The Plain Dealer published [1] early details for a wonderful vision that has been developed by the Beck Board of Directors, with the City of Lakewood and the Lakewood schools, that will offer all of NEO a wonderful arts and learning asset for the future. "The Beck Center for the Arts will stay in Lakewood and form a partnership with city schools to create an arts-education academy that would anchor a possible cultural district in Lakewood's west end." "Other potential partners could include colleges and businesses." Sounds like a great opportunity for the CIA, and perhaps Kent State, wo have a valuable presence on the West Side!
This is a much more attractive vision than had been bouncing around town of the Beck moving to Crocker Park, in Westlake, and, in fact, is an exceptional idea. Lakewood and the surrounding inner suburbs have large, young populations likely to take good advantage of such an asset and really appreciate it. Since I learned of the Beck Center's problems, my son has started taking classes there, and they are great (I live a bit east, in Cleveland). Having a cultural community in Lakewood fits that community's identity perfectly, and having this close to the urban core makes downtown more attractive. This also fits with conventional wisdom of leveraging investments, as explained by the Gund Foundation:
"At the bottom of this fundamentally is the issue of sprawl," says George Gund Foundation Arts program officer Deena Epstein, talking about the situation. "We have invested in organizations in the core city and the inner ring," she continued. "We can't afford to replicate those farther out in the suburbs, nor should we."
Now, NEO, reward the wisdom of the Beck Board with the support of the region. Go to their website [2] and find a class or performance to attend... if you have a company that may sponsor something, give them a call... buy art exhibited there... post a comment of thanks here... do your part to reinforce their vision with good outcomes.