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Alex Saba

Visual Artist: Sculpture

I am a multi-disciplinary artist working with sculpture, performance, and written pieces. I graduated in May of 2020 with a BFA-Sculpture from Mississippi State University. I participated in several shows and exhibitions surrounding social and political issues. Some examples, are, “ESCAPADE: BFA Thesis Exhibition,” with the body of work, ‘Two-Faced,’ bringing awareness to abusive relationships by interviewing survivors of abuse and interpreting their stories into written and sculptural pieces; “Taking Back My Crown,” performing,, ‘We Don’t Eat,’ a written piece on my experience with abuse. I was also the Director and Co-Curator of, “What Were You Wearing?” where survivors write in what they were wearing when they were sexually assaulted; and “#Metoo,” with Lexus Giles, a performance piece addressing incestual and relational sexual abuse. I strive for social and political change by encouraging audiences to question their motives and views. I make a point to have multiple perspectives and create interactive exhibits to not perpetuate the tunnel vision that is an issue in American society. Since I have been able to participate, activism has played an important role in my life with art, protests, community service, and conversations with the people around me.

Georgio Sabino III

Graphic Artist; Visual Artist: Painting, Photography

Georgio Sabino III Twice an official photographer at The White House for President Obama’s invitation to photograph the Ohio State Buckeyes 2015 and the Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 National Championships, Georgio Sabino III continues to consistently create magic, not only in Cleveland and Ohio, but also all over the United States. Among his many pursuits, he presently is working with the Uumbaji Art Gallery at Kent State University. He has served as an art juror for the former Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Congresswoman Marsha Fudge, and as a guest lecturer at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design, Ursuline College and Cuyahoga Community College. He served on the board of the Cleveland Entertainment Coalition and his work with numerous community organizations helped raise their visibility through his engagement and service as a chief visionary and prime strategist. Searching for dramatic lines, and tracing vibrant colors depicting strong contrast enriches Georgio’s artwork. “A sense of completeness is achieved by paying attention to symmetry and balance,” Sabino shares. “I enjoy creating art that stimulates the imagination and challenges the intellect, propelling the viewer towards celestial heights where they can explore, discover and uncover their polyrhythmic identities through my work.” His graduate thesis on “Educational Genocide” advances the mental, physical. Sabino’s photographs and graphic designs convey polyrhythmic identities.

Christina Sadowski

Visual Artist: Photography

Christina has been photographing Cleveland as well as various locations along her travels. Her photography professor in college told her to photograph what she loved and her work would always be interesting. She was born and raised in Cleveland and has always been passionate about the city. As a child, she used rolls and rolls of film photographing various city landmarks. Years later, she realized photography was her artistic medium and began photographing the cityscape all over again. Most of her work shows a gritty, industrial side of Cleveland, that reminds her of the hard working class town it is. Her work can be seen in various shows as well as at e11even 2, the gallery she co-owns, within 78th Street Studios.

Matthew Salvaggio

Musician; Teaching Artist

Matthew Salvaggio is the founder and Music Director of the Cleveland Repertory Orchestra. Additionally, the 2021/22 season marks his fifth season as Music Director of the Euclid Symphony Orchestra, where his responsibilities include conducting classical, pops, and educational concerts, and his seventh season as Musical and Artistic Director of the University Heights Symphonic Band. As an artistic leader, Matthew has guided his ensembles through the process of becoming independent non-profit entities and has expanded programming with each of his organizations. In 2019, he established the Tom Baker Young Artists Competition with the Euclid Symphony Orchestra. The annual competition awards the winner a performance opportunity with the ESO and a cash prize. An advocate for new music, Matt has helped commission nearly twenty works in the last decade from composers including Mark Camphouse, Anthony O’Toole, Michael Kallstrom, Kevin Walczyk, and Tony Manfredonia. Artistic collaborations include John Rautenberg (Cleveland Orchestra), John DiCesare (Seattle Symphony), Joshua Lauretig (Buffalo Philharmonic), Kyra Kester (Akron Symphony), Cameron Leach, J.c. Sherman, Emily Cornelius and ESO concertmaster Liesl Hook. Matt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Akron and a Master of Music degree in conducting from Kent State University.

