.html

I'm going to 2 seminars in the next few weeks to see if this is something we can take advantage of. I will keep you all posted.

Rhonda

[Jim O'Bryan]

I also wonder if LIA would be able to work with owners of buildings with empty store fronts to convert them into weekend galleries for the many artists in the city to exhibit work more frequently. They could show their body of work or do unique installations. I know some empty store fronts were utilized in the first art walk, but having shows throught the year would be a good way to promote the arts and for building owners to show off their vacant spaces.

Chris

First off this would fall under the work being done by MAMA and DADA. In two weeks at the launch of DADA some incredible new programs will be launched to help Lakewood businesses. Right now MAMA/DADA are starting a program called, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. This will match good landlords with great tenants. there is also an economic development package that comes with it that will allow these groups to do everything from find renters, help building owners, right up to signage and help.

As far as LIA, they have always been very open with buildings and none rented space on Madison and soon Detroit. This next art wlak has taken one space and opened it to the Film Festival, for films. Ruthie, Barb and Chris, with help from MAMA's Justine have always found art for pet stores, hardware stores, schools, anywhere they can place it. It is one of the very unique things about Lakewood's art walk.

Want to get involved, I believe all you need to do is sign up.

http://lakewoodisart.com


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[Ruthie Koenigsmark]

And you can get additional info/register as a member and pick up a Lakewood is Art T-shirt at the Lakewood ArtWalk on Sat. May 17 from 4-9pm...we'll have a table at the Cat Clinic (17306 Madison).

Additionally, we encourage anyone with a project proposal to contact us to arrange a time to discuss at a future Board Meeting. What I think is unique about us is that we are project driven--each of us, with the exception of our secretary and treasurer, manages a project--this is one of our requirements of being an active board member, for example. This allows for two things--one insures sustainability of our organization and two gives each and every one of us the opportunity to lead a project through start to finish--keeps things interesting. We love how it's working!

[Barbara Michel]

Chris Richards wrote:

There is a lot of talk about emtpy store fronts in Lakewood. And I wonder if we can't do something similar that was done I think on Euclid Ave where they put art displays in empty store front windows.

I also wonder if LIA would be able to work with owners of buildings with empty store fronts to convert them into weekend galleries for the many artists in the city to exhibit work more frequently. They could show their body of work or do unique installations. I know some empty store fronts were utilized in the first art walk, but having shows throught the year would be a good way to promote the arts and for building owners to show off their vacant spaces.

Agree Chris, great ideas.

We are exploring these possibilities with the assistance of the MAMA and DADA groups. These ideas will be presented to the Mayor's Arts and Culture Workgroup as a possible collaborative endeavor.

As you mentioned, we utilized some of the empty storefronts for the first Art Walk. The event was successful and some participating artists rented an empty storefront for a couple of weekend shows. The space they rented is now occupied and the building is at full capacity. The artists may now choose to rent another storefront or take the big plunge and sign a lease in Lakewood.

During and after the Art Walk I heard many different people with businesses discussing looking into space along Madison Avenue– a place they had never considered.

Many owners of empty store fronts on Madison were not interested in hosting artists for the first Art Walk and showcasing their space / building. Some didn’t feel it was viable, a few had liability issues and some spaces do not have the infrastructure -- like running electricity.

[Ruthie Koenigsmark]

And Mary Anne Crampton, of Mainstreet Lakewood, has been doing some planning of her own along these lines(storefronts)--I don't want to leak anything before she's ready--but she is has a very solid plan , too!

[chris richards]

And Mary Anne Crampton, of Mainstreet Lakewood, has been doing some planning of her own along these lines(storefronts)--I don't want to leak anything before she's ready--but she is has a very solid plan , too!

That's extremely interesting. I look forward to learning more about this.

I signed up for the mailing list on the LIA website, but I didn't see a sign up to get involved. I will be sending an email sometime this weekend to Ruth to start discussing different ways of volunteering and such.

I can't express how much I believe in arts organizations, especially in communities like Lakewood.