"Jeremy Jackson Reveals Arts Secrets You Missed"

00:00:00 everybody I want you to give a warm welcome to our newest guest he’s our newest guest because this is the first time coming on our program Mr Jeremy Jackson while I was a graduate student they had money in Iowa to send all their Arts management students to New York we would go to New York and we would intern I’m I’m gonna be transparent what created my organization assembly a lot of that was philanthropy this movement to vote Yes for arts and culture that means some 400 arts groups will benefit from $160 million over 10

00:00:37 years keep it realer than most he do it for the coacher that’s always the goal this is strategic moves with [Music] Kow this is strategic mov with [Music] Kow hey what’s up everybody you tuned in to another episode of strateg moves I’m your host Ken D this is a place where we bring art culture politics and business all together and we do it every Sunday right here on this podcast but when I’m not shooting this podcast I am the owner of strategic research where we specialize in public and governmental

00:01:15 relations we’ve been doing it in this city for over 25 years and I want to make your next move a strategic move and this program gives me an opportunity to do just that we bring on some of the people that I met along the way we come on we share some of our experiences with you and maybe you just might get something out of it that’ll help you in your business or personal life so if that sound like something you be interested and all I need you to do is hit that like button hit the Subscribe button and the notification Bell as well

00:01:44 so that you would know the next time this program is coming on so today we going to get right to it we had a crazy busy day today and we getting through it and I really appreciate the gentlemen that’s coming on our show today because we brag about that we this is a place where we bring art culture politics and business all together and today we get to talk about the arts for a change so we got the gentleman who runs all the Arts here in our town is on our show today but before we get started with

00:02:14 that let me give a shout out to our podcast producer and the man who makes this [ __ ] oh hear that I Almost Got Away man is it dark is it after Dark Yet K after off do the man makes this stuff happen for us right here every time none other than DJ true what’s happening brother what’s going on what’s going on man I don’t know man just finally get the Arts out of your culture business and politics huh yeah we gonna get our arts on today man we GNA talk with a gentleman here who’s from Cleveland who

00:02:49 runs all the pretty much some of the biggest um we don’t run the Arts but he helps contribute to some of the art programs here in our town to help keeping these programs of foot and helping small organizations who are in the business of the Arts so we got a gentleman who is in the business of the Arts today on our program how about that wow speaking of the Arts man do and I know we record this show but um did you know that Missy Buster rymes and Sierra’s in town today really yeah why you a show man Mr podcast producer

00:03:28 extraordinaire why why why VY Elliott walking in here man there’s a lot of politics this there goes your politics in your you got to deal with the politics but they are in town this is Missy’s first headlining tour out of all these years the first time she had a big headlining tour wow wow so she’s over at the um rocket mortgage um with Buster rymes and Sierra and Timberland is uh support on that tour I heard about it I didn’t know they were here though wow yeah it snuck up on me cuz uh I remember

00:04:06 like I think they announced it in May and then next thing you know it’s August and next thing you know is today is the show interesting all right all right well I would say go get your tickets but if you’re watching it by now the show didn’t happen you be telling us about it you should be telling us about it so we gonna move on so to everybody I want to give um gentleman who we talked about today he is with the um Cleveland um centers for the Arts assembly of the Arts here in Cleveland Ohio he is the president

00:04:42 and he’s CEO he runs that organization over there he’s going to talk to us a little bit about what the Assembly of the Arts is all about as well as he’s going to talk about uh issue that are on our ballot that we got coming up this year health and as not Health and Human Services arts and culture Levy that is on the ballot I have always a supporter of that Levy and the work that they do so we’re going to talk a little bit about that and get that information out to the public on how you can help and

00:05:09 support the levy as well so without further Ado everybody I want you to give a warm welcome to our newest guest he’s our newest guest because this is the first time coming on our program Mr Jeremy Jackson Jeremy Johnson calls thank you it’s a pleasure I appreciate the Applause wow oh yeah man we all make sure appreciate being here appreciate we appreciate you coming on here man like I told you we I’m a firm um person who really are into the Arts um I love music I love Arts I and and getting into this

00:05:41 podcasting thing a young lady told me that I became a a Storyteller so she said that you know we tell stories and that kind of thing so it makes me a little artsy in that regards too so I I really appreciate you coming on and sharing your afternoon with us to talk to us about what you guys are doing over there well story telling is an artart so I’m I I’m happy to be here and thank you uh my first time hopefully not hopefully not my last time on on this show been I know of your your leadership and so many

00:06:12 issues and bringing these issues to the floor it’s so important to have a communication platform to share with our communities um what affects their lives and that’s sort of what assembly is about but I want to tell you a little bit about how I got here oh yeah I was going to say you know our program the way we work is we try to get a little bit your business so we want to know a little bit about your background I hear you grew up in Glenville Huff area give us your background yes um I’m a PK you

00:06:40 know what a PK is I’m a PK I’m preachers kid yeah so uh my dad was called to preach uh way back in the in in the late 60s um we lived in Youngtown but when I was six he was called to preach at a church on Quincy or wood on Woodland called New Bethlehem Baptist Church okay it’s still there and so we made the TRU from uh the this uh steel mill city of Youngstown to Cleveland my brother and I and then soon my my younger brother and sister who were born here in Cleveland we moved to uh first we moved to um Huff

00:07:17 okay we have the East 90th Street in Huff I went to the old Huff Elementary School which is not there anymore that’s how far back I go okay um and uh then eventually we moved around a bit we eventually settled in Glenville I lived on Englewood I went to the old uh FDR Junior High School which was the original Glenville High School correct everyone always ask me if I’m a tarblooder and I I I guess I got to get half credit my brother was a tarblooder my brother Jonathan I ended up uh going to High School uh at University school

00:07:48 but I went to Public Schools through through eth grade um and then I didn’t get the pleasure of being able to be tagged at T oh yeah I missed out missed out on that but uh what year was that you K all right now I’m gonna age myself y’all don’t tell anybody how old I am but I graduated high school in 1979 okay all right so that’s when Glenville was Glenville Glenville yes yeah yeah yeah you’d have been in the class with a whole lot of folks that are around now right yeah um one when I got back to

00:08:21 Cleveland three years ago I’m I became quick fast buddies with a fellow glenvill Kevin Conwell turns out we were in the same yeah that’s what we had the same teachers the same music teachers so that’s been great just to uh reconnect with my my old stomping ground after being away uh because after uh After High School I I I I left from most of my most of my professional career went out east and it’s just great to be back in the land excellent did did when you were in high school was you athlete you played any instrument was you in the

00:08:57 Arts then or what was your like high school so I to talk about why I’m in the Arts now I do have to go back to those early days when we lived on Huff I must have been eight or nine eight um my mom she she she made sure we had access to Art in culture she’s sang in the church choir and but she wanted us to do a little bit better um even though we didn’t have a lot of money so I would walk from East 90th Street all the way over to University Circle to the music school settlement to take uh piano lessons on Saturday I would I would have

