Public Spaces
Lauren Betenson
Matthew Pillsbury (2016)
Photography
The reopening of a totally renovated Public Square in 2016 prompted The George Gund Foundation to commission esteemed photographer Matthew Pillsbury to picture many of Cleveland’s public spaces through his imaginative use of long exposures. In this series of photographs he portrays a sampling of the city’s successful and not-so-successful gathering places, perhaps sparking consideration of the difference but certainly elevating appreciation for these grounds that Clevelanders have in common.
Letter from the 2017 Annual Report of The George Gund Foundation
David Abbott, Executive Director
An entirely reimagined Public Square opened to great acclaim in 2016. It was a delight to see the former traffic crossroads become a beautiful gathering place. In keeping with a long tradition of free speech on Public Square, demonstrators of many stripes re-christened it during the Republican National Convention. After that event Clevelanders flocked to the new Square to begin enjoying its many features and the new perspective it provides. In truth, however, the Square’s revival remains a work in progress. Not long after its opening, a complicated dispute arose between the City of Cleveland and the Regional Transit Authority over the future use of the Superior Avenue through the Square, and as of this writing in mid-2017, it is scarred by traffic barriers. Design modifications consistent with the quality of the entire space are being discussed but the outcome is so far unknown. On one level, this state of affairs feels like Cleveland painted a mustache on the Mona Lisa. The current, and, we hope, temporary condition is, as Mayor Frank Jackson readily admits, simply ugly. But on another level, the Superior Avenue issues are something of an extreme illustration of the fact that public spaces are often works in progress. They are, after all, public spaces and they should evolve with the changing needs and desires of people.
Striking the right balance among competing needs is rarely easy but the process should be a reminder that all of us have a stake in these spaces and that, like the democracy that we also share, we must find ways to accommodate an array of interests if public spaces are to live up to that name. These spaces have many values but the greatest is the simple act that they are public, democratic, open. In a time when some extol building walls, public spaces tear them down. As income polarization accompanies political disunion in America, public spaces remind us of our nobler aspirations for unity and shared values.
These may seem to be lofty ambitions for parks and other spaces. Indeed they are, but they are achievable if that is what we insist upon in our public realm. It does not happen by accident. The photographs of Matthew Pillsbury in this annual report depict a range of Cleveland’s public spaces. Some may surprise because they are not parks or even considered public in the usual sense. But a city inevitably and desirably includes such places as well as traditional parks and plazas. And in recent years Cleveland has augmented its portfolio of welcoming spaces as more people get out of their cars, return to the central city and celebrate what it means to be urban. Building that arsenal of great places deepens our commitment to common bonds even while the viewpoints freely shared there do not find universal acceptance. That is democracy at its most fundamental.
Public spaces do even more than that. Creating beautiful places for people is an essential part of competing in a global economy. Great public spaces attract and retain residents. They help fuel the interactions that spark creativity and innovation that are indispensable to economic growth.
We get these results when people-centered design makes them happen. Intentional programming and careful maintenance are also key. Examine Pillsbury’s photographs and you will see places that success and some that do not. Some spaces lack the human scale or amenities that make people feel welcome. Others are missing the access and connectivity that are needed to give them life. Cleveland’s downtown waterfront is especially limited in this way but the success of the Metroparks’ revival of lakefront parks shows what is possible The proposed bridge from the downtown mall to the lakefront is a vital connection that has been absent far too long. That is just one example of the work that Cleveland, despite recent strides, has yet to accomplish. That work certainly includes resolving the issues on Public Square. Among all of our public spaces, the Square’s historic and current prominence means it must achieve its potential as active, beautiful and welcoming to all—a magnet at the center of the city and a beacon of Cleveland’s contributions to that other public square of our democracy.
Dave Abbott, Executive Director
Biking Experience
Lauren Betenson
David Burnett (2014)
Photography
Noted photojournalist David Burnett has focused his well-traveled lens on the vitality and diversity of Cleveland’s rapidly growing cycling community. Burnett, who was named by American Photo magazine as one of the “100 Most Important People in Photography,” has spent more than four decades covering the news, the people, and the visual tempo of our age. He is cofounder of the New York-based photojournalism agency Contact Press Images and is winner of dozens of top awards. Burnett has traveled extensively throughout the world photographing a broad range of subjects, from napalm victims of the Vietnam War to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to reggae singer Bob Marley. His work has been published in many major publications and has been exhibited nationally and internationally.
Letter from the 2014 Annual Report of The George Gund Foundation
David Abbott, Executive Director
Cleveland looks different from a bike. The city seems grander, but also more intimate, when you are perched on a bicycle seat. Architecture stands out. So do parks and streetscapes and the vast water resource on our northern shore. But you also notice smaller things — design elements of old buildings, individual trees and people on foot. You can move slowly enough to see the many threads of our city and fast enough to see the fabric they create.
