Lauren Betenson

The images created for the 1995 annual report by Lee Friedlander presented a penetrating reflection on the diversity of Cleveland’s people at work. For nearly four decades, Friedlander has been one of the world’s most renowned and important artists. His work has been exhibited in major museums throughout the world and assembled into 13 critically-acclaimed books. He is the recipient of three John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowships as well as the prestigious “genius” award from the MacArthur Foundation. His striking photo essay, “People Working,” was commissioned by the George Gund Foundation to underscore its commitment to supporting the economic vitality of Northeast Ohio by addressing issues related to the quality and skills of its workforce.

Cleveland photographer Linda Butler’s images from the 1994 annual report reflected the remarkable richness of Cleveland’s arts and cultural institutions. Ms. Butler’s photographs have been exhibited in prestigious museums throughout this country as well as in Canada, Japan and Italy. She also has published two books of her work. Ms. Butler’s beautifully detailed images were commissioned by the Foundation to reflect its long-standing commitment to maintaining a lively and diverse arts community in Cleveland.

Portraits of Cleveland families were taken for the 1993 annual report by Dawoud Bey. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge and other distinguished venues. Mr. Bey’s powerful multiple images were commissioned by the Foundation to reflect its long-standing commitment to strengthening the family as a source of emotional, social and economic support.

Portraits of Cleveland Public Schools students were created by Judith Joy Ross, a visiting critic at Yale university and a former Guggenheim Fellow, for the 1992 annual report. Her striking and evocative images have been displayed at the Museum of Modern Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the James Danziger Gallery among other distinguished venues. The Foundation commissioned the photographs in this report as a reflection of its commitment to the children of the Cleveland Public Schools.

Lois Conner’s photographs, completed for the 1991 annual report, underscore the development of new priorities for our environmental grantmaking which focused locally on urban environmental problems, regionally on Great Lakes issues, and nationally on policy related to the mitigation of global climate change. Conner’s photography has been exhibited and published throughout the world. She is the recipient of a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The series of images used in the 1990 annual report confronted Cleveland’s residential distress while at the same time reflecting the city’s diversity and resilience. These photographs were not from the portfolio of the so-called “comeback city” which focused mainly on the renewal of downtown Cleveland. Instead, these images are photographer Michael Book’s portrayal of city neighborhoods that were struggling to adapt to significant ongoing demographic and economic dislocation. Book’s photographs have been exhibited internationally and he is the recipient of a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.