00:09:33 these yellow books they had these shmer books they were yellow they look very studious but I would hide them under my jacket on Saturday every all the other kids be out playing ball and everything I didn’t want to what you doing what you car those books for they be like trying to you know tough me up so I would hide the books my music book so I could get over there to uh the music settlement and not everybody would know I was the the the nerdy piano player MH but that played a big role uh taking lessons

00:10:03 there and of course Cleveland Public Schools back then um right every year we we would go to the Cleveland Orchestra we would go to caramu to see uh Black Nativity yeah oh my God my brother and I my my closest brother Jonathan we were 11 months apart uh they used they had a term I don’t know if you can use that term Irish twins because we were we were but we were very close so we would just travel from Huff literally right right we would because this these were the days when parents didn’t show for you

00:10:36 right we long as we stayed together that was the rule in our family don’t you two separate from each other exactly but we would head over to um to the Museum of Art it was free we’d go in to the the Hall of of knights okay the armor we we would just have a good we would go to the um the case uh Case Western Reserve Historical Society those cars they got in there right right right so it was amazing because we were in Huff but like literally just just was this amazing wealth of art and culture and then down the road was

00:11:11 caramu and then I had teachers in the schools I mean I could talk for I could talk a long time about my teachers at Columbia Elementary School they had a cultural heritage room this was before Dei and curriculum they they said you were going to learn about your black history this was in the 60s and the 70s Mrs sharp if any of y all remember M Ed sharp she had the pling talk club and we read a book called unsung black American Heroes okay and if she called on you in her class she she’s a black teacher you had to stand up and

00:11:53 you had a it’s like we used to do Bible verses at home but she had one called name your black hero and garran and then at the traffic or Charles Drew one of the first people to do open heart surgery or Harriet tutman the Moses of her people I mean this was at at a time I don’t they nobody knew she was doing this she did this with her class with her own on her own yes yes she did uh so that was that’s sort of poured into me art and culture the other thing she did she she would go to New York from time to time and she

00:12:28 would come back having seen all these Broadway shows okay and she was just a regular class but she would teach us songs from Oklahoma or Sound of Music all right all right she was amazing um so uh that that was that sort of would poured into me that plus being a PK yeah Church all the time you know what it’s like you’re in front of people you got to be in front of people to sing to to read the scripture to lead right so um that was sort of my pouring enemy I conveyed that over to this Arts world I

00:13:02 played piano I was say you played piano piano led the junior choir uh and then in college uh long story longer I knew I enjoy playing and singing but I saw there were a lot of people much better than I said but I like being around creative people okay so I eventually got into the business side so if I if not if I’m not going to be on the stage how can I support this but the longer version of this is that I realize the Arts bring people together that’s correct or you have to team up to do arts if you’re in a band that’s right

00:13:41 if you’re in a we got to work together the choir’s got to work with the director the bass players got to work with the percussionist if you’re in a a dramatic production we get there’s a lot of teamwork and I there’s nothing I love more than teamwork when how do we bring people together how do we assemble people together so my most of my adult life has been bringing people together from disperate section whether it’s been nonprofits philanthropies and now artists and arts people so we’re gonna get into um you know moving in but how

00:14:14 far did you go with this Piano Thing Man did you when you say did you play u are you good I mean you played in church so you were you music where you took lessons so you can read music because a lot of piano players read and play by ear play by ear a lot of so give me a him book I can play anything in the him book okay but that’s not that don’t count for much lately that does not count any him lovers out there I’m the I’m the old style Melia Jackson James Cleveland the piano player a came in on Sunday you can

00:14:42 get us up there and get us through a service absolutely so but also playing by ear um there was a there was a fellow and I was very young um his name was Professor Robert Riley okay he’s sang in a lot of quartets around Cleveland he was my mentor who taught me how to to play by ear so as our church my my father’s church we would travel other churches with other choirs he’d be playing and singing he and they say Jeremy get over here okay he’d get up in the piano and start singing I’d have to take over the

00:15:14 piano talk about being on a spot I 11 12 13 14 years old but you know those old those old gospel songs so that’s what I go back to the old I just was a gospel piano Banger how about you sing you say a singer too well you you can’t just play the piano you got to sing that’s what I always love the teamwork I I’m not a solo Pian I’ll play if we all gonna sing We if I’m gonna play We gonna sing together we gonna play and sing okay that’s how we that’s how we gonna work this okay this ain’t a show we

00:15:45 G if we gonna have church we G have church this this is not you know things have changed nowadays but I’m a real throwback I’m understand understand so so when you went to college was it going to college because you was in the Arts you wanted to go there in the Arts field what did you go to college to do so that’s a whole another story um and I told you I was at FDR junior high eth grade there’s a guy named Jeff Morton he was basically sometimes you have football scouts basketball Scouts he was a scout for a

00:16:19 program called a better chance really and uh which puts Urban black and brown kids into elite private schools across the country he came to FDR Junior High and other schools in Glenville there’s actually a bunch of black kids who went to University School who were there because of this guy he’s still alive yeah absolutely wow um so he came to my school somehow he talked to my counselor I took a test or something long story short they told my mom hey uh uh her name Mrs Hicks my mom she said Mrs Hicks

00:16:57 you uh your son we want to put him into a private school uh out on the east coast East Coast boarding school and my mom said no you ain’t do that but if you could find a school close by maybe we could talk so I did not end up going in one of those uh boarding schools out in New England but University had a program but it was it was a day school so I come home every day and I could also play at my church on Sunday exactly exactly so that that’s you asked me how I got what happened with the music go to college

00:17:30 but anyway University School oh this is the point when I said I would be in that program to go to this private school they said you need to make a decision right now in eighth grade if you’re gonna be in this program you will go to college and if you have a question about that you should don’t even bother it so me and my mom that was the time in eighth grade if I’m going to be in that program you will go to college that was that was was what they said don’t bother to take all these tests because that’s

00:18:02 part of the deal so that’s really what put me on definitely a college track was getting into that College Prep thing um and that was a game changer because being in Glenville living on near St Clair and 105 where you lived at b614 Englewood I lived on kton what you say just a few blocks down few blocks down and my DJ in there who I gave the title as the best podcast producer we done said Glenville about 150 times on this program and we got a thing that we do when we say Glenville and he hadn’t did it to us not one

00:18:42 time there you go there we go we got a lik him for Glenville all right all right so we that’s what we do yeah I grew up in that area I lived down there 32 years so about 35 years before I live down so I understand everything Funeral Home you know that is Grant’s groceries Grant’s groceries right there I went to school at Noble Grant oh really yes I did oh okay all right excellent yes I knew the grants they used to still work in that store um for a long time they the store was open I think Mr Grant them had died right

00:19:19 before I left and like I said that was a while ago so yeah so a lot of memories I guess you get old enough you just I have a lot of memories there and so now it’s full circle decades later I’m back was it going to college because I wanted to go play music I wanted to pursue music or was you going to college to be a lawyer you know don’t tell anybody this but I didn’t know what I wanted to be but I knew I didn’t want to be on the street buming cigarettes off people and you said you gotta go to college yeah I knew