Victor Samalot

Musician; Songwriter, guitarist

Victor Samalot’s solo guitar project began in 2010 after the permanent hiatus of his Jazz Rock Fusion group Rare Blend. Reinventing his sound and brand, Victor switched from electric to acoustic guitar and this time called upon his Latin roots but kept his fusion sensibilities by incorporating the fundamentals of Jazz and Rock. He also added looping technology to his gear expanding writing and soloing ideas. Fresh and contemporary, Victor performs year round and continues to appeal to listeners of world fusion music. Some of Victor’s guitar influences are Carlos Santana, Jeff Beck, Ottmar Liebert, Craig Chaquico, Jesse Cook, Phil Keaggy, Jose Feliciano, David Gilmour, and others… A full-time musician, he books his own gigs, publishes his music, releases singles and albums, builds and maintain his own website, and does all his own publicity.

Will Sanchez

Designer; Film, Radio and Television Artist; Graphic Artist; Historian; Poet; Scientist; Teaching Artist; Visual Artist: Illustration, Painting, Photography, Sculpture; Writer; Activist

“Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Born Guillermo Sanchez Jr. in the small town of Adrian, Michigan. Of Mexican decent, he first embraced his culture at a very young age due to his great grandfathers’ history of struggle to be recognized as a people. To be accepted both as another citizen of America the society as a whole and to continue the long tradition of revolution of thought in a country born of rebelliousness. One Grandfather fought as a member of the Northern Army led by Poncho Villa. After the war for Mexico, the remaining members were being assassinated one by one. The Poncho Villa ambush of 1923 was the last straw and led to his grandfather taking extreme measures of murder, confiscating the victim’s papers and escaping his fate to the United States. The other spectrum of his heritage leads directly to his great grandfather who rode with Geronimo and his band of rebels against the onslaught of the U.S. Calvary, until the surrender of Geronimo himself. Cleveland Magazine’s Most Interesting People for 2019. Nominated for the COSE Business & Innovation Award, named to several boards including Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center, Hispanic Roundtable Community Development Co-chair, Metro Hospital VIC and several other endeavors have left a lasting impression on collaborators. Allowing him to continue to put us in a place visually where we cannot imagine nor have the ability to comprehend. To create with everyday reality, to plant a seed that nothing is impossible and give a glimpse of the unknown.

Renata Schmidt Zahuranec

Visual Artist: Painting; Portrait and Figurative Art

Renata was born in Czechoslovakia and is now residing in Ohio. She became inspired in the arts by her art teacher and her grandfathers. After 25 years working in the corporate world, Renata decided to change her career. She studied art with portrait artist Bill Kufahl and at the Cleveland Institute of Art, where she received her Certificate of Completion in 2004. Renata’s life-like portraits capture the essence of the individual and bring life to the paintings. Her art has been shown localy and Internationally in Venice, Bologna, Sarzana, Fermo, Grottamare, Florence, Montecosaro, Lerici, and Rome Italy; in Bratislava Castle Slovakia, and Prague Czech Republic.

Rebecca Shasberger

Musician

Praised for the “maturity and sensitivity” of her playing (Casa Magazine), Cleveland-based cellist Rebecca Shasberger is passionate about connecting with people from all walks of life. To this end she is pioneering a strings program in the Grafton prison and founding Renovare, a string quartet whose purpose is to bring hope and healing to those in need. These initiatives, amongst others, are Rebecca’s projects as Outreach Coordinator/Artist-in-Residence at Credo Music in Oberlin, Ohio. Rebecca has presented solo performances and concerti with orchestras from California to New York, in Canada, China, and across Europe. While in Cleveland Rebecca performs in venues ranging from Severance Hall to hospitals to bars, not only as part of her work with Credo but also as a performer with Classical Revolution Cleveland and on the Musical Upcoming Stars in the Classics (M.U.S.i.C) concert series, in an effort to share music with a wide range of audiences. Her chamber music performances have taken her across the United States and been broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In the orchestral realm she has appeared with the Canton Symphony, West Coast Symphony, West Coast Chamber Orchestra, the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, and as principal cellist with Cleveland’s Heights and Suburban Symphonies. Rebecca completed her Masters in Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) with Sharon Robinson and her Bachelors at Westmont College.

