Submitted Photos / Brady Dindia
Artful Cleveland Finds a New Home in Historic Cleveland Heights Church
By Alyssa Schmitt
After sitting empty for five years, the former St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights will host a different kind of congregation: one of artists at work.
When ARTFUL Cleveland unlocked the church’s doors in May, it wasn’t just moving in – it was securing its spot in the community. The nonprofit, known for providing affordable and accessible studios, had been without a permanent home since being displaced from the Coventry PEACE Building in Cleveland Heights on January 31, 2025, after its landlord, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, asked tenants to vacate due to financial concerns and disagreements about the building’s future, multiple local news outlets reported.
Cleveland Heights artist Donna Marchetti, an ARTFUL resident since October 2023, was angry when she heard the news about losing the space “I had just gotten myself into this wonderful situation and then it looked like it might just disappear because we had no idea where we were going to go,” she says.
As relocation became inevitable, ARTFUL’s leadership knew they needed to stay in Cleveland Heights, where the community feels safe and family-friendly, yet close enough to Cleveland to attract a good mix of artists, explains Shannon Morris, ARTFUL’s co-founder and executive director. Discovering the church felt like the building’s natural next chapter.
“(The diocese) have to let go of a beloved space and they want it used for a mission-based organization,” she says. “It makes them feel good about letting go to give it to someone that’s going to use it as a community builder.”
From idea to artist hub
When Morris, a University Heights resident, first envisioned ARTFUL, she was looking for a safe, affordable, collaborative studio close to home where she could work.
“I just recognized that there wasn’t any studio space available that (fit) what I was looking for,” she says. “So I decided that I was going to change that.”
In 2015, she invited every artist she knew to a meeting at her house. She pitched her idea for a studio space and asked, “who wants to help?” Brady Dindia, co-founder and board president, immediately signed on and the board was formed from that meeting.
In 2017, ARTFUL opened in the Coventry PEACE Building, growing to 27 studios and hosting events including PEACE Pops, the Lantern Festival and Juneteenth exhibitions.
Sacred Space turned Creative Sanctuary
The church’s story began at the corner of Murray Hill Road and Fairview Avenue, according to the Episcopal Asset Map. Completed in 1892, the original building was moved by ox cart in 1897 up the hill to its current location and rebuilt after a 1989 fire. The church later served both Episcopal and Jewish congregations, including a satellite space designed with Rabbi Bruce Abrams of Temple Ner Tamid.
When negotiating the purchase with the diocese, ARTFUL needed to quickly raise $500,000 through anonymous donations and bought the building for $300,000. The first 12 artists moved in on Aug. 1, with another eight expected around Sept. 1 once the next studios are finished. After that, Morris says, the focus will shift to creating an upstairs space for members.
Because the organization agreed to buy the building in its current state, the remainder of the funds it raised will be used for restorations, explains Morris, which are many.
“Changing it into studios is the easiest part,” says Morris, who is also serving as the building manager during this process.
The challenging parts include major investments in new siding, A/C and a sprinkler system, the latter of which was lacking from the building because places of worship are exempt from having fire suppression systems. ARTFUL can’t host events until it’s installed. Plans also include adding kilns, converting the commercial kitchen into a printmaking studio and using the sanctuary as an event space.
An inside look at the former St. Alban’s Episcopal Church’s sanctuary, which is planned to be used for events.
Photo courtesy of Shannon Morris.
Despite the challenges, having a studio outside the home is essential for artists, says Wendy Weil, a resident artist at ARTFUL since 2024. It allows them to leave work in progress, experiment freely — even throw paint at a canvas, as Weil has — and work on multiple pieces at once.
“It helps you get to the next stage of creating art, and there is a benefit to (artists) being around each other, you just continue to grow,” says Weil.
Looking to the future
Now that the organization has its own space, it plans to introduce tiered memberships, open studio hours and more opportunities for the public to engage with resident artists, Morris says. When looking to the future, she hopes to see the community using the building will help shape it.
Marchetti sees potential in the building’s green space. As a textile artist, she envisions using the raised flower beds for a collaborative dye garden with another textile artist, growing plants for their dyes on-site.
Both artists and leadership share excitement for what’s ahead, envisioning the space evolving through creativity, collaboration and community involvement.
“I’m really happy to see that Shannon and the people that work closely with her have this independence to really grow this into their vision,” Weil says. “It’s just a process, but I can’t wait until we can have one of those events like we had at ARTFUL where the community can come in and see everything.”