00:19:49 I was gonna go you knew you was gonna go right I knew I was gonna go somewhere right because because us and a lot they publish every year all these all the students went to this college that College I didn’t want to be the one you the first time in history didn’t go college that wasn’t gonna be me right so um so I I did want to pursue music sort of but I just wanted to just to learn more uh and um so I got I loved economics in college I thought I might be economics major fig out how do how how come some people are rich and other

00:20:22 people aren’t why are my people who live in Glenville struggling so much those questions we still have to the state now I know some of the answers okay I didn’t know those answers why the wi now we know about red lining right we know about other things you know why do we have to struggle so much um I didn’t learn that in college by the way after after all that that learned that came much later that comes from experience that came much later yeah much later um but College was important for me just to get that degree

00:20:59 mhm um uh I was the first in my immediate family to go to college okay I didn’t you know my mom had graduated from high school that was a big deal I mentioned my father um Reverend Hicks really my stepfather I still call him my father because he raised me from the time I was five he he had a fourth grade education but he could lead a whole church and preach a sermon and and be a car Carpenter during the week and a pastor and take care of a household yeah yeah can you do that today M he had a fourth grade education from

00:21:34 Mississippi wow but he knew how to work a hammer and know how to lead a congre he knew how to preach accounted for a lot every word in that Bible absolutely so you know I bring to what I’m doing today a lot of that before you get what did you what did you major in when you finished and then we gonna get you into where you at so I majored in Psychology okay everybody SE to go after all that everybody SE to go everybody said that be like what y end up majoring they psychology I like another so after

00:22:06 all that so it’s so funny because I didn’t major in music I hung out in the music department all the time but I said I can’t be a music manager because I w’t be able to make no money so psychology not that much more money to be made right but you it’s I was it I went to a small liberal arts college and they talked a lot and where did you go I went to Kenyan College in G beer outside of Columbus Kenyon Kenyon College col I know I heard College okay right and they they focused on writing writing was a

00:22:37 big thing for them um they Wen it was not there was not a lot of diversity at that time on that camp I can imagine um but it was known as really one of the top colleges and um uh uh so so I was a scyth major but then after that uh I came back to Cleveland for a couple years worked at University settlement which is a nonprofit does a lot work with seniors young people housing sort of cut my teeth and that’s where I learned about fundraising really my boss said I work with youth programs there and uh one day my B because our Pro we

00:23:12 didn’t have a lot of money I’m working with all these kids they needed all this help my boss said to me well Jam your program is gonna end unless you start raising your money yourself because I’m too busy trying to do all these other things you gotta write your own grants really for your own program to serve these these teenagers and I started writing my first grants uh uh Juvenile Justice prevention grants United Way Grants to run my program to keep my job right right I swear to you that writing

00:23:40 experience and that fundraising experience right out of college that has led me all the way 40 years later wow when you raise money you are a profit Center for your organization people can’t let you go if you bringing money in the door that’s correct I don’t care if it’s nonprofit for-profit right so uh I learned a lot from that and I gained that experience so on my resume that was always first thing grant writer fundraiser and then I blended that with Arts Administration I eventually got a a a master’s degree in arts Administration

00:24:18 so what made you get that I wanted to be around artists and creatives you still want you say you went right back to it again where you go get the degree at from me that was University of Iowa of all places that’s a long story too but my best friend my best friend Tony uh Tony Joseph may she rest in peace she died way too young but she was going to University of Iowa how you up in Iowa because she was there at this famous program called The Writers Workshop that’s world renown program and I was working at University settlement working

00:24:50 with young people right in Grants I can’t do this is good but I can’t keep this is not what I really want to do Tony said to me Jeremy you got to stretch out you got to go on come over come visit me at the University of Iowa I visited her they had a program for uh for Arts management I didn’t know Iowa from Idaho I really didn’t but I was there um I applied to that program and got in again a graduate program okay ended up staying three years in Iowa City loved it really got my and this was the best

00:25:24 part while I was a graduate student they had money in Iowa would to send all their Arts management students to New York we would go to New York and we would intern New York City right and then I got uh an internship at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts the Lincoln Center I want you to stay on that point Leah if you want to go you can go we good I said if you need to leave we’re good oh okay yeah we’re good whenever you ready okay but I could boore you cu no I was good there reason why I wanted you to stay on L because

00:25:57 that was leading into my next question question I wanted to ask you about the Lincoln Center because at the Lincoln Center you became an intern there right it started as an internship and I intered in all these departments archives fundraising marketing uh Community engagement this is way back in the day now what is that for the people who don’t know what is Lincoln Center Lincoln Center was the first Big Art Center that combined a bunch of different auditoriums uh to be like this uh critical mass

00:26:29 performances uh on the upper west side of New York City before that you’d have maybe an auditorium downtown or this Auditorium there but this put seven different big Arts organizations together and they built all these things around this big Plaza with the fountain if you would watch a lot of movies they show but this was the umbrella for the New York City Ballet uh for New York City Opera at the time for the Metropolitan Opera for the New York philarmonic for for the uh the Lincoln Center uh library now they have

00:27:02 Lincoln Center Jazz literally all those groups are under the umbrella of Lincoln Center Inc wow they’re all and and many of them are part of that same big Plaza they just did a a remodel of they’ve done a lot of remodeling over the years over the decades but um they raised a lot of money but I was right there in the mix of it so um of the corporate the real estate tycoons of New York as an intern I would go to the big fundrais I would help out the staff um I remember meeting Beverly seals one day the big

00:27:34 opera singer she was coming to meet I’m just you I’m just a green kid out of college I’m just opening the door to make sure she get to the board meeting and then I remember oh my God uh during the summer I walk out from work and I could go to any show I wanted to I remember going to see Jesse Norman the Great opera singer at the Met the Metropolitan Opera and to me she was she was physically and and and figuratively bigger than life really this African-American woman who had just a voice like the angels and could

00:28:10 command a crowd with power and she followed in the tradition of leontine price and uh Maran Anderson but she she had hit the Heights and I got to see her there and so many others and um and it goes back to that fifth grade I told you about my teacher Mrs sharp who would come back from new yor York and I felt I was sort of reliving that life and I wanted to be around this art that inspires you um that brings people together of all colors and backgrounds and soort I saw I saw that in church too it was but all

00:28:43 came together in this art world so so that was New York was something else and then I came back to my regular job and now eventually back here to Ohio but that was inspiring so what’s your favorite part of Arts like with me I like Arts but I can honestly say that music is probably my favorite music but I do like art like drawing art and picture art and that kind of art I do like the art but music what are yours well music has a a probably the biggest role for me has been music and my well you know I’m gonna go with you because

00:29:20 music is just a really good out for you what type of music cuz you was talking about Opera you was going in there saying I Mr James clev so you gospel and you like Opera though okay this is a little secret I’m I’m a big Opera fan yeah name yeah I could tell that’s why I’m asking and uh so yeah I I mean if if you’ve ever been to Grand It’s like because you got you got the visuals are just amazing the sound is coming to you you got the singers you got the acting very expensive but it’s all coming isn’t it

