High Art Fridays: the Sustainable Art of Plastics opened on July 6 and ran through August 26 at the Beachwood Community Center: 25325 Fairmount Boulevard.  This exhibition is the third in-person display for this project.  This show’s main feature is the display of over fifty plastic-embellished Art Hats made by local, national, and international artists, along with an inclusion of Cleveland’s various population segments, including a group of twenty-third graders from Dennison Elementary School. In addition to the Art Hats display in the prestigious Beachwood atrium,  Artist Ron Shelton will showcase some of his latest plastic trash into art in one of the center’s galleries.  This project debuted on July 6, 2020, through a virtual arts residency called Empty Room -an international project out of Mozambique,  that developed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.   In July 2020, RampArts Gallery was our project’s first in-person exhibition.  HAF: the Sustainable Art of Plastics, had the premier opening at Art House, Inc., in December 2020.

We hope that seeing the Art Hats created by found plastics and designed by a variety of artists (local and international) will heighten consumers’ awareness of plastic usage and plastic waste.  The colors, differently shaped plastics, and the artists’ talent certainly shine a light on Ron’s mission. This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to enrich lives through knowledge and art. In addition to the exhibit, we are offering the opportunity for the community to create a hat and learn more about plastic usage and plastic waste via a presentation regarding sustainability Susan Merdler, Beachwood Community Center