Marketing initiative 'Sparx' Cleveland's arts scene

Art Business News, August, 2005 by Lyndsey Walker

CLEVELAND -- A city thirsting for a vibrant arts scene is getting its thirst quenched. Cleveland's downtown districts are in desperate need of people, money and a "buzz," to spark the unification of the arts scene due to the fact that, until now, the arts marketing efforts have been fragmented. In turn, this has diminished the attraction and awareness of art events throughout the city. But all of this is changing thanks to Sparx in the City, a self-organized, grass-roots effort to bring excitement to the arts in the downtown districts.

A civic marketing initiative that features regional artists as catalysts for stimulating vibrant street life and economic activity in Cleveland sparked Sparx in the City, when a small group of downtown workers saw firsthand the need for arts awareness. Though art events across town were happening, they were backed by little or no marketing. Joan Perch, owner of Cleveland's Art Metro gallery and the driving force behind Sparx in the City, brought together Susie Frazier, arts consultant; Thomas Starinsky with the neighborhood Cleveland Development Corporation (CDC); Mike Lang with the Downtown Merchants Association for the Gateway district; and Jackie York with the Theater District Development Corporation. In order to succeed, the team agreed that they needed to first build relationships with development agencies and the city itself.

Frazier, an artist herself (see "Emerging Artists," March issue, page 136), now spearheads this portion of the venture and today, she says, "there are 48 organizations working together to make it all happen." Sparx in the City is an independent organization with the Downtown Cleveland Partnership (DCP) as its fiscal agent. In order to function, Sparx has accepted many grants and sponsorships from Cleveland corporations, foundations, government sources and the general public to market downtown Cleveland with an emphasis on the arts. Frazier says that Sparx has raised about $200,000 this year, and combined with various services and pro-bono help, Sparx in the City is now valued at more than $400,000.

And exactly what does Sparx do to promote the arts downtown? Sparx in the City leads the marketing efforts for street-side culture in Cleveland by hosting an annual, city-wide Gallery Hop; coordinating an on-going program called Street Beats that features street performers throughout the summer months; and publishing two art guides each year--the city's first-ever art guides for visitors.

The team researched and studied what other cities were doing to leverage the arts as a vehicle to attract interest and excitement for their downtown areas. Sparx spent time reviewing cities such as London for its program of street artists, who perform in the stations of the London Underground transportation systems, and also studied several large city art walks across the nation. But, Frazier says, the Sparx Gallery Hop sort of "morphed together" over time because there was not an event quite like it in scale. And in pulling together the findings from both Sparx's research and its own ideas, the team developed a program of art activities that they felt would spark interest in downtown Cleveland.

During its start in 2003, Sparx hosted a one-day Gallery Hop that included four districts and 40 art sites; street performers throughout the summer; the painting of city fire hydrants; and a late-night lantern walk. At the end of the summer, Sparx evaluated the success and exposure of each event, deciding to keep only the Gallery Hop and Street Beats for the following year.

Now, with Sparx in its third season, the Gallery Hop has grown into a three-day event that pulls together eight districts throughout the city, and consists of more than 100 art exhibits, including galleries, artist studios, museums and festival sites. (Visit www.cleveland.com/sparx for a complete listing of participants.) To link the separate districts and exhibits involved in the Gallery Hop, considered to be Ohio's largest weekend art walk of its kind, Sparx has provided trolleys in order to move people across town more easily.

"It is a different kind of event," says Frazier. "It's driving people to the front doors of galleries across many Cleveland districts, instead of just to their booths at a festival site."

This year's Gallery Hop, Sept. 16-18, has been coordinated to take place on the same weekend as many other art activities in the city. Several planners switched the dates of their events in order to coincide with Sparx's Gallery Hop. This way, organizations can benefit from the trolleys that will cart around the thousands of people expected to participate to all the separate art events happening across the city.

"The trolleys will link key destinations in each neighborhood so that everyone can benefit from the crowds, instead of competing against each other to get the attention in their district," says Gallery Hop Manager Denise Wyse of Executive Arrangements. "It's the biggest weekend in Cleveland for exploring both major events and smaller venues in the visual arts."