Thu 7/24 @ 7pm
By John Benson
It’s safe to say Cleveland’s image has been reshaped in recent weeks with big announcements garnering national attention.
However, what is the Rock Hall City’s image? That’s an answer American Institute of Architects (AIA) Cleveland hopes to answer with its inaugural “Speakers on the Square: identityCLE?” panel discussion taking place Thu 7/24 at PlayhouseSquare’s U.S. Bank Plaza.
Moderated by architecture critic and historian Michael Abrahamson, the event features four talented and local multi-disciplinary designers and architects – Jennifer Coleman (City of Cleveland Landmarks Commission), Kip Lee (CWRU Manage by Designing Program), Stephanie Sheldon (Cleveland Flea) and Marika Shioiri-Clark (SOSHL Studio) – discussing what it means to work in Cleveland.
Cool Cleveland talked to AIA Cleveland’s Sara N. Shonk about “Speakers on the Square.”
Cool Cleveland: First of all, what’s the American Institute of Architects?
Sara N. Shonk: We’re a national organization that is the voice of the architectural profession and a resource to its members in service to society. As the local chapter, AIA Cleveland is a professional association that promotes the value of architecture and design, fosters collegiality, advocates for local members, educates and supports architects as leaders in the community.
So how does “Speakers on the Square” fit into AIA Cleveland’s mission?
It’s to recharge the community and to really engage downtown Cleveland, especially with all of the growth. What we did was choose a panel of people who are related to the design and the architecture industry. We’re bringing them together with a moderator to discuss what is Cleveland’s identity.
OK, let’s talk about that. How do you define Cleveland’s identity?
We’re really excited to see Positively Cleveland’s new branding campaign. We wanted to hear from a design prospective how these people from Cleveland thought about the city. Cleveland has the reputation of being a rust belt city, and I think in the last two years it’s really starting to come alive with its own identity. There’s a lot of excitement going on with LeBron, new construction and with the national convention coming. We really hope to take off that excitement and start making Cleveland stand out. So this is coming together, it’s mainly from a design perspective to define what is Cleveland and why is Cleveland awesome.
What exactly will be discussed?
We’re expecting panelists to interact with each other and have a conversation instead of a lecture. So it really is going to make it a dynamic night. We have a wide variety of talent among panel guests so we can go from anywhere from pop-up parties, designing for social change and talking about design and businesses to computer apps and other things that touch the ordinary person on a daily basis.
Finally, so just to clarify, for the layman in the audience this won’t be, well, over their heads?
No, even though a lot of our speakers have architectural backgrounds, many of them are not practicing architects or they might be but in a different way. We’re looking at how we shape Cleveland. This is not going to be a stuffy architecture conversation. It’s going to be talking about the city and what’s important to people who live here, and how design or progress how does that affect anyone living here or commuting. That’s our goal.
“Speakers on the Square” takes place at 7 p.m. Thu 7/24 on Star Plaza in Playhouse Square. Drinks and burgers available at Dynomite café. This event is free and open to the public.
Freelance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio.
When he’s not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria. John also occasionally writes for CoolCleveland.com.