Tri-C Theater Instructor Building Arts Incubator in Cleveland
Jimmie Woody rehabbing property at E. 138th and Harvard as arts complex
When deciding how to repurpose his father’s old corner store at E. 138th Street and Harvard Avenue in Cleveland, Jimmie Woody had numerous options.
The Cuyahoga Community College theater instructor had been approached by liquor stores, cellphone outlets and beauty supply businesses over the years. But Woody, an accomplished actor and artist, had bigger plans for the property, located in the city’s Lee-Harvard neighborhood. He wanted to use it as a place to make art and develop artists in the inner city.
Those plans are now coming to fruition with the Woody Restoration Arts Incubator Project, which aims to turn the old storefront, and an adjacent house, into a complex for local artists of color. Once complete, the complex could feature a black box theater, art gallery, artist lofts, yoga studio and café.
In a recent feature, The Land highlighted Woody and his ongoing work to turn his dream to reality.
“You just don’t have this kind of place in African American neighborhoods,” Woody told The Land. “It’s definitely changed my scope and made me realize that I am valued and that there are people who support this. I didn’t think I’d ever see this day happen.”
November 06, 2020
Erik Cassano, 216-987-3577 or erik.cassano@tri-c.edu