Working study model for design approval.The CUDC is happy to announce that our Post-Graduate Fellow Jonny Hanna has been awarded one of the highly prestigious Burning Man Global Arts Grants for his fellowship project “Forget Me Not.” The project is one of 20 such grants awarded to community-based art projects around the world. This year’s projects will take place in Tel Aviv, Bengaluru, Budapest, Kiev, and Cleveland to name a few!The project was born out of the Cleveland Public Library's 150th-anniversary planning process being undertaken by the CUDC. The project will culminate as an art installation and piece of permanent urban furniture in the plaza space of the Eastman Branch of the Cleveland Public Library. It will be comprised of a multi-rowed fabricated seating structure, and a framing apparatus for a 17’x14′ window which will look onto a newly programmed temporary performing arts and gallery space. The project will be complete by early August with an event to come. Please stay in touch via the blog or social media (@ksuCUDC) and we will post event details when finalized.Image above depicting initial collage submitted with letter of intent.Image submitted for the second round of jurying.

On Thursday, January 26th, CUDC staff kicked off the first round of public Open Houses for the third group of library branches in our CPL150 project. The CUDC has been working with the Cleveland Public Library since fall of 2014 on community engagement around its neighborhood branches.The CPL system is comprised of 27 branches, and each has very different community needs; CPL recognizes that each branch should respond to those needs locally, rather than just system-wide. What improvements are needed? How should each branch respond to its local opportunities and characteristics? And how can each branch respond to changing technological needs to become a 21st-century resource for its community?The first Group 3 open house, at West Park Branch, broke participants into a series of workstations throughout the library itself. Balloons marked each station, asking questions around the branch’s building; grounds; neighborhood; and services. We gathered input on existing conditions, ideas for integrating new technology & educational tools, neighborhood assets, partnerships, and services. We also had participants fill out our online survey (which is open to any CPL user, no matter their local branch – please fill out if you’re interested!).Since then, we’ve also held open houses at Eastman Branch and Hough Branch, and still have two more: Union Branch (Feb 23rd, 4:30-7:00 PM) and Walz Branch (March 7th, 4:00-7:00 PM).After this round of open houses, we’ll input our feedback and start generating initial design alternatives for each branch, which we’ll present to the communities in a second round of public sessions, in May of this year, in preparation for final recommendations & report, which will be released in June 2017.Please check out the project website for updates. We hope to see you at your local branch!