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Public Art
View the City of Shaker Heights Public Art Policy (2023)
Current Projects
Lee Road Murals (2026)
Thanks to a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, the City has contracted with artists Darius Steward and Snack Break Studio to create two murals for the Lee Road commercial district south of Chagrin Blvd. The murals will be developed in collaboration with the surrounding neighborhoods and will be installed in 2026.
Recent Projects
Woven Edge
The City worked with RAWORK on Woven Edge, a new public artwork in Hildana Park in the Moreland neighborhood. Woven Edge draws from the many front porches in this neighborhood – a familiar symbol of welcome, conversation, and everyday life. The bench extends this tradition into the park, creating a gentle threshold where the neighbourhood meets the landscape. Woven Edge was fabricated by the Cleveland-based fabricators Mark Benton and Stephen Manka.
Shaped for gathering, leaning, pausing, and looking out, the bench takes its cues from the traditional elements of a porch – the stripped wood slats, the crafted tectonics, and the warm, elongated form that invites you to settle in. It becomes an important place for all: a spot where children wait for friends, neighbours exchange a few words, and families find a moment of rest on their walks. It holds the small, daily rhythms that define the community.
Along its curved form, the bench carries two painted faces that reveal themselves as you move. The colours shift subtly with every step, bringing the piece to life and creating a quiet sense of animation. This changing view reflects the layered stories of Moreland – understood not all at once, but through movement, encounters, and shared presence over time.
In this way, the bench is more than a seat. It is a place to gather and a place to be seen; a marker of belonging woven into the everyday fabric of Shaker Heights.
Hear-Here at the Van Aken District (2025)
The City worked with artists Krivanek + Breaux on a public art installation for the Van Aken District. The installation is in the new public plaza created as part of the City's upgrades to the public transit areas of the Van Aken District. Not only will this signature artwork help activate and beautify this space, it will also serve as a shade structure for the plaza. The new plaza is between Walgreens and the RTA busway. RTA is building a new transit hub adjacent to the plaza. Here, Hear was fabricated by Cleveland-based Diesel Designs and Dion art
Photo by Robert Muller
Reader's Garden (2024)
Donated by former Mayor Judy Rawson and Bob Rawson, Reader's Garden is located on the green space along the side of the Main Branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library. at the southwest corner of Lee Road and Van Aken Boulevard. Created by Jaemee Studio, the installation features a series of book sculptures highlighting books by Shaker and Cleveland-area authors on which the community can sit, climb, play and gather. This work was fabricated by The Rustbelt Welding Company and painted by Michael Sobeck. Learn more about Reader's Garden.
Photo by SHAPE Cleveland.