Public art reflects the creative spark of the Heights
One of the simple ideas behind Heights Arts is that the way our community looks can express the creativity of our residents. Many who live here are trained in the arts, work in the arts, or simply love the arts—so it is natural that our public spaces would be enlivened with creativity. And many of us love our older homes because of the craftsmanship of the moldings, the unique architecture, the extra attention paid to details for purely aesthetic reasons.
There have been many opportunities over the last several years to apply creative ideas in our public spaces, beginning with the Coventry Arch commissioned by Coventry P.E.A.C.E. in 2001. The Arch, believe it or not, was incorporated into fundraising for a nearby soccer field! Where else but here would soccer and public art join forces in the same part of the brain?
Other public art projects have been requested by business owners. Jon Forman of Cleveland Cinemas asked for a mural for the back of the Cedar Lee building, transforming a cold asphalt parking lot and a massive brick wall into a lively, colorful, well-lit, and welcoming entryway to the movie and restaurant district. Local artist Robert Muller won a Heights Arts contest to design the mural.
Mike Occhienero, owner of the historic Heights Center building in the Cedar Fairmount business district, commissioned Jesse Rhinehart to paint the trompe-l’oeil mural representing historic storefronts for the side of his building.
Cleveland Heights Mayor Ed Kelley answered a call from Heights Arts to install temporary sculpture on the ring road at Severance Town Center, so you can encounter art by Laila Voss, Brinsley Tyrrell, Barry Gunderson, and Carol Hummel while you're on your way to the post office or city hall. The pieces, which have been on view since 2005, will be deinstalled this summer and will be missed! (P.S., they are for sale…)
Coventry Village is the first district in the Heights to incorporate public art concepts into streetscape furniture. After major street renovations, funds reserved for generic, pre-fabricated fences and benches were instead directed to artists Brinsley Tyrrell and Raymond Bugelski to design and fabricate unique pieces.
Most recently, we have been helping business districts brand themselves with “in-character” environmental graphics. Instead of grand entryway signs, we have suggested repetitive iconic designs replacing the traditional generic green and white street signs. For Coventry, Bugelski designed colorful signs referencing the district’s tie-dyed past. For Cedar-Fairmount, we are currently in the process of obtaining city approval for street signs that evoke the Tudor architecture of the district.
There are many elements that make up the texture and flavor of a public place. Thanks to the efforts of our community to make these public art projects possible, the creative spirit adds a lively spark to daily life throughout our city.
Peggy Spaeth is executive director of Heights Arts.
