Nonprofit Seeks To Bolster Equity In Cleveland Arts Community

CLEVELAND, OH — Assembly for the Arts — a nonprofit collaboration set to launch in Cleveland next month — is looking to bolster the local arts scene with its focus on cultural policy, racial equity, informed and focused research, cooperative marketing and a diverse portfolio of membership services.

An organization built on a pillar of diversity, its leadership is made up of a volunteer board that consists of at least 50 percent women and 40 percent people of color, the Assembly for the Arts said in a news release.

The organization will be led by Jeremy V. Johnson, a Cleveland native who spent the last 20 years of his life as the executive director of Newark Arts.

“After nearly 20 years in New Jersey, I’m excited to return home to Cleveland to lead this new organization,” Johnson said in a statement. “Assembly for the Arts will be one voice, representative of the diversity of our region, that lifts up the arts in Northeast Ohio."

Johnson said he envisions the organization will advocate for artists and the arts, especially as the sector works to recover from the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Though this effort builds on decades of work, there has never been a greater need to support artists, nonprofits and creative businesses in Northeast Ohio..." Johnson said. "My vision for Assembly for the Arts is that it will advocate for artists and arts organizations, shape transformational policies, and prioritize racial equity in the movement to lift our community through the power of arts and culture.”

Community partners including Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Arts Cleveland, and the Arts and Culture Action Committee — along with the Cleveland Foundation and the George Gund Foundation — have worked for over a year to birth the new organization.

Moving forward, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture will remain its own entity focused on funding nonprofits. Arts Cleveland, however, will cease operations and its staff will support Assembly for the Arts’ operations, according to the release. The Arts and Culture Action Committee will also fold into the Assembly for Arts, according to the release.

“Assembly has an ambitious agenda to be equitable, inclusive and represent all voices in our community. It will require listening and seeking out and bringing together divergent points of view,” said Chinenye Nkemere, a member of the Assembly for the Arts planning committee and board. “We look forward to having Jeremy lead this work to create a more racially equitable and active arts community.”

Assembly for the Arts is set to launch in mid-June.