00:29:56 in another language though isn’t it that on that part is it yeah that part you know that part that you there you don’t understand nothing that they’re saying is that a talian part oh it’s it’s a lot of it is Italian yes it is often in another it’s almost I would almost say sometimes it’s better with when it’s in another language because you got to go on the emotions um when people speak in tongues do you understand what they’re saying right no but you know the emotion and the feeling of that’s correct and Great

00:30:26 opera it does help to know the story I’m not make it up you know the story line somebody’s gonna die somebody’s gonna get killed at some point but the power of the music for me really I mean if you ever felt the hair on on your arms to stand at certain points with the height of the music the music there is I and I’ve seen that with Opera I but I’ve also been in a chamber music group or a jazz setting where the the it’s everything is so tight I like intimate Prof I mentioned Opera which is a lot of people but I also like intimate

00:31:02 performances where you’re close to the folks right um so tell me what’s what’s what’s the best music experience you didn’t had oh my goodness let’s let’s go there then you know we We Off Script we don’t so what what what’s the best music experience you didn’t have you done seen a lot you heard a lot I have I have and it could go from the biggest to the small it could have been the intimate thing that made it all better so you know I had I have had a very unusual experiences that that may be unique for

00:31:32 people like me um I worked for um a chamber music group this is a classical music group and they have different combinations and I was a page Turner you ever see these old pictures you see them on TV somebody sitting next to the piano now they got electronic things they don’t need you anymore but I you get to be I I enjoyed that but the one of the things that is I mention this Opera thing um I went to go see this one performance that I will never forget um it was called oh my God I’m drawing in

00:32:07 blank go back oh here I I’ll use this one I mentioned Jesse Norman there is a a a French opera called dialogues of the carites I might even heard that on the radio here in Cleveland when I was young and it’s about this group of nuns uh during the French re reolution little history lesson and um the French revolutionaries they about they getting rid of everybody including all the the um the aristocracy and they felt that these nuns were were part of the aristocracy or they’re defending and so they they came to the nuns and say if

00:32:45 you don’t renounce your religion and everything um you’re done with and the nuns refused to do that so in the Final Act of this Opera dialogues of the caral the carites were um they were nun they lived and they didn’t go out they were lived what do you call it uh one of the they lived in the com and they didn’t go but they had to renounce everything so these folks banged on the door said if you don’t renounce it you’re done with and they said we’re not gonna renounce so the last scene of this opera The Nuns

00:33:18 say you can take my head off but you know I here for God so the last scene there’s a song they’re all singing it together as a group they’re like uh maybe let’s say they’re 18 nuns they’re singing and soon you hear 19 songs but in the song You Hear then you hear 18 voices they sing some more you hear Boom then there’s 16 that boom is a guillotine falling One Voice wow to the very end there’s one voice left and different operas do I saw this at the men and the nuns are just walking into this black to the back of

00:33:59 the stage it goes black and you hit a boom right there no voices left that was that’s all that I mean yeah right it’s by a guy named a french guy named uh Francis pank wow who’s a very difficult music person but that scene and Jesse Norman was in this the great Jesse Norman was in this way back in the day so that that was one of many uh but I that that sound pretty good man just hear you talk about it like wow stay in the last scene you got to sit through all the rest last make it in the last SC

00:34:36 we be like all right this is what he told me about hold on I’ll be in oh okay I’m woke now all right you ready all right let’s get to it this what he told me about we came just for this oh my God and uh so it’s you know I have so many I I can recount we could be here all day that’s excellent I want to talk about Visual Arts because I didn’t get in the visual arts but I have in um in my older years I have learned a lot about Visual Arts part of my job now I promote all kinds of artistry and that’s what I’ve

00:35:07 love the most So when you say visual let’s talk about what is visualiz painting and SC that’s what I was saying visual okay especially around Cleveland we got artists they’re doing murals they have these galleries it is amazing I mean i’ I’m now a collector I I use that term very Loosely but I bought art for my walls understanding the greats of art you know I’m I’m gonna digress a little bit the new head of of Arts in the city her name’s Ronda Brown she had a big exhibit she just came in in City Hall she brought all these great

00:35:42 visual artists and they covered the walls in City Hall of living artists and some who’ve gone on uh during Black History Month okay okay it was an incredible and so I’m I’m learning I’m learning to that’s one thing I guess I I you know you never stop learn excuse me you never stop learning and I’m I’m always appreciate when I’m learning something new so I’m really learning and enjoying this Visual Arts work and other things we talk about technology as part of art um yes yeah yeah whether it’s work in the CER creativity design

00:36:18 architecture so and sometimes in my field now as I talk about my industry I I use a big umbrella when we talk about arts and culture it isn’t just painter and it’s not just dancers and it’s not just musicians it’s not just but it’s spoken it’s a whole bunch it’s media media arts so we in the industry you use the term very very large and it’s it is large and and like you say with the new technology and the the video now and Ai and everything now art is just really starting to take on its own thing now

00:36:52 and and it’s good you know I’m really glad in the direction that it’s going and and it’s easier for people to get involved in it now also to express yourself most of the time we’re telling people we want you to express yourself be yourself be out there get a chance to do what you want to do so it’s a good time for the Arts for everybody I believe so let’s talk about now you did that you got your experience and things was going well and you decided to move back to Cleveland or did you come was you called back to Cleveland or you

00:37:19 decided to move back to Cleveland was it a calling a calling I like that was it a call in a way you know I said my my father was called here so I had gone through something I had a partner we had got separated I was about I was flying solo in Cleveland and where I was before I was in New Jersey okay to back up I was in New Jersey for most of most of my adult career and I had become head of an Arts organization there was great um I’d work with philanthropy there I work with the mayor of the the city of Newark Cory

00:37:52 Booker was mayor and then later Raz Barack I work with both of them two transitions that’s right of those guys especially R but R was really in the Arts now wasn’t he still is I I because it made me flash back and thought about it he was into hip hop rap He was into all of that stuff R was really good yeah uh he was on Lauren Hill’s album The miseducation of Lauren Hill he’s on that album wow wow so yeah yeah I forgot me I read that in your I was like yeah that’s so to be able to work with that type of

00:38:26 leadership and then this opportunity came you and I were talking earlier about what had started here in Cleveland with Tom shal with uh uh with CPAC the organization and then clevelanders three four years ago said we’ve got to get ready for the next uh where we’re gonna go next we’ve got a group called CPAC we’ve got kyoga arts and culture we’ve got a political we need to bring all these things together and you asked it did I was it a calling how did I get here the long story is the Stars really aligned the opportunity

00:39:04 they were looking for a leader for those three organizations okay I had risen modestly I’ll say I mean I had risen in in New York New Jersey and had done a lot with the mayor with artists and I was thinking what’s next for Jeremy okay I called a friend who had moved to Cleveland from New Jersey and I said hearing about some some motion some things are happening motioning around bringing the Arts together is is what’s going on in my hometown that they having this thing is is it a good town to be in

