Fall Class / 2014
Creative Fusion is an urban-based, community-engaged residency program for international artists created by the Cleveland Foundation. The program consists of two, three-month residencies in Cleveland in the spring and fall each year. Each residency period hosts up to six artists from cultures not well represented currently in Cleveland’s professional arts sector.
The program is primarily interested in artists from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America, New Zealand and Australia. Invited artists get the opportunity to develop new work and share a contemporary view of their culture with our community.
Artists are nominated for the program by a panel of international nominators. Cleveland cultural organizations are able to select an artist from this pool of vetted nominees to serve as the artist’s host and creative home. The host organization is fully responsible for the artist, providing housing, transportation, orientation to Cleveland and other supports. The host also provides the conditions to support new creative work, creative exchange with local artists and for engagement with the Cleveland community – in particular with young people. Host organizations receive a grant from the foundation that covers all major costs of the residency.
Since launching the Creative Fusion program in 2010, the Cleveland Foundation has brought 36 artists from countries including Chile, China, India, Korea, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkey, Uganda, Pakistan, Egypt, Romania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Nepal and Vietnam. The artists have worked in depth with nearly 15,000 elementary, high school, and college students and their art has touched thousands of Greater Cleveland residents through performances, exhibitions, lectures, and personal encounters.
