CLEVELAND — Robin Robinson spent Friday in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood adding the last brushstrokes and touches to new murals with other artists.
Robinson is the lead artist behind Impart216, a project made possible by Transformative Art Fund grants that the city of Cleveland awarded last year.
The city allocated $3 million in federal pandemic-stimulus money, from the American Rescue Plan Act, to seven large-scale public art projects designed to brighten up neighborhoods and celebrate communities. Impart216 is one of the seven projects.
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In Mount Pleasant, on the city's East Side, 12 local artists worked as six teams to install art throughout the neighborhood. Their murals are clustered near the intersection of Union Avenue and Kisman Road, around East 140th Street.
One team created a mural named "For Many, One Hive," to emphasize the need for preservation in their community.
"The need to preserve our environment and to preserve the neighborhood around us, in order to cultivate our youth and cultivate our futures," said Jurnee Ta'Zion, a multimedia artist.
Fellow multimedia artist Mathalie Bermudez, who partnered with Ta'Zion on the mural, described her excitement about taking part in the project.
"It is super amazing to have a great impact in the community by doing art," Bermudez said.
"Growth, improvement, transition," explained Christa "Freehands," another artist working on the Impart216 project. "It signifies us going from one way of living to another."
Robinson told News 5 that the cohort has been meeting monthly, at gatherings where artists come together to learn the art of mural making and expand their knowledge.
As part of the Transformative Arts Fund program, she also took artists and a group of supporters to Philadelphia, a city Robinson described as the mural capital of the country.
"I’m from there. So, Philadelphia is my home base," Robinson said. "They’re not all flat. They’re not all painted. Just letting them experience that."
Some of the artists had never been outside of Ohio before, said Robinson, who moved to Cleveland in 2011.
"I’ve always had roots here. I used to come here to be with family every summer and every holiday. Cleveland has always been my second home. Glenville, in particular, has always been my second home," she said.
The Philadelphia native said the murals have gotten a lot of interest from the community, but she has one hope:
"I’m hoping that the murals being there will give Mount Pleasant the spark it needs to. Rejuvenate so we can get more retail in there. So the city can invest more in the community. So they can fix up the buildings that need to be repaired. Do something with the vacant lots," Robinson explained. "The community is awesome. They are very vibrant. They are very dedicated to their community. Property owners. We have been on those sites for three months now, and we haven’t had any trouble. People come by, they want to bring us waters, they’re very appreciative of what we’re trying to do."
The Impart216 project team will hold a mural unveiling and community festival Saturday, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at East 138th Street and Union. The event will include food, games, performances and opportunities to meet the artists.
Their goal is to have the murals be in place for at least three years. The city's Transformative Arts Fund program runs through Sept. 30, and other teams of artists are planning unveiling events and festivals over the next six weeks.
"We're not just here to paint pretty pictures on the wall," said Robinson. "This is part of a larger initiative for this community."
This story has been updated to include the correct name of the mural project, Impart216.
