Taking Up SPACES

A new executive director for Cleveland’s groundbreaking gallery

Sheryl Hoffman (left) steps into Susan Channing’s really cool shoes.

By Lyz Bly

In 1985, the board members of SPACES “abducted” Susan Channing at the gallery’s annual fund-raising party. She would be released on one condition – that she accept their invitation to become the organization’s third executive director. Their mischievously spirited plan worked; Channing was released that November night, and she returned to SPACES on January 6, 1986, to begin a 21-year career as head of Cleveland’s renowned alternative, artist-run gallery.

This long chapter in Channing’s career will come to an end this month, as she leaves her role as director to care for her 96-year-old mother. “It’s difficult to break from SPACES,” says Channing, “but my family is my priority, and I know that I am leaving at a good time.”

SPACES board chair John Williams encouraged Sheryl Hoffman, founding director of Art House, a vibrant nonprofit art center in the Brooklyn Centre neighborhood, to apply for the director’s job. Initially, Hoffman didn’t feel ready to make a career change. “As founding director [of Art House], I felt very attached,” she says, “but I had a change of heart when I realized that my hesitancy was connected to the comfort zone I’d created for myself at Art House.”

In retrospect, Hoffman likens her eventual decision to apply for the SPACES job to the spirit that pervades the gallery’s exhibitions and programs. “SPACES has always been about pushing boundaries and taking risks,” she says. “As an artist and a creative thinker, this is where I need to be; on personal and professional levels, I am thrilled to be able to reconnect with the possibilities provoked by contemporary art.”

Williams was thrilled when Hoffman agreed to be interviewed. “She came to the meeting with pages of thoughtful questions,” he says. “I remember thinking ‘this is a good sign.’” Hoffman won over the rest of the search committee with her administrative and fund-raising experience, and energetic, vivacious personality. “It’s pleasantly ironic,” Williams muses, “we interviewed 12 candidates from around the country, and found the perfect candidate just a few miles away.”

Channing agrees. “The board and staff [of SPACES] are capable, creative and committed, and Sheryl will bring new energy, talent and ideas to the table.”

Hoffman’s directorship begins at a historic moment, as SPACES will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2008. The gallery Hoffman will inherit on October 22 is quite different from the one Channing took leadership of in 1986. On Channing’s first day of work, the gallery was housed in a rented space in the Warehouse District; today, SPACES is located on Superior Viaduct amidst the burgeoning development of condominiums, restaurants and businesses. Thanks to thoughtful planning and the financial support of local and national foundations, the mortgage was paid off in 1990, and SPACES owns its building. In 21 years, the staff has more than doubled, increasing from three full-time people in 1986 to seven in 2007. Moreover, the board, which initially was composed entirely of artists, is now a healthy combination of artists and businesspeople.

More important are the programs created during Channing’s 21-year tenure. SPACELab, for instance, was established in 1994 in response to the need for a place for students and young artists to show their work. It has lived up to its name as a laboratory where emerging artists can explore experimental projects and ideas. Another programmatic jewel of Channing’s reign is the SPACES World Artist Program, or SWAP, which began in 2002. The six-week residency provides regional, national and international artists with the opportunity to create new work and interact with Cleveland’s people and institutions. The drive to eradicate, explore and test boundaries between art and life is at the heart of SWAP’s mission. For this reason alone, it may be the greatest gift SPACES imparted to the community during Channing’s term.

One of Hoffman’s goals for SPACES is to strengthen the gallery’s connections with students from regional colleges and universities. “Young people are on the cutting edge of contemporary art-making and technology – they belong at SPACES,” she says. When asked about his thoughts on SPACES’ future, Williams recounts an experience he had while representing the gallery at a conference. “Leaders from alternative spaces from all over the country kept introducing themselves to me, telling me that SPACES is what their organizations aspire to be,” he explains. “After that conference, I understood the significance of SPACES. Now my goal is to make as many people as possible aware of the remarkable institution they have in their midst.”

Channing has many fond memories of her 21-year directorship. When asked to name two or three of her favorite exhibitions, she has difficulty narrowing her list to fewer than 10. What will she miss the most about her job?

“What I have always valued is that this organization is, at its core, an artist-run endeavor,” she says. “I will miss being a major part of an environment that brings artists, thinkers and creative people together to address the important social and political issues of our time.”

Pick up a copy of Northern Ohio Live at your favorite newsstand or subscribe online now. No credit card required. We’ll bill you later.