Payne Avenue in the Campus District, is a highly-trafficked area.  Cleveland State University students traverse it to get to their apartments and athletic fields, hundreds of Norma Herr shelter residents travel the street everyday, and with the new Campus International School building in the neighborhood hundreds of students walk the street as well. Despite this, the current urban landscape leaves a lot to be desired. There are no places for people to comfortably sit, there is little that is friendly or engaging on the street.  But all these challenges are opportunities for members of our community to create place, meet new people, and bring some vibrancy to the area.

So we are working with Campus International School students, Norma Herr homeless shelter residents, local artist Guy-Vincent, and Across the Lines Community Arts Space in the Superior Arts District to come together to plan, design, and implement ways to use public art and urban design to cultivate vibrancy, build ownership, and create a sense of place along Payne Avenue. 

The major components of this project are:

1)Adding public artwork to both the Campus International School and the exterior of Norma Herr

2)Adding engaging and practical design elements outside of the Norma Herr women’s shelter to better meet the needs of shelter residents and establish a public space for our community

We have received grants from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) and Dominion Energy to complete this project.  We are fundraising to meet the rest of our project needs.

Of the project, a member of the CAC grants review panel said, 

"A very thorough, well outlined project. I appreciate the thoughtfulness and engagement with the diverse set of stakeholders. Such conversations and commitment to these initiatives gives me the confidence that the public's needs have been heard and the organization has the vision and capacity to

execute it. The inclusion of the lead institutions in the neighborhood and student body showed me a deep understanding for how you intend to effectively influence change in the neighborhood."