00:39:38 and this person I I’ll say her name Dale angland she worked at the Cleveland Foundation she’s said Jeremy Cleveland is off the chain the philanthropy here is growing there’s new leadership we we’re we’re going to be electing a new mayor our foundations have new leaders the cost of living here is great these Parks you can’t Dale England who who I knew from New Jersey had moved here her husband was working at Cleveland State she was she said apply for the job Jeremy you’re gonna love it if you get

00:40:10 it and she convinced me okay can I move back to Cleveland and I have family here let’s let’s not let’s not forget that my sister my brothers I told you the Irish twins they’re all here in Ohio right so I put in my application and it took a while it took two years really yes it did did it’s a long St I won’t go in the story because they were trying to figure out how these organizations were going to work together and they changed it a lot but it was a two-year Pro process to get here but I was I was

00:40:39 committed and they were committed and that’s how it worked out so they had the position that was open I would had risen I had got gotten very far and I wanted to see it was a bigger it’s a bigger playing field there’s more we don’t you know there’s nothing like Cleveland Museum of Art correct um probably anywhere in the world but it’s big MH uh this these 100-year organizations here the new leadership with the foundations you know Cleveland Foundation is the one of the old if the oldest Community

00:41:09 Foundation and they were behind this movement for these groups to come together let me I always like to follow the money I’m I’m gonna be transparent what created my organization assembly a lot of that was philanthropy okay okay Cleveland Foundation the gun Foundation other foundations so they were helping us encourage us along so I’m you know I’m say I like working with philanthropists oh that’s right so so that was how it happened so I did the interviews uh it was team competition and here I am I made it so let’s tell

00:41:42 everybody who don’t know I I tell people my millions and millions and millions of viewers out there that watch our show why you tell them what is the Assembly of the Arts and what does it do that is great so assembly for the Arts we are what I call an Arts Council there are arts councils in most big cities and we bring all of the arts and culture together we’re we’re we’re not some people might call us a union artists typically don’t have a union Arts nonprofit but we bring everybody together how do we advocate for all of

00:42:17 us collectively okay because so that’s what assembly does and we have a two-prong mission forgive me for getting a little bit getting to Mission but let me make it simple the first part of our mission expand the pie of resources okay because artists need money they need information they need technology and nonprofit Arts nonprofits need support okay and they need to somebody to bring them together so if it’s who’s going to do that so that’s the first thing we do we expand the pie resources the next thing is really

00:42:51 special this is another reason why I was attracted to come here to work we expand the equity what mean by Equity racial Equity equity for those who’ve been left out okay so here’s the other it’s not a secret Cleveland is a city of hundredy old institutions with endowments close to billions of dollars and with other institutions but Cleveland also has a checkered past of how we support folks of color that’s correct and this group called assembly for the art says we’re we’re going to we’re going to make sure that there’s

00:43:33 representation and Leadership we’re going to find ways to increase that leadership so among Arts institutions among nonprofits among individual artists that we’re all Rising so that is part of our challenge at assembly to be both a source of information and a a source for uh expanding the pie but also increasing the equity it’s both of those so that that’s prob the hardest part of what I do EXC okay so that’s probably a big part of what we’re doing so we have a whole bunch of things I could talk about no

00:44:06 you got tell you want anything else you want to brag about that you guys doing well I want to go back to a story you got your colleague was talking about what happened during Co okay he he works tell me your name again Latif Latif DJ Latif he told the story how everything dried up during covid um if you’re in the art if you’re doing Church whatever it dried up Cleveland and kyogo is no different so this is what I’m proud about what assembly was doing we said to the county and to the city Mr County official Mr

00:44:41 and Miss County official Mr Miz City official you were getting hundreds of million millions of dollars for Co relief would you please please invest in our artists and creatives because they need relief um these folks haven’t been working so we at assembly we advocated successfully to get $3 million from the county into the hands of creative folks and uh we just uh we we also advocated for $3 million from the city to get in the hands of creatives so we advocated so if DJ Latif I don’t know if you applied but

00:45:27 a year and a half ago we put out the word especially in in parts of our city and region that don’t hear about these programs usually we hear about them two weeks before they’re due we said apply for these dollars so those Jazz musicians who’ve been out of work who were cou surfing they got to apply for this relief funding all you had to do was prove that you are an artist show that you lived in the county of kyoga County and you got some relief dollars for being part of our creative culture and thank you to the county for making

00:45:59 that happen and now we um the city has literally just put they it took them a year but with Ronda Brown being there they have now announced two weeks uh maybe two months ago a month ago $3 million going to a for the transformative Arts fund but we were the ones who originally started the advocacy to eventually get those dollars from the city and the county so that’s what assembly does we fight to get money let me ask you this and resources go ahead go ahead Chief so you got that money during covid and and that was great for

00:46:37 a lot of people that was able to find out about that program and apply now is there any other programs that creatives now can apply for or you know people that are you know it’s a big movie boom going on in Cleveland right now with a lot of independent filmmakers a lot of videographers and photographers like myself and we just need you know funding to stay afloat to get better equipment to get you know better business uh practices and and paperwork behind us to be able to get to the next level so is

00:47:18 there any currently going on right now for creatives there is a constant stream of activities we just finished a cycle of of funding again I mentioned the transformative Arts fund that just finished it uh and we we are about to announce funding for through our Creative Impact fund for individual artists that is coming to that is already completed but we’re going to be getting ready for next year and the year following so so the answer is there’s always something coming down the pike uh stay connected to us at

00:47:54 assembly.org we don’t have an open application for something right now because we’re just finishing up the applications that we we um we’ve been working on for the over the summer and since the spring but there will be other things that are coming down the pike um we have a program called Creative Impact fund that’s funded by uh kyoga arts and culture um and we’re about to announce um in a month or so uh funding for individual artists of every discipline these are you know going to be D musicians creative interdisciplinary you

00:48:30 mentioned videography so that will be announced but I guess to answer your question there is still not enough money and we got to fight for more because art and artists we are what make we make Cleveland Cleveland um and the jobs you mentioned the film industry um there’s a lot there is a lot happening there and so I’m working at really build the relationships with them because having the film tax credit is going to be important uh so we can get more movies done here I don’t did you did you talk

00:49:01 to the the film folks Superman and other things here’s another unfortunate thing I learned that when those big movie things happen in the Cleveland area they they have committed to have a a diverse Workforce I was shocked to learn they fly in diverse workers because there are not enough diverse people in the workforce right here really that is what I was told that’s different yes it is we can’t let that happen yeah I don’t understand that at all really so building up those I think that’s more education right yeah

00:49:40 people just don’t know and we need to let them know and that that’s one thing I pride myself on assembly I mention these these grants we didn’t just put it on the website and just let the people who know the secret handshake or the where to go we we went into Glenville we went into larchmere we went over to Clark we help sessions right to hey here’s here’s what you need to know here’s how you apply that’s how we distributed those arpa funds they were called those those relief funds but it wasn’t just stick it on the website

