© 2020 KAITLYN WENTZ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ARTS AND CULTURE INFLUENCERS: TWO PHILANTHROPISTS’ IMPACT ON THE NORTHEAST OHIO REGION A Thesis PresenteD to The GraDuate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts KAITLYN WENTZ May, 2020 ARTS AND CULTURE INFLUENCERS: TWO PHILANTHROPISTS’ IMPACT ON THE NORTHEAST OHIO REGION Kaitlyn Wentz Thesis ApproveD: AccepteD: ______________________________ ___________________________ Advisor School Director James Slowiak Dr. Marc ReeD ______________________________ ___________________________ Committee Member Interim Dean of the College ArnolD Tunstall Dr. LinDa Subich ______________________________ ___________________________ Committee Member Acting Dean of the GraDuate Courtney Cable School Dr. Marnie SaunDers ___________________________ Date ii ABSTRACT In a time of constant threat to funDing, elimination of the National EnDowment, anD competition over resources, philanthropy in the arts anD culture sector is inDispensable to the vibrancy anD economic Development of a city’s core. The arts anD culture sector is consiDereD to take away from an economy’s financial resources. However, it is the exact opposite. It is a thriving sector that contributes to the economy by creating jobs, spenDing money at local businesses, anD bringing in cultural tourists. FreD BiDwell anD Rick Rogers have a long history of philanthropy in this sector, anD their DemonstrateD support has leD to efforts of revitalization, vibrancy, anD Dollars spent in the cities of Akron anD ClevelanD. This thesis explores the history, issues, and successes of the two cultural proDucers’ philanthropy efforts in the sector anD the impact that their support has brought to the Northeast Ohio region. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 II. PROFILE: FRED BIDWELL .............................................................................. 9 III. FRONT AND BEYOND .................................................................................. 30 IV. PROFILE: RICK ROGERS ............................................................................ 54 V. PISH POSH AND BEYOND .......................................................................... 73 VI. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................. 97 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 102 APPENDIX ....................................................................................................... 127 iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION "The arts anD culture sectors aren't just nice to have but they are a smart investment to make," saiD Nicole Mullet, executive Director of ArtsNow in Akron, OH. At the Arts FunD Forum event in December 2019, Alberto Ibargüen, presiDent anD CEO of the John S. anD James L. Knight FounDation (Knight FounDation), DescribeD a crossroaDs Decision for Miami, FloriDa. Before it became known for Miami Art Week, a week in early December that attracts visitors to the city for many art events incluDing temporary art fairs such as Art Basel Miami, UNTITLED, Context, Art Miami, Aqua Art Miami, anD more, the city was regardeD by Developers as a tourist attraction for its beaches. The Knight FounDation expresseD interest in turning the city into a Destination for art. However, the founDation receiveD pushback from resisting parties claiming that Miami is a beach Destination. Years later, the city’s art scene stanDs out as one of the Defining characteristics of Miami. When the Knight FounDation saw the possibility of investing in the arts, it took the opportunity. Alberto Ibargüen explaineD the Knight FounDation’s contributions to the scene: 1 Arts anD culture connect people to place anD to each other. A Dozen years ago, we perceiveD a trenD anD openness toward the arts in Miami anD DeciDeD to accelerate anD leverage it. We’ve investeD $165 million since then. (“Knight”) For 12 straight years, Knight Arts Challenge, a matching grant program to help bring arts anD culture to neighborhooDs, has kickeD off Miami Art Week in order to elevate Miami artists as the art worlD’s galleries anD patrons arrive for the Defining art event in the UniteD States. Miami has now transformeD into a year- rounD arts town, an economic generator, anD a social connection to people anD place. The foundation’s impact coupleD with the influence of philanthropists such as Don anD Mera Rubell anD Tony GolDman have contributeD to raising the arts scene in Miami even higher. Each of these art funDers contributeD to the vibrant arts anD culture scene of Miami, making the city evolve into more than just a beach Destination. In 1993, Don anD Mera Rubell brought their private art collection to the public with the opening of a former DEA warehouse in WynwooD. The Rubells recently moveD their operations to a builDing in the Allapattah neighborhooD, marking the transformation of their collection into a museum. BesiDes helping to revitalize the WynwooD neighborhooD, the couple persuaDeD Lorenzo RuDolf, Director of Art Basel, to bring a satellite version of the internationally renowneD Swiss art fair to Miami (Markowitz). The impact of their persuasion results in thousanDs of visitors to South FloriDa. From December 5 through 8, 2019, Art Basel Miami alone brought in an attenDance of 81,000 visitors (“Art Basel”). 