Of course, it’s not all beautiful. Vacant lots and houses, scary intersections, litter — these and other less appealing aspects of the city palpably strike the bike rider. Someone driving a car can more easily zip past them without paying much attention. However, for a city lover, even these negative aspects of urban life are issues to be worked on, problems to be solved. And that’s why bicyclists become some of the city’s most vocal advocates. Bike Cleveland has emerged as our community’s organizing voice for bicycling, and it has been instrumental in our progress.
Cycling is a great way to develop a new appreciation for the city. And our city has made notable strides recently in showing appreciation of cyclists. Bike commuting in Cleveland skyrocketed 280 percent between 2000 and 2010, the largest growth among American cities. The city of Cleveland responded by adopting “complete streets” legislation to ensure that future street improvements accommodate cyclists. And in 2014 alone, the city created 9.41 miles of new painted bike lanes, a 103 percent increase. Other important projects are under way, like the long-awaited Towpath Trail connection to downtown Cleveland and the Lake Link Trail to Wendy Park. Plans are being developed for more bike lanes, including long stretches that are protected from motor vehicle traffic. Among the most exciting proposals are calls for protected bike lanes along Lorain Avenue, for a “midway” along St. Clair Avenue where streetcar tracks once ran, and for including a bike sharing center in a possible multi-modal transit hub.
That is all great progress. Yet more needs to be done. Why? Because in some neighborhoods many residents don’t own cars. Not all of them ride bikes but some do, and they deserve to have safe transportation options. Creating bikeways is one of the most efficient and equitable transportation strategies.
That notion of choice among modes of transportation is a key reason for getting behind the cycling movement. It helps to make Cleveland and its region more attractive to the young talent that demands options, and we need that talent to stay and to move here so we can compete globally. In addition, more people riding bikes instead of driving cars will help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, a third of which currently come from transportation. And cycling is great exercise; encouraging it helps promote a healthier lifestyle.
The growth of city biking is the most evident change in recent years, but cycling for recreation has long been promoted by organizations like the Cleveland Metroparks. And a few visionaries are looking far beyond, to a trail network that ties together existing segments all the way from Cleveland to Pittsburgh and on to Washington, D.C.
Whether or not some of us ever get on a bike again, we all gain from the economic and social contributions that come with the growth of bicycling. This annual report celebrates Cleveland’s cycling community with a beautiful photographic portfolio by David Burnett. People commuting to work, those making a living by selling and servicing bikes, serious racers and recreational cyclists participating in mass rides for fun — they are all depicted. And they are all part of the expanding cycling scene. We hope that these photos inspire many others to join the movement.
This annual report is the Foundation’s first since 1990 that was created without the input of Mark Schwartz, our longtime designer and photography maven, who died suddenly in 2014. We, like many throughout the Cleveland arts community, miss him and his larger-than-life personality, fervently expressed insights and warm-hearted generosity. We dedicate this report to him.
David Abbott, Executive Director, The George Gund Foundation
Urban Farming
Lauren Betenson
Greg Miller (2013)
Photography
For The George Gund Foundation’s 2013 annual photo commission, photographer Greg Miller effectively used his 8 x 10 view camera to document the vitality, activity and pride that are so evident on Cleveland’s growing number of urban farms.
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, he moved to New York at the age of 19 to study at the School of Visual Arts where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography. His work, which uses street photography, found moments, and portraiture to capture human relationships and a sense of suspended reality, has appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and LIFE and is widely collected and exhibited both in the United States and abroad. Miller, recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship, teaches photography at the International Center of Photography in New York and conducts workshops at several venues including Maine Media Workshops.
Letter from the 2013 George Gund Foundation Annual Report
David Abbott, Executive Director
Urban farming?
It was not long ago that this phrase would have been regarded as an oxymoron. Urban gardening, on the other hand, has a long and treasured place in cities, including Cleveland. In fact, our Foundation’s 1996 annual report featured a photo essay on the urban gardens that each summer festoon our neighborhoods. This year, we widen the photographic lens to embrace that more expansive expression of city agriculture – the urban farm.
Cleveland neighborhoods have abundant vacant land, the result of many damaging forces in recent decades. But creative urbanists saw the verdant potential in that land. Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, and the Cleveland Planning Commission spearheaded creative thinking about that land with a program called Re-Imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland. Cleveland became the nation’s first city to adopt an urban agriculture overlay district in its zoning code. This work helped jumpstart the urban farming boom, putting vacant land back into productive use, and the city now has 55 farms, a threefold increase in the past five years.