00:50:09 and only the people in the know that that’s a big part of our job how do we get the my being here how do we get the word out exactly exactly because you say people don’t know people don’t know and they not may not be searching their websites and all the time how do we communicate with each other we’re probably watching the podcast of strategic moves with most people every Wednesday they watch this let me we go through a little speed round with you real quick there’s been some controversy around funding and

00:50:41 equity in the Arts critical argue that re resources aren’t being distributed fairly and how do you respond to that and that’s been going on for years even when we first started doing the uh and it got better so I I I can honestly say in the beginning when we did the very first arts and culture Levy and the funds were out there there were organizations like caramu and others who always you know was complaining that they wasn’t getting their fair share we went through the situations where people had to um um applications were run done

00:51:13 over having the proper paperwork to apply for the loans it was a whole lot that over the years took place and got better with this process so I’d be the first because I tell you I’m a friend of the Arts and I know the arts background that and there’s some people still feel you know because everybody can’t always be helped so there’s always some people who always feel that there’re there’s not how do you address that situation with people telling you that these days because I know you hear it no that’s

00:51:39 that’s a really good question um one reason why assembly was created with 26 board members who look like you and look like me and they’re brown and they’re black and they’re they represent nonprofits but they also artists and major organizations is so that we can be more intentional about touching investing in people that have been left out including black and brown people and I I will stand on this as long as I have breath that as long as I’m in this position we will make sure that black and brown folks and those who

00:52:13 have been left behind are aware of our programs so working with people like councilman Kevin Conwell I mentioned him I I if I mention all the council people I love all well we know why Kevin Kevin we made sure and but the other council members are also working with us um and also the County Council I don’t want but I was asked directly this question by uh County council president Pernell Jones when they awarded us uh the $3 million to go into um to he said to me it’s on tape he said are you gonna

00:52:50 make sure these dollars get to minority folks I said ‘absolutely and we did that we did that so it is across the board the funding will go has to go to folks across the board that that are and but we got to continue to work at this it’s not just public dollars but it’s what do we look like as a city how many arts groups are there that are that are LED and that are that that are serving diverse communities H and I will say we have we’ve come a long way we got a long way to go a long way to go no and it’s not

00:53:31 just the Arts I mean you have people sitting on this behind this mic every week right that’s correct and we’re talking about disparities that’s correct the Arts fit into that they’re part of that and we see ourselves as not only Arts but we’re working with whether it’s um groups like birthing beautiful communities that’s correct or or um you know groups that are working on voters rights and and Cleveland votes we partner with them uh so and how do we use Arts to do do that so I’m I’m answering your question a long-winded

00:54:00 way like I always do to say we have a long ways to go and we are committed to this our board is committed to it I’m committed to it and I think the proof is in the pudding with those arper relief dollars that we made sure that folks knew how to apply for those and get those dollars and get those dollars and recent request a recent request for um tax levy funds for kyoga County arts and culture through 35 it’s stirring up a little bit of debate some argue is it necessary others consider um is concerned about the tax increase because

00:54:31 of the and and I don’t I’m not mistaken this is a cax am I correct this is not a property tax that is correct so this is a syntax so it so we clear on that people this is not a property tax is a syn tax and so let’s talk a little bit about the levy was coming up and what’s your takes about you know the whether or not the Arts need more money you know your tickets over there cost a lot to get into your plays already y’all and you got a big chandelier standing outside do you need more money man you know I want to say you

00:55:05 uh half of half of the events that are of the groups that are supported by this tax are free says it right here so you know before you get into that why don’t you tell everybody what the levy is because people don’t know because we got millions of people watching there’s a lot of excitement around November I won’t get into the top of the ticket there’s a lot of excitement that’s not the topic today but as you go down the ballot there’s going to be a question and it’s going to be about art and culture there we go we don’t have

00:55:36 the issue number as I speak to you we will have that in a few weeks okay but the here is what I want people to know vote Yes for arts and culture and you know why okay do the Arts have enough money no we do not in fact we have less money now when the voters back back in 2006 and in two when they voted for this syntax you know the tax is on cigarettes so the good news you’ve heard this before the good news is fewer people are smoking every year and every month fewer people smoking the bad news is because

00:56:15 we have built all the support for arts on this one on the cigarette tax there’s less and less money literally every month right it is um it is down almost 60% from where it started wow so caramu house um uh japo africanamerican dance um uh you name the group there are some 400 groups if they were getting funding with this first started now they’re getting 60% less funding wow and guess what w if this isn’t renewed or if this is if this isn’t isn’t replaced they’re gonna get 30% less starting next year

00:56:53 wow this is why we started this we’ve got got to continue this and it’s this is desperate times um the cost of Lights the cost of people inflation we were already on a downward Trend we’ve got to do this and what it’s a small price to pay one and a half cents additional per cigarette you know that that that is really wild because you thought about it so I guess you know because they have been a really big push for people to quit smoking and all the other stuff with Cleveland Clinic and some of these other places where they

00:57:28 kind of and you know you think about it you’re right I would imagine you guys are taking a hit as a result of that it’s been a huge hit and it’s a good thing we don’t we want fewer people to smoke but but we we need to add this we we need to add it to the marijuana tax that’s what we need to do if you can put it over there I think we’ll be fine for the rest of your life well we just starting with uh that that is coming out and we’re waiting for the state legislature and we’re not just waiting we’re following the state legisl

00:58:03 we got our eyes on that that’s the other thing that could be a possibility so that’s the other thing that assembly does say what do we do right we keep our eyes on what is happening in Columbus right and here in Cleveland and even in Washington DC so we can how do we help bring home the resources so if we’re not going to do it who’s going to who’s going to do that fighting so we’re fighting for folks even if they don’t know know we’re fighting for them so that’s one thing so we literally are paying a

00:58:31 lobbyist in Columbus to to to to keep an eye on things what’s going on with the marijuana situation how do we how do we build a relationship so that so that so we can build that in for the future all right let’s talk about the future looking ahead what are some of the top priorities over at the assembly for you in next five years or so few years oh you’re gonna do five years I was just going to say November November November let’s go November so but I can go beyond that the main thing is getting this this

00:59:03 tax covered you know why I’m gonna put it in dollars and cents our projections show that if we can pass this this movement I know Kevin conell says don’t call it a tax call it a movement this movement to vote Yes for arts and culture that means some 400 arts groups will benefit from $160 million over 10 years that they don’t have right now and those numbers are going down so that’s my first priority that is my first priority November I’m gonna be voting the top of the ticket I won’t tell you but you know

00:59:38 who it is but all to the bottom of the ticket we’ve got we’ve gotta vote Yes for arts and culture there’s also the education Levy is on there support cmsd please we need to support that after November we have our ongoing program so we heard DJ Latif asks us what what are the new dollar for Arts is there we got to be working on that as we get into December January February of next year so working on new programs and where are artists having their Studios we need a cultural plan for this region and thankfully we’re talking

