Donald Black, Jr. was trying to do the right thing. The photographer’s work has been shown in New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. But last fall, he decided to move back home to the East Side of Cleveland.
He grew up here, graduating from the Cleveland School of the Arts. But at 27, he decided it was time to give back. So he shunned the obligatory downtown studio in favor of a gallery on Lee Road, south of Chagrin.
“I want to be in a comfortable place, where people are,” he says…
It’s the kind of barren, unlit strip that entails a long ride to the ER if you ever get show. But Black taught student workshops, and planned to launch a non-profit art mentoring program for city kids. “I’m looking at myself as a blueprint of an inner-city youth not gone wrong,” he says.
But just two months after opening, reality set in. In January, someone broke in and stole all seven of his cameras. Welcome home, son.
After listening to a detective explain that his evidence would likely get lost under a pile of unsolved homicides – You want us to investigate a robbery? What, are you from France? -- Black’s trying to move on. He’s holding a fundraiser to get back on track.
The reception will be help April 19 at his Warrior of Light Gallery, 3817 Lee Rd. For more info. -- Lisa Rab
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