Ronald Shelton

Visual Artist; multimedia

Ron Shelton relocated to Cleveland from Columbus Ohio in 2003. He is a multi-media artist who produced several ice installation projects this winter. Winter is one of Ron’s favorite seasons. Ron has become acutely aware of the plastic problem as a result of featuring seven artists from around the world who are using discard waste material to draw attention to this menace. Ron’s recent installations in CAN Triennial, Lakewood Light in sight, and Rooms to Let, all addressed this plastic epidemic. He is curator/publisher at High Art Fridays (HAF), an online art magazine, which features international artists who share a common contemporary art aesthetics. HAF is becoming a beacon for a worldwide environmental voice and narrative. For the past two years, HAF has taken a close look at what artists are saying about the plastic epidemic and the toll it has taken on the environment. HAF is now a registered non-profit, 501 (c) (3) organization. Ron also enjoys making hats. Since being in Cleveland, his hats appeared in several spotlight events: “Kickin with Kenny” morning show, WCBE PBS Dee Perry’s “Around Noon”. He was featured several times in Cleveland’s Plain Dealer; co-produced, “Men in Hats” stage production in 2011 at the Cleveland Playhouse’s “fusion fest.” In 2015 he participated in Cleveland Museum of Art, “art bites.” He created two baby Nudu hats for Fox “Bones” television series in 2011. Ron has also been the recipient of several Ohio Arts Council grants. Ron has a BA degree in Cinematography from OSU.

Allegra Shunk

Designer; Visual Artist: Painting, Sculpture

Shunk graduated with a BA in Theatrical design from Vassar College and an MFA in 3D design from Cranbrook Academy of Art. She has shown work at Trestle gallery in NY, Sweet ‘Art in London, Domain de Boisbuchet in France, and Fountain Street Gallery in Boston, to name a few. Shunk’s work, while exploring a wide range of mediums, is always founded in storytelling and an appreciation of light and color. Ultimately she would be significantly more productive if she had not hired two studio cats to assist in her practice.

Cigdem Slankard

Film, Radio and Television Artist

Cigdem Slankard is a filmmaker based in Cleveland, OH. She was born and raised in Turkey and received her BA in translation and interpreting from Bogazici University (Istanbul, Turkey) in 1999. She first came to the United States in 1998 to study film and video at State University of New York in Binghamton. In 2002, she received a Master of Fine Arts in filmmaking from Ohio University. She has written and directed several short film and video projects including Fresh Start (2017), Cultivation (2016) and Comfortable (2013). Her work has been included in several exhibitions and film festivals across the world.

Mark Soppeland

Designer; Visual Artist: Illustration, Painting, Sculpture

Mark Soppeland is Distinguished Professor of Art Emeritus at the Myers School of Art, The University of Akron. A painter, sculptor and designer, he has shown his work in over four hundred exhibitions on five continents. His work has offically represented the United States in exhibitions in Europe, Asia and Austrailia. Professor Soppeland’s work has been exhibited in international art fairs in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Miami. He has created over fifty public art projects, including works for the Cleveland Ingenuity Fesival; Suma Health Systems; Prague Center for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Rep.; The San Franciso Center for the Book; Klenova Institute, Klenova, Czech Rep.; TIME WARNER Cable; The Bravo Networks; Americans for the Arts; Cleveland Public Theater; Philadelphia Children’s Hospital; Metro Health Medical Center; Akron Art Museum; Cleveland Museum of Art, Kohler Art Center; and E J Thomas Performing Arts Hall. He has been awarded five Ohio Arts Council Fellowships.

Julia Sosa

Actor; Musician; Teaching Artist; Theatre Director

Julia Rosa Sosa is an El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez native. Upon graduating from The University of Texas at El Paso, Julia has focused on projects that resonate with her Latinx Community and has been part of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mojada: Una Medea in Los Angeles by Luis Alfaro (Assistant Director), and Native Gardens at Cleveland Play House (CPH) to Robert Barry Fleming (Assistant Director). She worked in Spanish productions in the USA; En el Tiempo de las Mariposas / In The Time of the Butterflies at Cleveland Public Theatre. Recently, she served as one of the dramaturgs for the staged reading Our Dad is in Atlantis (CPH). She was happy to be a part of the DirectorsLab Chicago 2019.

Emily Splain

Graphic Artist; Visual Artist: Illustration

Native Cleveland, Ohio I am ready to work with you for all your creative needs. Graphic Design: Adobe Suite CS5 When I approach any graphics project I look how it can be simplified. I work with clean lines and can develop imagery using either hand drawn materials or computer-made. Logos, Banners, Pamphlets, Product Labels etc. Website Developer: Wix, Squarespace and WordPress I develop functional and clean web pages that not only complete their purpose but have artistic flair. Illustrations I am inspired by the world around me whether it be plants, animals or the human race. I use a lot of mythology in my work mainly Native American.

Pam Spremulli

Graphic Artist; Visual Artist: Illustration

Graphic Illustrator Pam Spremulli, shares her “cheerfully optimistic” view of life in her artwork with stricking and colorful images. If she makes someone happy she has done her job. Spremulli accredited by the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, is best known for her award-winning (GOLD Mom’s Choice award for distinctive Illustrations) children’s book Letter Birds (PublishingWorks, Inc.) along with her unique interpretations of architectural landmarks. Pam takes familiar images and manipulates color in a way that’s eye catching and engaging. She finds herself very much at home with her subject and instinctively draws the viewers eye to key points that might go unnoticed with more traditional forms of art. Her artwork has won numerous awards and is privately collected both domestically and internationally. The mouse is my brush, the monitor my canvas” is how she describes her technique, “and not to forget a little dab of fun!” She continues to show her work in galleries in New York along with several other galleries in and around Cleveland, Ohio. Each summer Spremulli partakes in the Visual Arts of Chautauqua Institution (VACI) Membership Exhibit at Follwer-Kellogg Art Center in Chautauqua Institution, New York. Pam is a member of the Northern Ohio Illustrator’s Society (NOIS) and the Visual Arts of Chautauqua Institution (VACI). She is also an appointed member of the Chagrin Falls Arts Commission. Her second children’s book WOOF! (PublishingWorks, In

Joe Stavec

Visual Artist: Painting

Art is not an end in itself. It is a method of creating awareness of the marvelous. Surrealist art reveals invisible secrets and exposes hidden surprises. Surrealism is based on a fascination with the strange and imaginary. Surrealist images evoke the possible, supplemented by desire and dream. There are treasures hidden in the human mind, an ability to bathe everyday reality in a magic light. I am an American born in 1957. I paint with oils and watercolors and ink. I find that each medium enables a unique means of expression. This choice allows me to vary my approach to express the images I have in my head and continue to grow as an artist. I take my inspiration from many things not least of which is the written word. Authors such as Neil Gaiman and Jorge Luis Borges put me in a mindset to create images of a world that exists just behind the veil of what we perceive as our reality. Of things previously known but forgotten, glimpses of which we see in our dreams and desires waiting to be discovered again. World mythology is a rich source of inspiration with its tales of fantastic and heroic deeds. My artistic influences include Rene’ Magritte, Odilon Redon, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali and Charles Burchfield. I am a 1980 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Arts, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Lithography.

Karima Stitt

Visual Artist: Photography; Writer

I am a photographer and film director from Cleveland Ohio. I create t-shirt designs as well. I have always loved art and have created since I was a child. I am always looking to learn more information about the history of art and media. Art has been an escape for me that has turned into a passion.

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