01:00:11 right now with philanthropy what is the cultural plan for our region where are the the nodes of investment I like what’s going on in St Clair Superior how do we bring that together what’s going on um you know larchmere near Shaker Square what we you we’ve got we’ve got a some places where there’s we’re just robust I love University Circle because we but beyond that what do we have we love what’s happening downtown and yes I’m a fan of Playhouse Square and The Rock Hall right and I I am there I’m

01:00:42 literally there and we have to at the same time talk about our neighborhoods don’t we so assembly is about how do we invest in our neighborhoods and those who are lifting it up there’s some things going on in H in Midtown we’re excited about investing so that’s going to be coming out and moving out as we move beyond the election cycle how do we keep building that out and looking at I call it the three-legged stool we the Arts ecosystem we got a bunch of nonprofits that’s what this Levy is going to

01:01:17 support but you also have uh individual artists that maybe they’re not they some of them work for nonprofit some of them don’t how are we investing in them that’s a second leg of of the stool okay the Third Leg of the stool often doesn’t get talked about that much but it’s equally a part and that’s our for-profit businesses that are involved in the creative industry whether it’s music venues that’s correct it’s architect it could be uh it could be uh Studios like this right these are small businesses

01:01:45 and I I have often felt like small business gets a lot of lip service but not a lot of attention not enough investment we’re happy to see more talk coming out City Hall with the mayor and more with the county and we got to stand behind that how do you invest in small businesses that’s in arts because we talk a lot about the dancing the singing that goes on in there but the business of the Arts like you talk about the facility the the lights the cam all the Stu you said you were closed down right

01:02:15 right right so I I got a a email from my friend um who owns um a a music venue he said the his electricity was out for five days he talked to some other music venues he says they’re down $45,000 wow just because the storm we just had correct who who Who’s advocating for that that’s correct that’s lost money that’s people that didn’t get paid that’s the food they had to shows that didn’t got cancelled who I said that’s shows that got cancelled exactly yeah yeah so um we we at assembly we want to be the

01:02:58 advocate to we want to be the squeaky wheel we can’t we’re not going to do it all ourselves but can we be the squeaky wheel to advocate for all three legs all three legs correct all three legs it’s necessary yeah so let’s talk about your artst leadership Ren uh residence what is that all about that was really great uh when I first started uh three years ago we brought together 24 different artists some were uh one owned a gallery uh some were two-dimensional artists some were spoken word uh and we provided

01:03:33 them with basically business training we brought in speakers that were good at accounting and marketing and we had support I’m always I’m a fundraiser thankfully one of our local uh financial institutions Huntington Bank supported that and they’ supported that for three years to allow us to provide uh these wonderful artists and creatives was the type of uh business training that they might not otherwise so they can be more successful so we’ve continued that now for three years um we partnered with

01:04:06 people this one uh man Jordan Wong has a program called No More Starving Artists and he’s successful in his own right uh that and we put folks in that program so we do a lot of partnering so the artist leadership residency was one way and now we’re continuing that we’re partnering with um groups like um cozy which is which they focus on small businesses but we put an artist spin on this so we so so artists can understand how they’re doing we’re working with um a group called creative meetups uh I’m gonna get

01:04:38 all the names wrong but we try to go to the professionals experts at business put that artist Twist on it so they can talk and train creatives so that’s part of what we’re doing and these Pro excuse me these programs are available for little to nothing in fact in some cases we provide the creatives with the stip in to pay for their time to sit through these programs really wow really yes for their time absolutely that’s where Huntington comes they help make this possible so not only we so time is money

01:05:13 right and one thing that has changed in these years you probably know this we can’t keep expecting Community people to give up their time of their social capital their knowledge of Community nonprofits are guilty of this I I I say that as a nonprofit myself in my past life can you be on this committee I only need you to come once a month for the next 12 months you’re gonna sit you’re gonna tell me what the needs of your community are okay maybe you’ll come to the first meeting maybe come to the second the

01:05:44 third meeting is say oh how much of me are you gonna tap out of volunteerism volunteerism is good but I think we got to be very careful so sometimes the money needs to going the other way here’s a stip in it may not it may not but you you you using your gas money you you babysitters your time is money and so I I truly I’m not the only one saying this a lot more uh foundations and philanthropists realizing we can’t just keep having all these advisory groups without compensating because I’m luy I

01:06:18 get paid to be here I’m I I’m paid to be sit here and talk to you but that’s great right right but the Community folks the Arts folks they don’t they are not and we have tapped them we’ve asked them what do you need we’ve asked a thousand times we got more white papers and black papers on this than you can shake a stick at when are we gonna invest in those this isn’t just artists this is community people doing the work but we keep saying can you just come and volunteer your time one more time you heard that I heard

01:06:53 it you you know I mean people calling me ask me to sit on stuff here’s a good question for you with the ongoing need for public art how do you envision the future of the public art in Cleveland especially in the light of nearly $3 million in recent awarded to the new projects wow you those are some great questions those are great questions I try what we’re gonna see I think is really just going to blow our socks off really they announced the seven winners I mean this has been a long time coming right it’s taken a year

01:07:36 uh for them now it’s the seven winners of of of the transformative Arts fund um they will be transformative uh some I mentioned um some are focused on babies and some are focused on uh the environment some are almost all of them are focused in communities of need okay um it was it was a lot of money that wasn’t it wasn’t my decision by the way but our leaders in city hall with with an Arts committee um they said we don’t want to just provide a few hundred or thousand dollars we want this to be transformative so the average grants

01:08:19 there’re 250 to $350,000 really yes yeah I did hear about that yes they’ve been announced and I could this is out of the city of Cleveland the mayor’s office Ronda K Brown is the senior strategist there this is a game changer um these projects will be beginning in a matter of weeks and days okay they will go for uh just about a year performances installation public art is it’s a whole mix really absolutely you’re going to see them in Huff you’re going to see them in uh Mount Pleasant you’re going to see them

01:09:03 on the westside um there there’s all manner I’m happy to send you that list of who i’ love for you to do that um and um what’s really interesting each of these projects it’s it’s an artist but the artist is working with an institution who has they have to partner together so the one project it’s uh the kyoka Metropolitan Housing Authority c c is working with an artist who is focused on on black women and black babies and maternal Health but she’s using art as a tool for this that’s that’s pretty

01:09:42 amazing that’s just one project another project is um the they’re all Partnerships so it’s also meant to encourage partnership so um I’m very very hopeful for for this that it’s going to and I’m always about fundraisers so in my mind I’m thinking okay how do we begin to match the $3 million there were how many there were over 100 applications wow seven were funded so that tells you how much the demand is that’s correct all of these applications were partners of artists and institutions wow wow so there is demand and there

