'Home of the Arts' fails Cain Park Art Show

Many readers may know me from my 12 years on the school board, seven years on the library board, or 15 years running the Cleveland Heights High School Alumni Foundation, but for the last seven years I been exhibiting my photography at venues throughout Northern Ohio. During this time, I have exhibited at over 100 art shows, festivals and events, including all of the “legacy” art shows: Boston Mills, Willoughby, Medina, Chardon, Chagrin Falls, Lakewood, Akron and Cain Park. 

After last year’s season, I wrote to Mayor Seren and city council, sharing with them several ways I felt the city could improve the Cain Park Art Show. As I said to them, Cain Park is possibly the best in our region for artists regarding vendor services. The issues I raised to the mayor and council were outside of the ravine, namely marketing the show, polishing the area around Cain Park for visitors, and connectivity to Cleveland Heights businesses. The irony is, while Cain Park excels at exhibitor services, it seems it does NONE of the things that pretty much every other show does.

Despite being a 2023 Cain Park Art Show exhibitor, and my government experience, knowledge, background and being a resident, I received no response from the mayor or any member of his staff, and the only two members of council who replied are the only two who ever have the courtesy to respond to my correspondence. Water under the bridge. 

I waited to see if ANY of the items I had mentioned were addressed this year, things that pretty much EVERY OTHER CITY DOES. Banners across major arteries promoting the show? No. Signs around the city directing visitors to the show? No. Paving of Superior and Goodnor, prime arteries in a neighborhood that has more than its fair share of housing that appears tired? No. Utilization of 200 parking spaces at Heights High within walking distance of Cain Park for visitors? No. Any substantive and coordinated effort to encourage patrons to dine on Lee Road? No. Any postings on either the Cain Park or city of Cleveland Heights Facebook pages promoting the art show? No, NOT A SINGLE ONE! 

And possibly the worst transgression, the Taylor-Tudor buildings on South Taylor, OWNED BY THE CITY, had sidewalks filled with weeds, perhaps left there to take away from the sight of multiple boarded-up windows. What a wonderful visage for visitors to Cleveland Heights to see—derelict buildings that reinforce negative stereotypes of our city. And the gutter I saw at the back of the main theater that was falling down last year, that I specifically referenced in my e-mail, I guess $39 million from Washington, D.C., couldn’t fix that.

I did note the multi-hued sidewalk at Superior and Lee; THAT was repainted. One might say that when it comes to performative, ideological gestures, 40 Severance Circle gets the job done. They don’t fix the roads, but they paint the sidewalks.

The reason this irks me so much is it seems to be emblematic of systemic, endemic failures of CH City Hall. I know firsthand of the many challenges facing a residential inner-ring suburb: being at the mercy of societal preferences, economic trends, the fluidity of federal policies and state funding. At the same time, it seems our “leadership” is unwilling or unable to do the small things that are within their control. Why? I was under the (false) impression having an elected mayor would address these failings, but it seems that if there isn’t a photo-op or the action performative, the mayor has no interest.