MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release
October 31, 2025
Contact: Arleigh Savage – programs@heightsarts.org

Cleveland Heights, OH—

Heights Arts engages LAND Studio to assist in developing public art projects in Cleveland Heights

On April 23, 2025 Heights Arts and LAND Studio entered into an agreement to develop brand-new public art projects in the Cedar Lee and Coventry commercial districts in Cleveland Heights. Businesses in both areas were severely stressed by the COVID pandemic; this project is made possible by approximately $250,000 in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds made available through the City of Cleveland Heights to support these two vital business districts. The resulting public art installations are planned to be completed by the end of 2026.

Heights Arts, the Cleveland Heights-based nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing together arts and community, celebrates its 25^th anniversary this year. Previous projects managed by the organization include a number of high-profile public art installations that have become fixtures in the community: a large mural on the back of the Cedar Lee movie theater building (artist Robert Muller), two murals in the Cedar Fairmount district (artist Jesse Rhinehart), the Coventry Arch which serves as the entryway to a public park at the intersection of Euclid Heights Boulevard and Coventry Road (artist Barry Gunderson), the Coventry Fences flanking Coventry Road throughout the commercial district (artist Brinsley Tyrell), the Coventry Benches installed in that same district (artist Raymond Bugelski), as well as streetscape design and signage used in the Cedar Fairmount and Coventry districts. Heights Arts has also presented numerous temporary public art exhibitions, including the installation of a dozen large-scale sculptures around the Severance Circle “ring road” in the mid-2000s, Knitscape (adorning street trees with colorful knitted wrappings), Fencepiration (transforming a chain-link construction fence into colorful abstract mural using recycled materials), the Heights Youth Club mosaic (student-designed), poetry squares on the grounds of the Lee and Coventry libraries through a collaboration between local poets and art students at Cleveland Heights High School, and Play Me I’m Yours, part of a national project that placed decorated pianos in public spaces where passersby could stop and play the instruments.

To manage the new project, Heights Arts convened the Public Art Project Team (PAPT), a group including professional planners, architects, artists, and members of the Heights Arts Exhibition Community Team (ECT), one of three volunteer groups Heights Arts relies upon to develop its high-quality community-focused programming (the two other teams are the Music Community Team and Heights Writes, which work on music and poetry respectively). This team has gone through multiple rounds of brainstorming and planning within the available budget and has come up with a two-part project that will strongly reinforce the identity of Cleveland Heights as “Home to the Arts” and celebrate the official branding of the Cedar Lee corridor between Cain Park and the Lee Road Library as an official arts district.

The Cedar Lee district will be home to four to six new murals—all created by local artists—that will express the unique character of Cedar Lee as a vital center for visual arts, film, theater, and a wide variety of food and drink, and specialty retail. The team identified blank building walls that are well situated for the project and has been working with the owners of those buildings to prepare for the installation of new murals in the spring and summer of 2026.

In Coventry, with its long traditions of cultural diversity, musical and arts industry, and, most recently, a growing array of Asian cafes and restaurants, the creative response to the character of that district will take the form of an artist-designed installation at the north end of Coventry Road near the intersection with Mayfield.  At the south end of the commercial district, a performance shell will grace Pekar Park outside the Grog Shop and B Side, our region’s top rock and R&B clubs. The new public art installations will thus not only enliven the street life of the district, but will also serve as northern and southern gateways to the Coventry commercial area. Coventry Village will issue a separate call for the Coventry District.

Working with Erin Guido and Kyra Wells of LAND Studio, the ECT and PAPT are engaging community input to help shape the project. To that end, a Call for Artists for the Cedar Lee district will be broadcast on October 31^st, 2025 inviting participation in these exciting public art initiatives. Interested artists are encouraged to attend an information session on November 12th at the Lee Road Library in Cleveland Heights at 6:00pm. Artists may put their own names in the running, while community members at large may also suggest artists they think would be a good fit. The PAPT group will then review all the submissions and play “matchmaker” to pair up artists with specific projects and building owners. The application deadline is December 3rd, 2025.

Reaching back to its roots decades ago as Cleveland Public Art, LAND Studio has long been the region’s leading organization in helping to create or reshape public districts that enhance the quality of life in Greater Cleveland. Erin Guido, Director of Arts and Special Projects, describes how she envisions her organization’s role in the process: “We’re thrilled to partner with Heights Arts to bring public art and placemaking projects to two of Cleveland Heights’ major commercial districts. Coventry, Cedar Lee, and so much of Cleveland Heights are already rich in the arts and creativity, and we’re excited to collaborate with community members to create public art that captures the spirit of these neighborhoods. This work will help express outwardly what’s already within — the artists, local businesses, and cultural organizations that make Cleveland Heights truly special.”

Of the total budget, $40,000 goes to LAND Studio for a project management fee (which includes any sub-consultants), while $160,000 to $200,000 is allocated to artwork and placemaking costs (including artist design, fabrication, installation, engineering, and stakeholder engagement including a web presence to showcase the public art in Cleveland Heights).

To Heights Arts Executive Director Rachel Bernstein, this initiative represents a way to build upon existing strengths in Cleveland Heights. “In addition to installing new public art, the ARPA grant will help Heights Arts begin to work with organizations in the Cedar Lee district and city-wide to highlight the many arts and culture opportunities our ‘Home to the Arts’ has to offer to our residents and surrounding communities. There is a lot of momentum right now among arts organizations and community stakeholders, which is crucial for success. I am looking forward to seeing what will come of these efforts.”

For updates on this exciting public art project, check heightsarts.org and land-studio.org/cedar-lee-call-for-artists

Press/Media files

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Heights Arts is a nonprofit community arts organization in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The community’s proximity to University Circle, home to cultural destinations in Cleveland which include the Cleveland Museum of Art and Severance Hall, has created a place rich with visual and literary artists, musical performers, art educators, administrators and others who make their livelihood in the visual, performing, or literary arts.

We contribute to the region’s artistic vitality by showing and selling artworks by regional artists at Heights Arts Gallery and Store, presenting chamber music and community concerts in intimate settings and public spaces, and we are home to the Heights Poet Laureate and our popular literary Ekphrastacy program.

As a multi-disciplinary arts organization, we tap into the potential of our creative residents to enrich
community life.