When Shaker Heights was founded in 1912,
of these pieces, while enhancing public art in Greater Cleveland was typically
seen in large urban plazas and grand public
spaces, not leafy residential suburbs.
“Public art, as people envision it today, is a
relatively new phenomenon,” says Terry Schwarz,
Director of Kent State University’s Cleveland
Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC). “For a
lot of cities, interest in public art has really just
blossomed in the last few decades.”
Interest in adding public art to the Shaker
Heights landscape was accelerated in 2017,
as opportunities emerged in the Moreland
neighborhood and through the planning of the Van
Aken District. To ensure that the City was creating a
cohesive collection that reinforced the City’s sense
of identity, a Public Art Task Force was created.
Under the guidance of the Planning Department,
the Task Force consists of six Shaker Heights
residents representing artists, architects, urban
planners, and combinations of all three.
serves as a reflection Each 40 FALL 2019 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
Joyce Braverman, planning director for the
City says, “The Task Force represents a broad
range of talented Shaker residents who bring their
professional expertise in art and design to the
thoughtful review of public art.”
To assist the Task Force and guide its work,
the City looked to the CUDC to help develop a
framework for public art in the Van Aken District
(along with its existing community outreach
work in the Moreland neighborhood) and to
LAND Studio for project management and artist
recommendations.
This led to new work – including “functional
art” in the Van Aken District (seating arrangements
of orange chairs), and work from Shaker Heights
High School artists on utility boxes, an initiative
sponsored by the Shaker Arts Council (SHAC)
– adding to more than a dozen existing pieces
Photos this page and opposite courtesy of Mike Edwards
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE