The Committee provides oversight and direction to a pro bono program providing legal services to income-eligible artists and arts organizations in all disciplines, develops public law-related education programs for artists and arts organizations, and collaborates with area galleries to bring rotating art exhibits to the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Center.
To join the VLA Committee, please submit your committee request form.
Nonprofit arts organizations are invited to attend "Formation of a Nonprofit Organization," a FREE public seminar presented by the VLA in partnership with Reach Out - Legal Assistance for Nonprofits.
May 30, 2013 - 4:30-6 p.m., followed by a brief advice clinic - 6:15-7:15 p.m.
Location: Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Galleria, 1301 East 9th Street, 2nd Level
"Formation of a Nonprofit Organization" is a free educational seminar for attorneys and nonprofit leaders, presented by Steven W. Day, Esq., Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, VLA Committee member; and Todd K. Masuda, Esq., Schneider, Smeltz, Ranney & LaFond P.L.L., 2013 VLA Committee Chair. Nonprofits face many of the same complexities as commercial businesses, and sometimes more, but often lack resources. Reach Out is designed to provide pro bono legal services to an free law-related education for area nonprofit organizations whose missions focus on community service and who demonstrate financial need. For more about Reach Out, visit www.clemetrobar.org/ReachOut.
To register, nonprofit leaders may click here; attorneys may click here. For a flyer about the May 30 seminar, click here.
Congratulations to Deb Lawrence, the Cleveland artist whose artwork "Know Fun" was chosen as the 2012 VLA Commission Award winner! Know Fun will be featured in VLA materials and promotions in the coming year, and the CMBA will be proud to display Deb's art in its public space in the Galleria. Thank you to Deb and all of the artists who submitted such fine works for consideration!
VLA Mission
To facilitate access to legal services, including pro bono representation, for northeast Ohio artists and arts organizations; to develop educational resources for and build a living network of the region’s lawyers, artists and arts organizations; and to advocate for a strong and vibrant arts community.
"Know Fun" - Image by Cleveland-area artist Deb Lawrence, winner of the 2012 VLA Commission Design contest.
In the mid-1970s, a group of dedicated local lawyers formed the Cleveland VLA as a committee of the Cleveland Area Arts Council (CAAC). CAAC, a nonprofit agency led by Executive Director Nina Gibans, was an advocate for local art and artists. One of its lasting legacies was the coordination of “City Canvasses,” a series of 10 murals painted on blank walls of downtown Cleveland buildings, some of which remain today. A primary purpose of the CAAC and the original VLA was to disseminate information to local artists to give them the best opportunity to succeed. VLA attorneys were known for giving informal Saturday breakfast presentations to artists focusing on topics such as leasing, gallery agreements, sales and intellectual property protection.
The CAAC disbanded in 1979, but the VLA eventually found a new home as a committee of the Cleveland Bar Association (now CMBA). After this change, the VLA developed what is now its hallmark – a program of pro bono legal assistance and referrals for artists. VLA lawyers have aided dozens of local artists with pressing legal concerns on a pro bono basis. In its fourth decade of existence, the VLA continues to be an important source of legal information for artists by conducting educational seminars and presentations on a variety of topics.
About the VLA Commission Award
In order to keep its look fresh and to promote local artists, each year the VLA commissions a work of art that is used on VLA promotions and communications, including the CMBA website, program pamphlets, and materials that are distributed to arts venues throughout Northeast Ohio as an important component of the VLA’s effort to promote its services to the arts community. The VLA selects a new image each year, awarding a $500 commission to a Northeast Ohio artist who has completed the artwork submission process and whose work is selected. Submissions of camera-ready digital images are accepted year-round. Submissions are accepted year-long, with selections made in the fall.
To be considered for the 2013 Commission Award,
please submit your work any time during the year before November, 2013.
The guidelines for entry are simple!
(1) Send this information:
Your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address
Title of submission, medium, form of submission (file type, submission medium)
- An optional short biography
(2) With your submission:
- A digital file of your original artwork*
(3) To this address:
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Committee
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
1301 E. 9th St., Second Level
Cleveland, OH 44114
or e-mail to Jessica Paine
*High resolution PDF suitable for print; or a high resolution JPG file; or a flattened TIF or Photoshop file. Files should be CMYK; at least 300 dpi; and sized to at least 4" x 5". CDs of artwork recommended, along with a print version color proof.
The Award
Entries will be circulated electronically to VLA members, who will then select a winning entry by simple vote at their regular meeting in November. Submissions are accepted year-round for consideration in the fall.
The winner of the commission will be notified by mid-December. The commission award is a $500 licensing fee. The winner must agree to allow the VLA to reproduce the winning image on its promotional and communications materials, and may allow the work to be exhibited in the offices of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. The VLA does not make outright purchases of artwork or exclusive rights. The artist’s name and title of the work will be included on all materials. The VLA reserves the right to crop or resize the winning image in any manner to conform to policy or production specifications.
Arts Organizations and Galleries
Art House Inc
Art House is a nonprofit art center, founded in 1999, and located in historic Brooklyn Centre, between the Ohio City and Old Brooklyn neighborhoods of Cleveland, Ohio. The organization was founded by local artists and residents who were dedicated to the belief that the arts enrich lives and help create better communities. Our 3,000 square foot studio facility is housed in a 1948 domed Quonset building.
Cleveland Institute of Art
The Cleveland Institute of Art was established in 1882. Over the years it has earned a reputation for being among the top ten professional colleges of art and design in the country. It is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and is also a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design and the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education. The Institute attracts students who are serious about becoming professional artists and designers and who seek a school with a broad campus atmosphere that is both intellectually stimulating and artistically challenging. The Institute's goals of providing a superior education are consistent with its accrediting agencies and professional memberships.
Cleveland Public Art
Cleveland Public Art, an independent, nonprofit organization, works to improve public spaces through art and design. CPA is Ohio's premier organization for the identification and evaluation of public art opportunities, bringing expertise to the selection of artists and the implementation of public art projects. CPA places art on Cleveland's streets, and in neighborhoods and green spaces, making it accessible to the entire community and part of everyday life. CPA works to educate Cleveland audiences about community reinvention and place-making through art. CPA believes that art in the community can attract residents and is essential for building healthier and safer neighborhoods. CPA also believes that a strong public art program can help attract investment and be the impetus for economic development. By actively engaging the Cleveland community, CPA works to enhance the quality of life in Cleveland.
Cleveland Public Theater
Cleveland Public Theatre's mission is to raise consciousness and nurture compassion through ground breaking performances and life changing educational programs. Cleveland Public Theatre is an alternative performance company with a commitment to help develop original theatre artists from Northeastern Ohio -- particularly those whose work is experimental in form and/or challenging in content.
Cleveland State University Art Department
The Cleveland State University Art Department offers undergraduate degree programs in Studio Art, Art History, and Art Education. Students may pursue an Art Major in any of these three areas leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree.
An Art Minor is offered in Studio Art and in Art History.
Graduate degree programs are offered in History/Art History (Master of Arts) and Education/Art Education (Master of Education).
Non-degree certificate programs are offered in Graphic Design.
The Cleveland State University Art Gallery provides visual arts programming for the university and community. In addition to important local and regional artists, nationally and internationally known artists have participated in exhibitions, workshops, and lectures at the CSU Art Gallery.
Community Partnership for Arts and Culture
The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC) is a nonprofit arts and culture service agency dedicated to Northeast Ohio's success by preserving and advancing its arts and culture sector. CPAC works to prove and promote our cultural assets, extraordinary contributions to our economy, education and quality of life. We help arts and culture prosper by fostering best practices in business development, sound cultural policy and in-depth research.
Cool Cleveland
Cleveland Events Newsletter
COSE Arts Network
Professional artists are faced with the unique challenge of working creatively every day, while also dealing with the same financial, technical, legal and marketing concerns many small businesses face. COSE aims to ease that burden for artists, so that they have time and energy remaining to do what they do best. COSE has made its health care and professional development resources more accessible to the arts entrepreneurs of Northeast Ohio. The COSE Arts Network, in partnership with the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (CPAC), creates an opportunity for the arts and business worlds to intersect through educational and networking events, access to resources, and unique promotional opportunities.
Great Lakes Theater Festival
The mission of Great Lakes Theater Festival is to bring the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience in northern Ohio. Since the company's inception in 1962, programming has been rooted in Shakespeare, but the Festival's commitment to great plays spans the breadth of all cultures, forms of theater and time periods including the 20th century, and provides for the occasional mounting of new works that compliment the classical repertoire.
