Cleveland is home to one of the largest concentrations of artists in the country.   Greater Cleveland’s diverse group of over 100 arts and culture organizations, plentiful industrial warehouses, distinct neighborhoods, and low cost-of-living produce an extraordinary quality of life that has drawn a massive concentration of artists to live and work in Northeast Ohio.  At the same time, Cleveland has a nationally recognized network of high-quality community development professionals.   Every day, these individuals are working to revitalize the neighborhoods that give our city and our region its unique character.  But Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) believes that we can do even more to position the city as a national creative hub and an urban laboratory for reinventing “Rust Belt” cities through arts and culture.  In 2007, CPAC launched Creative Compass, a multi-year initiative to increase artists’ access to affordable home and business space and to make them more active partners in revitalizing our urban neighborhoods.

On Monday, April 4, 2011, from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. at the Idea Center, CPAC will present new research and a brand new artist neighborhood program we think you should know about. Below you’ll find some brief information about the special event:

• Where do artists live? What drives their choices to live in one neighborhood over another? Aiming to answer these questions and more, CPAC commissioned an analysis by Northern Ohio Data and Information Service (NODIS) at Cleveland State University. Join us for a sneak peak of the findings as we “home” in on Cleveland artists.
• Three years ago, CPAC launched a regional dialogue about how communities can work together with artists to transform the Rust Belt to an Artist Belt. That conversation continues at the next iteration of the conference focused on the creative supply chain in Detroit, Michigan April 6-7, 2011 (www.rustbelttoartistbelt.com). Before that, join us as we move from dialogue to action through a new artist neighborhood program. You won’t want to miss it.