University Circle

Innovative job program helps community members Step Up
As part of our Grassroots Success series, Fresh Water takes a closer look at the "Step Up to UH" program, which aims to connect prospective local employees to jobs at University Hospitals
BOUND zine and art fair to rock MOCA this weekend
This weekend, area zinesters, art aficionados and anyone fond of old school print is invited to browse more than 50 exhibitors from near and far at BOUND, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland's second annual art book and zine fair.
 
Free and open to the public, BOUND will take place in Gund Commons on the museum's first floor on Friday, Aug. 26, from 5 to 10 p.m. and on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees will have a chance to meet and interact with booksellers, artists, photographers, poets and independent publishers from Northeast Ohio as well as from points across the country. All of them will be offering limited edition art books and zines at affordable prices. In addition, a reduced $5 admission includes access to the MOCA galleries as well as all the programming and talks associated with BOUND. There will also be live music on Friday and DJs spinning tunes on Saturday.

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Cleveland Institute of Art: quiet champion of biomedical arts
Cleveland Institute of Art's Biomedical Arts program provides a unique and critically important component to healthcare institutes both local and national.
CAC report tells story of how county residents connect to arts and culture
Cuyahoga County's population utilizes arts and culture in a variety of ways, from museums and theaters to smaller community festivals and neighborhood events. Recently released findings from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) show just how connected residents are to the region's arts offerings.
 
CAC's 2015 Report from the Community shares stories of county residents impacted by the 210 organizations CAC funded in 2015. Self-reported data from these groups revealed more than $383 million arts-related expenditures county-wide, including upwards of $158 million in salaries to 10,000 employees.
 
Other key statistics from the report include:
 
* 50 percent of CAC-supported programs had free admission in 2015
 
* Nearly 6.9 million people were served by arts programming last year, including 1.5 million children
 
"The report provides good evidence of the story we're telling," says Karen Gahl-Mills, CEO and executive director of CAC. "Arts and culture is having a huge impact on Cuyahoga County."
 
Nor are culture lovers only visiting conventional venues like the ballet or a gallery, notes Gahl-Mills. Nature and science organizations, community gardens and other non-traditional entities are attracting crowds through their own arts-infused efforts.
 
"It's not just big institutions; we're shining a light on smaller organizations," Gahl-Mills says. "There's extraordinary variety."
 
This year's report also relates the experiences of community members impacted by arts and culture. One featured resident is Patty Edmonson, an employee at the Cleveland History Center, who returned to the region to curate the center's 13,000 dresses and 40,000 textile objects.
 
"Residents are the ones who benefit from the dollars we invest," says Gahl-Mills. "We use tax dollars to support the arts, so we need dialogue with the public to understand what work we can do."
 
This summer, CAC has been visiting festivals and events to get further feedback from the community. The undertaking includes "street teams" going out to barbershops and farmer's markets and asking folks what inspires them about the arts. Gahl-Mills says public funding for the arts is a key facet in making Cuyahoga County a vibrant, attractive place to live.
 
"People care about the arts and we need to hear from them," she says. "The more we know, the better grantmaker we can be." 
Bon Appetit takes a CLE foodie tour
From Bon Appetit:

“People ask me why I left Portland, and I tell them that Cleveland now is very similar to what Portland was 15 years ago,” said Robert Stockham, general manager at the city’s premiere coffee roaster, Rising Star. Except Cleveland is a city with its own swagger, and a cost of living so low that Stockham said, “You can buy a house for less than a car, and you should never pay full retail price for anything here.” Also: Cleveland is the place for a hipster hotdog hangout that puts Froot Loops on its dogs, a brewery that has residents lining up for Christmas-spiced beer, and one of the world’s best symphony orchestras. Come hungry, and let Stockham be your guide.

Take his whole tour here.
 
CSA grad keeps the 216 in his heart, offers kids hope through dance
It's a fair June evening and Nehemiah Spencer sways stageside at Wade Oval Wednesday, clad in black-on-black Converse and a crew neck festooned with the familiar red curves of the Coca-Cola logo. Today’s theme is “Reggae Night,” and the assembled families are chatty and sporting Bob Marley T-shirts. Spencer has picked up a loose branch in each hand and moves his arms in easy rhythms, improvising a deft twirl of one wrist in time with the band. A few huddled couples smile at him from their blankets, unsure if he’s part of the show.
 