For some parcels, farming was conceived as a transitional use. But the benefits of farming have proven to be so overwhelming that any effort to repurpose many farms, including the three that are visually captured in this annual report, would certainly meet stiff resistance. The George Gund Foundation’s support for the urban farming movement in Cleveland has its roots in many of the values that animate our work, and they are captured in these additional ways that city farming pays off:
- Agriculture puts people to work. Some of those who are tilling city soil might have difficulty finding jobs. This includes the new immigrants, who work at the Ohio City Farm under the sponsorship of Refugee Response, and the clients of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities, who operate the Stanard Farm on Cleveland’s east side. Both of these farms are portrayed in the photography in this year’s annual report.
- It puts a dent in food deserts. As money and people have sprawled out in our region, many inner city neighborhoods have been left without easy access to fresh, healthy foods. Some estimate that obstacle faces more than half of the city’s residents. Farms are helping Cleveland achieve the goal set by City Council that every resident lives within a quarter mile of a community garden or farm.
- We all benefit from a smaller carbon footprint. When food is grown locally, it is not only fresher and tastier; it also means that it does not have to be shipped from someplace across the country or beyond. That helps curb the use of fossil fuels. Many local restaurants are embracing this cause by purchasing fruits and vegetables from Cleveland farms. In addition, land used for farming also absorbs storm water, diverting it from our aged sewer system.
- Farms create a sense of community in their neighborhoods. Farming is not just about the crop harvest. Many farms in the city also have festivals and events, farm stands for the sale of produce, educational programs, training sessions and more.
This unexpected bounty from urban farming should make all of us with a stake in Northeast Ohio consider it afresh, as I hope Greg Miller’s striking photographs do. One of his subjects is Rid-All Green Partnership, which creatively interconnects food, art and education on a three-acre site on the southeast side. At Rid-All, fish farming is also part of the mix. Tilapias grow in tanks next to greenhouses nurturing tomatoes, watercress and kale. And the mission transcends the crops and food, as it does at every urban farm. Keymah Durden, a co-founder of Rid-All, told Edible Cleveland, that their work is actually a “mission to transform the city of Cleveland.”
That is a major part of our mission too, and it humbles us to observe and, where we can, to support the inspiring farmers in our midst.
David Abbott, Executive Director, The George Gund Foundation
Letter from the 2013 George Gund Foundation Annual Report
Geoffrey Gund, President of the Board of Directors
Of all the formidable challenges facing the human family none is more potentially destructive and deeply perplexing than global climate change. It seems that nearly every day brings news of additional scientific evidence that humans have dangerously altered the earth’s ecological balance. Proof of these changes includes irreversible damage to coral reefs, accelerating extinction of animal species, harsher and longer droughts. The evidence from these and other alarming changes continues to grow.
And, yet, significant portions of the American population simply ignore or, worse, deny the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is occurring. How can this be?
It seems that both psychological and political factors have erected a barrier that no amount of evidence or reason can penetrate. All humans have difficulty imagining that we could actually be putting our existence at risk by our unsustainable production and consumption of fossil fuels. The thought may simply be too horrible. In addition, the effects of climate change are virtually invisible to most of us and, although rapidly worsening, are also incremental. Furthermore, changes in climate are somewhat erratic even as the general path of global warming continues to relentlessly move forward. We simply have a hard time integrating such a pervasive, difficult-to-grasp threat into our thinking.
Politically, it has become expedient to deny the evidence of climate change because those of an anti-government stripe assume that action to deal with the threat will require an expansion of government power. It is not surprising that many people who find the science arcane will happily heed voices that denigrate it as “political science” and “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” And those comments by a former and a current member of the United States Senate are just two among many in the chorus of climate change deniers.
What is a foundation like ours, with a long history of support for the environment, to do?
It is apparent that we must join forces with other organizations to change the conversation on this issue. Politically motivated attacks on environmental organizations have marginalized them and their message. At the same time, “green” groups have too often played into the hands of their opponents by speaking in language that is overly technical, narrow and, frankly, too often focused on the environment as if it were a thing apart from people.
If the hyper-partisan tenor of our politics has taught us anything it is the vital role of communications in persuading people to take action. But to break through the barriers that have been erected around climate change, successful communication must be new and different. Scientific data and dire warnings will not work. The messages that motivate people to demand action from policy makers must resonate with their values, with what we all care about – jobs, prosperity, family, health and fairness.
If we do not address the challenge of climate change, people throughout the world will suffer tremendously. The difficulty lies in finding the actual words that carry the message effectively. Once crafted, messages must be used consistently and persuasively by those in a position to create an impact.
Our foundation has been working with several other foundations and nonprofit organizations to find the words that can pierce the psychological and political fog, especially of those independent-minded citizens who hold the balance of power in battleground states like Ohio. This is not easy work, but it is essential if we are to meet the greatest challenge of our time.