Kent State University'sCleveland Urban Design Collaborative
The UDC is a community service organization with a professional staff of designers committed to improving the quality of urban places through technical design assistance, research and advocacy. Supported by the Ohio Board of Regents' Urban University Program and the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University, the UDC offers architectural and urban design expertise in the service of urban communities, design professionals, and the planning and public policy work of the state universities in Akron, Youngstown and Cleveland.
Museum of Contemporary Art
Founded as The New Gallery in 1968, and then renamed the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art in 1984, MOCA Cleveland continues to evolve in exciting new ways while producing original, compelling exhibitions. Over the past seven years, MOCA has become a major producer of exhibitions, which has fueled its reputation as a visionary leader. In addition to featuring the work of national and international artists, MOCA consistently showcases established and emerging artists living in the Cleveland area through continuing exhibition programs like the PULSE Series and the Wendy L. Moore Emerging Artist Series.
Near West Theater
There is no cultural arts program in Greater Cleveland like Near West Theatre (NWT). Based in the Ohio City neighborhood, it has a unique identity as a grassroots, intergenerational theatre with an emphasis on serving youth. Near West Theatre, through the theatre arts, delivers an inclusive, self-esteem building process that results in high-quality theatre productions and programming that help build Cleveland's Near West Side and surrounding neighborhoods; educates and raises awareness around issues of social justice, discrimination, and stigma; and provides people of all ages with the ability to nurture their sense of identity and strengthen their purpose as individuals and as a community.
Opera Cleveland
Our Mission is: Opera for Everyone. In pursuit of this mission we will:
Enrich the community of Northeast Ohio by providing staged productions that emotionally connect each audience member to the drama and passion of opera by casting dramatic singers and collaborating with dynamic creative teams.
Connect our educational resources to our public, neighborhoods, and schools in a way that promotes an engaged and confident future audience.
RED DOT Project
The RED DOT Project connects artists of Northeast Ohio with business opportunities. The project serves as an art resource for business, corporate, and individual clients, as well as gallery owners, curators, and art consultants looking for art to purchase, sell, or exhibit.
SPACES Gallery
SPACES advances the artist's vision. By providing freedom, resources and an audience, SPACES enables artists to engage the public in a vital dialogue about contemporary art. SPACES interacts directly with artists, promoting excellence and experimentation to produce challenging gallery exhibitions, public programs, residencies and publications.
Zygote Press
Zygote Press is a non-profit, cooperative, fine art printmaking workshop located in the Quadrangle arts district in the Superior/St. Clair neighborhood. The mission of Zygote is to enable artists to produce fine art prints within an atmosphere of collective exchange by providing them with affordable workspace and exhibition opportunities. Zygote is a resource dedicated to increasing awareness about contemporary printmaking by creating active communication among artist-printmakers and the broader community.
Local Non-Profit Organizations
The City Club of Cleveland
Established to encourage new ideas and a free exchange of thought, The City Club is the oldest continuous free speech forum in the country, renowned for its tradition of debate and discussion. The City Club firmly believes in the free expression of all ideas and the benefits of an open exchange. It is non-partisan and does not take positions on issues. All speakers must answer unfiltered, unrehearsed questions directly from the audience.
The Cleveland Foundation
Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is the world's first community foundation and the nation's third-largest today, with assets of $1.6 billion and annual grants nearing $85 million. The foundation improves the lives of Greater Clevelanders now and for generations to come by building community endowment, addressing needs through grantmaking, and providing leadership on vital issues.
Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition
The Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition serves as the collective voice of community development corporations in Cleveland. Our mission is to assist members by proactively engaging in advocacy and public policy that benefits Cleveland's community and economic development industry, providing strategic opportunities for broad and meaningful peer interaction and developing customized training programs with exposure to the best practices in the field.
The George Gund Foundation
The George Gund Foundation was established in 1952 as a private, nonprofit institution with the sole purpose of contributing to human well-being and the progress of society. Over the years, program objectives and emphases have been modified to meet the changing opportunities and problems of our society, but the foundation's basic goal of advancing human welfare remains constant.
Greater Cleveland Partnership
With more than 17,000 members, the Greater Cleveland Partnership is the largest private-sector economic development organization in Ohio. We serve as a catalyst to increase economic vitality in Greater Cleveland and the region.