The Cleveland Foundation’s trustees voted today to approve a three year, over $5 million program which aims to help a dozen handpicked organizations, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland and Karamu House.
The program, entitled “Engaging the Future”, is based on the premise that while Northeast Ohio proudly boasts enviable strength in the arts, that asset could die out if organizations do not adapt quickly to changes in demographics, technology, cultural tastes and lifestyles.
The Foundation’s Director of Evaluation and Institutional Learning Kathleen Cerveny said, “We’re looking at a traditional audience base shrinking in a city that’s not growing. If the arts are to survice, they need to attract people that aren’t going now.”
Included in the Foundation’s initiative will be three years of operating support at present levels for the selected institutions, in addition to workshops and seminars led by EmcArts. The latter is a New York based consulting group that specializes in helping cultural organizations adapt to change. The firm will assist participating organizations in developing their own in house teams that aim to promote change from within.
The ultimate goal of the program is to help the organizations attract younger and more diverse audiences, while still maintaining artistic excellence.
Besides the Orchestra, MOCA and Karamu, the other participating organizations are Apollo’s Fire: the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, the Beck Center, the Cleveland Play House, Cleveland Public Theatre, Great Lakes Theater, Groundworks Dance Theatre, Spaces Gallery and Verb Ballets.