Geoffrey Gund, President of the Board of Directors, The George Gund Foundation
Cuyahoga River
Lauren Betenson
Jett Whetstone (2012)
Photography
Jeff Whetstone who has been photographing and writing about the relationship between man and nature since he received a zoology degree from Duke University, brought a special sensitivity to his photo-essay on the Cuyahoga River. By perceptively following the river along both its rural and urban paths, he highlights the importance of this invaluable resource to our community. Whetstone, who also has a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography from Yale University, is a winner of the Sakier Prize for photography, the Factor Prize for Southern Art and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He currently teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Whetstone’s work has been exhibited nationally and featured and reviewed in publications such as DoubleTake, The New York Times, The New Yorker and Southern Exposure Magazine.
Planned Parenthood
Lauren Betenson
Rania Matar (2011)
Photography
Rania Matar’s evocative portraits of Planned Parenthood clients and staff illustrate not only the critical role Planned Parenthood clinics play in providing affordable reproductive health care for women but also the Foundation’s long-standing interest in ensuring access to quality health care for all. Matar, who trained as an architect in her native Lebanon and at Cornell University, worked in architecture before becoming a full-time photographer whose work focuses mainly on women and women’s issues. She also teaches documentary photography at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and to teenage girls in Lebanon’s refugee camps during the summer. The award-winning photographer, who has exhibited widely both in the United States and internationally, has published a book of her work, “Ordinary Lives,” and recently released a monograph featuring teenage girls from different backgrounds, “A Girl and Her Room.”
Performing Artists
Lauren Betenson
Amy Arbus (2010)
Photography
Amy Arbus’ striking portraits beautifully capture the essence and energy of Cleveland’s performing artists and the remarkable gifts they bring to our community. Arbus has published four books of her photographs, and her work is in many prestigious collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Arbus’ photographs have appeared in more than 100 periodicals, and she has had 21 solo exhibitions around the world. She also teaches portraiture at the International Center of Photography, Maine Media Workshops and the Fine Arts Work Center. The Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the arts because we recognize that their innovation and creativity are essential to our community’s continued vitality. The talented actors, dancers and musicians pictured in this report, and so many others like them, make Cleveland a more rewarding, interesting and lively place to live and work. We are richer because of their presence.
Lake Erie
Lauren Betenson
Lynn Whitney (2009)
Photography
Lynn Whitney’s striking photographs provide a glimpse into life on Cleveland’s lakefront, illustrating the varied recreational, cultural and commercial roles Lake Erie plays in our community. The lake, part of one of the world’s largest fresh water systems, also is a significant asset in the efforts of many to make Cleveland a leader in sustainability. Whitney, head of the photography program at Bowling Green State University since 1987, has exhibited both nationally and internationally. She has undergraduate degrees from Boston University and the Massachusetts College of Art and earned her Master of Fine Arts from Yale University. Her previous work includes a commission by the Toledo Museum of Art to document construction of the Veterans Glass City Skyway in that city.
Early Education
Lauren Betenson
Sage Sohier (2008)
Photography
The George Gund Foundation is a longtime supporter of programs and policies that emphasize the importance of a child’s early years. The photographs in this annual report reflect the work of Invest in Children, Cuyahoga County’s public-private early childhood partnership. Sage Sohier’s images offer a delightful glimpse into the daily lives of these preschoolers as they learn about the world around them and build the critical foundation needed for success in later life. Sohier, an artist and freelance photographer whose work is featured in numerous publications and public collections, is the recipient of many awards, including a prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship. She also has taught photography at a number of colleges and universities, including Wellesley College, the Rhode Island School of Design and Harvard University.
University Circle
Lauren Betenson
Garie Waltzer (2007)
Photography
Jeff Whetstone who has been photographing and writing about the relationship between man and nature since he received a zoology degree from Duke University, brought a special sensitivity to his photo-essay on the Cuyahoga River. By perceptively following the river along both its rural and urban paths, he highlights the importance of this invaluable resource to our community. Whetstone, who also has a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography from Yale University, is a winner of the Sakier Prize for photography, the Factor Prize for Southern Art and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He currently teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Whetstone’s work has been exhibited nationally and featured and reviewed in publications such as DoubleTake, The New York Times, The New Yorker and Southern Exposure Magazine.
Teachers
Lauren Betenson
Mark Steinmetz (2006)
Photography
Mark Steinmetz offers an intimate photographic glimpse into the day-to-day lives of teachers at two Cleveland Municipal School District buildings—John Marshall High School and Miles Park Elementary School—and their ever-shifting roles as tutors, mentors, coaches, counselors, confidants and disciplinarians. Improving the quality of education for Cleveland’s children has been a long-standing priority for the Foundation, and we celebrate the critical role teachers play in ensuring success for our next generation. Steinmetz, an instructor himself at universities such as Harvard and Emory, brings a special sensitivity to capturing the important work that teachers do. He is the recipient of many awards, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. Steinmetzís work is included in the collections of many major museums and has been featured in numerous publications and photography journals.