01:10:23 there are folks out there doing the work already ready so how do we make make make turn this around so I’m using this as data to say how can I how can we get more resources beyond the seven that you that got funded well here’s my last question for you if you could give one piece of advice to a young person especially those from a underrepresented community what would it be what would make a difference in art what would it be if they can make a difference in art today and you say you know I’m GNA give

01:10:55 you some advice young man if you do this I think you’re going to make a big difference in art in the future what would it be show up even though I just did this whole rant about people showing up and not getting paid they show up though but they show up and those those who get the attention are the what show up at what you Jeremy what do you mean up MH if you have access to a phone or to even to City Hall to County Council there are so many things happening that are free where you can get your face and your art in front of

01:11:42 other people festivals um meetings um become a familiar face if you can I know you’re trying to work you got your you got three and four gigs you’re trying to pay the rent trying to you know but if you could find a way to show up bumping to me you know let me give you a good good example why it’s important to show up um the former uh program director for the Cleveland foundations for their big arts program his name was Boris he’s not there anymore but when he started two years ago he was he was offering every

01:12:21 time we went to me he says hey I would like to have coffee with anybody who wants to have coffee with me here’s a guy who’s in charge of millions of dollars and he was hop he was asking people artists and creatives just have coffee he told me hardly anybody took him up on that offer really yes he did show up be we part of it is we think we can do everything from behind our phone and behind our computer behind our screen you can do a lot from there but you gain more about that face to face as a person

01:12:57 who went to almost every city council meeting when I first got here they got tired of see but I’m just there to say hello how you doing calman how you doing council president I’m Jeremy Johnson I don’t know if you remember me I’m and they see me again then they see me again they see me they show up make your face and your art known yeah you do need to have your website and everything but for starters if you can find a way to show up and you not everything you have to pay for there are there are Community meetings

01:13:28 all over that’s correct city council is free that’s yeah you got to get down the park I get I get it there oh if you go there don’t they give you free parking yeah they do have free parking now so yes yes you do you got free parking down there so I mean that that may seem kind of rudimentary saying show up but for me that that has been the biggest what to me when I hear show up is is the thing I tell my kids and even it’s like being prepared being ready you know being um being in the position position to get

01:13:56 the opportunity opportunity they said it just don’t knock at your bedroom door it don’t knock at your front door it it knocks outside of your house outside of your street and you have to go get it and when I when I hear you say show up it’s like exactly that man get up and show up you know and get yourself out there and and and make yourself known because that’s what I look at as I’m hiring people part of our biggest thing with assembly we yeah we need people that know how to do graphics and and do

01:14:28 do digital things but also need people that are going to be out there representing us and sharing the word two of my hires one of my first hires I made deod mcferson she’s our chief Community officer I first met her she was at Public Square under a tent they were having some Festival there was a tent and she was just there representing the dance Community talking about dance and she knew everything about Cleveland she’s talking oh you’re Jeremy oh nice to meet you but I’ve been out here just promoting arts and I love it I

01:14:59 love the Arts here I’ve been I’ve worked here so I kept in back of mind that woman she showed up and when I needed a person to represent us and to be our long story short I made sure I called her because she I kept seeing her a lot of places another story uh Veronica thoron African-American woman she’s worked with um nonprofits uh with St Luke she’s done Outreach for for health and other thing I kept seeing her show up I saw her at a philanthropy event early on a Saturday she came after to me says I’ve been

01:15:36 trying to call you you never return my calls I said okay let’s let’s talk but when she got to be in per face to face and I ended up hiring her for a big project we did last year on where we we were surveying uh Arts organizations to see uh their economic impact she was our key consultant it all started because I saw her showing up she was out there in front of people showing up community events Arts events who shows up and who who who can who who can connect to community that’s correct so um those you know and artist I think

01:16:15 it’s the same way the artists who keep winning Awards they tend to be the ones I keep seeing they showing up yeah that’s correct that’s correct hey brother I really appreciate you coming on our program you did an excellent job you enlightened us um we got a lot of information as you see we got arts in our title and me and Latif made such a big deal about you because you are we had a couple of musicians on did Art so we can say we been DBL in art but we got the man about arts in here today so we can officially say we are

01:16:49 about arts on this program and I’m really glad you were able to help us do that hey I got one more question did this was a good show um now I’m a I’ve been a promoter for a long time and there was a program up in akan where some promoters were getting funded um by a foundation and their the name of their um group was called keepers of the art and then just recently there’s the city has been partnering up with promoters to do shows like at the akan Civic and I just wanted to know is there any programs like this

01:17:31 in Cleveland where a promoter or an organization can get funded or partner up to get funds to put on a show or put on an event with an artist like a major artist a national act that’s a good question uh first off kudos to akan I’ve been uh really impressed by what I’m seeing coming out of akan and their art scene and what’s happening around downtown with their institutions and the leadership and the storefront program where they’re putting art in and storefronts it’s been just incredible um I don’t know if we have a

01:18:07 program exactly like the one you’re talking about in Cleveland but I would say um it would be great if we developed one I would say that yeah because like all my I would say all my promotional life I’ve had to deal with you know investors putting up my own money I never had an entity a art entity or a city or Foundation type entity to take interest in in putting on that kind of art or backing that kind of art you’re talking about for promotions promoting yeah for you know for promotions and bringing artists

01:18:43 like National artists or Regional artists into the City and putting on shows and Productions I think that is an area we were talking about the small business part of this whole ecosystem that is certainly an area there that we need to think about the whole world I mean especially in America it’s becoming more and more difficult for promoters because if you’re not part of one of the monopolies yeah like Live Nation or AEG I’m not gonna say any ter but but it’s like uh these Global uh chains have sort of pulled out the rug

01:19:24 from local promoters Regional promoters and we need to stand up for the local small businesses the local promoters um more more so news about how difficult it is um because these large entities are are sucking the life and the money out of our our local dollars and of the uh both audiences and and local performers all right well I I definitely appreciate that and um we’re going to end our show so if there’s any you would like to say to our audience um look into your camera straight ahead let them know you know

01:20:09 all about the Assembly of art how they um can get in touch with you how they can get those face to face the those coffee um extravagances to to Really develop their art and you know really come into the out of the starving artist category absolutely we want we want artists to come out of that starving artist category we want to stay connected with you we want to make sure we have a strong robust arts and culture environment the one thing I want to leave with the viewers and the listeners vote for arts and culture in

01:20:49 November very simple if you can look at you just go to your phone do vote for art arts.org votefor arts.org there’s a lot of information there or even a little bit of information you can work with us you could um volunteer if you want to show up volunteer or uh at different events and help us spread the word because we need to invest in our Arts Community votefor arts.org thank you for coming on our program for having me we glad you came on U we looking forward to doing a lot of other opportunities with you and other artists

01:21:25 in our town use us as a sounding board for the assembly if there’s any other programs or anything else you think in the future you want us to know about or something please let us know we will get the word out for you and everything you want to know about the Assembly of the Arts information about the levy as well as any more information you want to know about Mr Johnson you can look in the description we’ll have in the description all the links and you can be able to find him there until next time

01:21:50 peace thanks for coming