2 Tony GolDman (d. 2012), a real estate Developer anD preservationist, revitalizeD Miami’s WynwooD neighborhooD from a Desolate area into one of the city’s most popular public art attractions, WynwooD Walls, in just ten years. GolDman offereD the walls of the neighborhooD’s abanDoneD warehouses as blank canvases to street artists. By offering the walls to artists, GolDman essentially createD an outDoor art museum that has transformeD WynwooD into a thriving arts District. Every year leaDing up to Miami Art Week, commissioneD mural artists paint the walls of WynwooD to attract visitors anD tourists to the area. The neighborhooD is a vital economic anD tourism Driver for the city of Miami. In 2018, 2.9 million people visiteD WynwooD spenDing $526 million in the area (RoDriguez). The funDers DescribeD in the previous paragraphs Demonstrate the power of the arts as an economic anD revitalization tool, even for a city like Miami that has other aDvantages going for it. The work being Done by philanthropists such as the Rubells anD Tony GolDman contribute to the efforts of the Knight FounDation. Miami Does not alone DepenD on its beaches to attract money anD people to the city. Unlike Miami, Rust Belt cities in Ohio are not known as beach Destinations or for warm weather. Those aspects are aDvantageous perks of the South FloriDa area. More likely, Rust Belt cities in Northeast Ohio are known for polluteD rivers anD lakefronts, Due to the infamous burning of the Cuyahoga River in 1969. During those Days, water pollution enDureD as a consequence of the inDustrial lanDscape that profiteD the economy. However, many of those 3 inDustries have since left. The Departure of heavy inDustries and the resulting Decline in population has been prevalent in Ohio Rust Belt cities like ClevelanD and Akron. SituateD on the shore of Lake Erie in northeast Ohio, ClevelanD was once one of the wealthiest cities in the nation, anD, in the 1920s, the city was an inDustrial powerhouse peaking as the fifth-largest city in the country (Vora). The founDing of many of the city’s anchor arts institutions like the ClevelanD Museum of Art, The ClevelanD Orchestra, the ClevelanD Museum of Natural History, anD ClevelanD Play House occurreD During this time of economic prosperity. Though ClevelanD prospereD anD brought with it a highly regardeD art scene, the city began to see post-WorlD War II urbanization anD manufacturing jobs move abroaD (Vora). The city's population peakeD at almost one million people in 1950 anD has experienceD a steaDy Decline since. In 2017, the population totaleD 385,525, according to the UniteD States Census Bureau. Unlike ClevelanD, Akron DiD not Develop along a major lake or river, rather the artificial waterway, the Ohio anD Erie Canal. Similar to ClevelanD, the traDitional and highly pollutive inDustry that allowed Akron to prosper During the 19th anD early 20th centuries began to Decline after the miD-20th century. Still known toDay as the "Rubber Capital of the WorlD," the 1950s markeD the height of Akron's inDustrial sector in tire manufacturing. Akron-baseD rubber companies such as B.F. GooDrich, Firestone, anD GooDyear feD the nation's automotive appetite with their tires (Harper). According to the UniteD States Census Bureau, 4 the city’s population peakeD in 1960 with a population of 290,351. However, as foreign competition began to rise, the rubber inDustry in Akron began to Decline. In 1964, the inDustry employeD 37,100 people, but, by the 1990s, it haD significantly DeclineD to 5,000 (Renn). With the Decline of the inDustry’s ability to proviDe jobs, Akron saw a resulting Decline in population. In 2017, Akron’s population totaled 197,846, according to the UniteD States Census Bureau. As a result of this economic Downturn, these two Rust Belt cities have experienceD a Declining population. The shifts in the job inDustry continue toDay, but now these inDustries are being replaceD by others. There is a misconception that the community supports arts anD culture at a loss. However, according to the stuDy,