Ingenuity Fest

Interviews focusing on art and technology innovators, conducted by CPHDH staff at the inaugural Ingenuity Festival in downtown Cleveland.

A longtime resident of the near west side of Cleveland, Stella Gloch discusses her youth and employment in Cleveland. A longtime department store employee, Gloch observed many of the changes that Cleveland underwent from the 1960s. Gloch details memories of her neighborhood while criticizing the rapid changes taking place in Cleveland.

Three members of Recon, a subdivision of the politically active urban performance group The Shogun Assassins, discuss their involvement at the Ingenuity Festival. The members discuss their backgrounds and philosophy in depth, explaining how Cleveland's economic and social structure influences their progressive social agenda and performance. Discussions of race, class, and economic oppression detail the performers opinion of Cleveland as fertile ground for the broader struggle in America against…

Paul Biber sheds expertise and light on the business and entertainment industry in Cleveland. Barber details the challenges to Cleveland's entertainment districts and the effects of short-sightedness after the 1960s. Finally, Biber discusses plans to improve the city's future.

Todd Michney, born and raised in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, reflects on his experiences as a youth and his familiarization with Cleveland culture in the 1980s. Michney describes how de-industrialization and economic deterioration impacted the youth culture movement of which he was a part during the 1980s. Cleveland's environment is described as an inspiration for hardcore punk, guerrilla art, and teenage rebellion.

CSU professor Beth Cagan describes the significant changes that have occurred in Cleveland since she and her husband moved from New York City in the 1970s. Her honest descriptions and criticisms of the city shed light on the values that she believes need to be endorsed in order to foster city improvement.