Spencer, a graduate of the Cleveland School of the Arts (CSA) and Juilliard, is now a company dancer with the Complexions Contemporary Ballet in New York City. The Glenville native is preparing for a new show with the company in Israel. So what’s he doing in Cleveland on a Wednesday night?

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Karin Connelly Rice's social media reporting of the RNC
Here is a rundown of Rice's social media reports on Facebook and Twitter throughout the RNC last week.
Saturday at the RNC
Today, managing editor @erin__obrien heads to downtown to see what's happening; the latest links to road closures and security; live music at RTA stations; and options for those avoiding downtown this week.
Cleveland's 10 best oddities: the ultimate RNC scavenger hunt
Fresh Water uncovers the weird, the overlooked, the hidden, the has-been and even the naked in this rollicking roundup.
Hardcore commuters fuel Cleveland's two-wheeled renaissance
Meet Italo Gonzalez. He rides 6.6 miles to work most every day – including those marked by rain, sleet and snow. And he's not alone.
From Jocko Homo to Pee-wee's Playhouse: it's a beautiful world
This summer, Mark Mothersbaugh's Myopia will enchant Clevelanders and Akronites alike with a host of surreal characters, giant graphics and all things DEVO.  
University Circle to showcase transportation with new shuttle, walkability, public transit
With newcomers such as MOCA and the utterly transformed Uptown District, University Circle (UC) has exploded with new activity that has easily blended in amid funky Hessler Street, the towering puppets of Parade the Circle and the venerable cultural institutions lining Wade Oval.
 
If you build it, they will come. So goes the saying and so it is for UC, a development that University Circle Inc. (UCI) and its partners have noted and then some.
 
"I really think transportation is on a lot of people's minds lately. It's certainly on our minds here in University Circle and the surrounding area," says Laura Kleinman, UCI's vice president of services. "Such substantial growth means a greater volume of people in the area," she adds, noting that the influx increases pressure on the environment, the infrastructure and most importantly, the people.
 
To ease it all, UCI, along with some 20 area partners, has developed the expansive Moving Greater University Circle's Transportation and Mobility Plan. At more than 140 pages, the document is daunting, but it's implementation and intent are already evidenced in the UC area in the friendliest of ways, starting most notably with a familiar link that's just expanded and aims to make navigating the area easier than ever.

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Circlepass to offer discounted admission to four University Circle venues
 
Last Thursday during their spring meeting, University Circle Inc. (UCI) representatives announced a forthcoming Circlepass, which will bring a popular tourist concept to the city's cultural focal point.
 
CirclePass will be one combined ticket for the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), the Cleveland Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Western Reserve Historical Society's Cleveland History Center. Circlepass will be discounted by 25 percent off regular admissions.
 
Each pass will remain valid for ten days and is valid for one entry at each museum. Hence users may visit all the venues on one day or over several days. Circlepass will be available for purchase online and users will receive it via text or email. Those who prefer a paper experience will be able to print out their pass. Smart phone users will be able to display the pass therein. UCI expects to officially launch the much-anticipated program by the end of the month.
 
Lisa Sands, UCI's director of marketing and communications noted that similar types of event passes are available at cities such as Toronto and Seattle among others, but University Circle's unique layout sets Circlepass apart.
 
"What makes Circlepass unique and especially appealing is the proximity of each participating institution," said Sands at the meeting. "Unlike most passes in Boston and Chicago, the Circlepass experience is entirely walkable."
 
Sands said she hopes Circlepass attracts visitors of all walks, be they conventioneers, groups or those who might make a one-tank trip from Pittsburgh, Columbus or Erie. She mentioned the PNC Bank's support of the program several times.
 
While still in the pilot stage, Sands said UCI hopes to eventually add other area venues, hotels and restaurants, but the organization felt launching ahead of the RNC was critical.
 
"The time is right to launch it this year with all the excitement and visitorship destined for our city," said Sands, noting the affordability and convenience of the pass concept. "They're very popular with tourists."