Gordon Square Arts District to be adorned with 8 new murals

Two artists are set to collaborate on the first of eight murals in the Detroit Shoreway area of the Gordon Square Arts District. Eileen Dorsey, a Cleveland area painter, as well as Chicago-based graffiti artist Ish Muhammad were chosen for the project, according to ABC News Cleveland.

The goal of the project is to liven up the area, as well as to provide visitors with an example of how various types of artists can work together to create. Stamy Paul, commissioner of the project, hopes that it also will provide the community with a way to appreciate graffiti as an art form.

The murals are set to be completed within the next six months.

Frank Jackson shows strong lead in primary election for mayor

Incumbent mayor of Cleveland, Frank Jackson, won 15 out of 17 of the city’s wards as well as a majority of the city’s precincts in the Sept. 12 mayoral primary, according to Cleveland.com.

In the unofficial tally, Jackson won 38.7 percent of Cleveland votes. Coming in second was Zack Reed, current Ward 2 councilman, with 21.9 percent of the total votes. This vote count is set to change once all absentee ballots have been counted, and the two top candidates with proceed to the general election on Nov. 7.

Cleveland State University receives attention for destruction of 9/11 chalk memorial created by students

Cleveland State University students created a chalk memorial Sunday night in remembrance of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The maintenance department is now receiving negative attention from far-right political groups for removing the mural from in front of the university center on Saturday morning, the 16th anniversary of the attacks, according to ABC News Cleveland.

CSU has explained that students are not allowed to use chalk to draw on campus property, regardless of the message, and that the removal of the memorial was not politically motivated.

However, they later released a statement that said, “Had there been communication between all parties prior to the application of this signage we would have allowed this message to remain on campus for an appropriate period of time.”

Mayor Frank Jackson speaks on race report relations report at city hall

A new race relations report, sponsored by MetroHealth System’s Inclusion and Diversity Department as well as the Cleveland Community Relations Board, looked into the ways Cleveland could foster diversity and mitigate racial tension. Mayor Frank Jackson spoke on the report findings on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Cleveland.com, the report found that the city should work with residents to share wealth and opportunity, as well as inform personal bias and privilege, suggesting that talking about race is the key to improving race relations. Jackson and the members of his cabinet intend to use the report as a guide in projects meant to strengthen equality among Cleveland’s residents and to support the continuing conversation on race.

Jackson said that it was important that city projects continue to benefit all members of the community by providing long term employment opportunities and ongoing communication.