Founder of Deep Roots
By Rebecca Meiser
Growing up in Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood, curator and gallery owner David Ramsey didn’t see much art. The Cleveland Museum of Art felt “like another state away,” he says and creative careers were something he couldn’t picture. Years later, that absence became his inspiration.
Through his gallery, Deep Roots Experience, Ramsey is building what he once needed, a space where Black and Brown artists can see themselves represented, where communities feel ownership over art, and where culture is not just displayed but lived. What began as a grassroots experiment on the corner of East 79th and Central in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood has evolved into a professional, citywide vision — one that’s now reshaping how institutions like the Cleveland Botanical Garden and University Hospitals connect with community.
Canvas: You’ve said that as a kid, art felt out of reach. How did that early experience shape your vision for Deep Roots?
I grew up in Buckeye, and honestly, I don’t remember seeing art. When you’re a kid, going to the Cleveland Museum of Art feels like going to another state, so it wasn’t often a thing. My attachment to art wasn’t clear to me then, but I knew I wanted to create something.
What I want now is for communities like the one I grew up in to have a clear, direct opportunity to engage with art, to be able to drive by on a Wednesday and see a space where art exists, where an artist might be painting or building something. That visibility matters. It’s the first step in developing a real relationship between communities and art.
You didn’t start out in the art world. How did you find your way here?
I graduated from Kent State in 2010 with a degree in Organizational Communications and went into PR. I worked at PR Newswire for six years, then at Kent in an outsourced training department. Slowly, I realized I was moving away from corporate messaging and toward service and support.
From there, I worked at the Boys and Girls Club in Akron, Youth Opportunities Unlimited, and then St. Luke’s Episcopal Church — that’s where I really started exploring what arts programming could look like. It was the first time I saw art as a tool for connection and healing.
What was the turning point that made you decide to open a gallery?
A good friend, Mr. Soul, invited me to Atlanta to meet artist Miya Bailey and others at the City of Ink anniversary show [an annual urban Atlanta art and tattoo exhibition celebrating community creativity and highlighting underground local artists]. That trip changed everything. It was an art show full of people just enjoying it — no elitism, no barriers about who you were or how you dressed.
I remember this moment clearly: a DJ named Mike Flo, who’s covered in tattoos and calls himself a “music shaman,” was standing next to a guy in a three-piece suit, both staring at the same art piece, deep in conversation. Two completely different people, connected through art. I’d never seen that in Cleveland. That was the lightbulb moment for me. I wanted to create a space that allowed culture to be represented in a way that wasn’t traditionally seen.
How did Deep Roots get started?
I had a friend who was running for council — he didn’t
win — but he had this space on the corner of 79th and Central. I remember seeing the big windows and the sunlight hitting them. It just looked cool.
When I told people about the idea for a gallery, nobody thought it was good. But I wanted to create a place where Black and Brown artists could show their work without feeling the heaviness of trying to fit into an art community that didn’t understand them. A place where they could exist as they are.
At first, it was rough. I didn’t know shit about lighting or hanging work. We just put stuff everywhere. But we learned. The first year, we featured about 60 pieces from artists I’d met through community programs or on Instagram. It wasn’t polished, but it was ours.
You’ve talked about wanting to make art spaces less
“sterile.” What do you mean by that?
Cleveland’s art scene isn’t intentionally elitist, but it can feel exclusionary. So many galleries are white walls and bright lights — sterile spaces that can strip the culture right out of the art. But culture isn’t sterile. It’s lively, active, emotional.
A gallery should be a clean slate for storytelling, yes — but the culture that story represents has to be present too. Otherwise, the work loses its meaning. Deep Roots is about keeping culture in the room.
How has your approach evolved since those early days?
At first, I said yes to everyone. I wanted everyone to feel included, but that made it hard to maintain quality. Over time, I realized we could honor artists and culture better by setting standards, by showing what excellence looks like.
People say art is subjective. I don’t fully agree. There are things that are innately more aesthetically pleasing, more visually engaging. The work we show now has to connect to culture and be visually strong — something that captures people, even if they don’t fully understand it.
So now, we’re more intentional. We’re not excluding
people — we’re elevating the craft.
Deep Roots has also collaborated with the Cleveland Botanical Garden. How did that partnership begin, and what did it grow into?
We’ve been connected with the Botanical Garden for about five years now, and it started pretty casually — someone called and said, “Hey, the Garden wants to give some money to do something, but we don’t know what.” I immediately thought of artist Asia Armour, who works in floral collage. One of her signature pieces, Puzzle Head, became the foundation for our first project: a living mural made of flowers and plants during Fresh Fest [a free annual festival celebrating music, art, community, wellness, and urban agriculture in the Kinsman area.] It was wild to see her artwork literally grow out of the ground.
That small project turned into a deeper partnership. Together, we created The Nature of Healing, a large-scale exhibition exploring how nature can help people process grief, loss, and trauma. We featured more than 30 artists — sculptors, painters, and installation artists — whose work lived throughout the Garden. It was the kind of show I’d always dreamed of building: immersive, emotional, and accessible. Over 5,000 people saw it.
Working with an institution like the Garden pushed me to think differently, not just about art, but about audience. They helped me broaden the project beyond grief to explore resilience and the relationship between hardship and nature. It taught me that when you bring art and nature together, you open people up. It’s not just about beauty; it’s about seeing feelings manifest in real time.
You also recently worked with University Hospitals in Glenville. What did that partnership look like?
That project really reflects what we mean when we say art is health. UH invited Deep Roots to curate art for two new community wellness centers — it was the first time they’d worked with a guest curator. We helped them acquire 21 pieces from nine local Black and brown artists, including Aldonte The Artist, Asia Armour, and Emanuel Wallace.
We spent about six months selecting the work to align with the themes of the wellness centers: healthy living, community, and belonging. The idea was that when people come in for a checkup, a class, or to pick up food pantry items, they’re surrounded by culture — not advertisements or sterile walls, but art that feels like home.
What impact have these partnerships had on you and on Deep Roots?
They confirmed for me that we can build anything — that we don’t need permission. As long as we hold ourselves to a high standard and stay rooted in culture, people will respond.
Working with places like the Botanical Garden and University Hospitals showed me what collaboration looks like at scale — how to lead across departments, manage big projects, and still keep the work intimate and real.
What’s next for Deep Roots and your broader vision?
When people walk into Deep Roots, I want them to feel safe. Black culture is safe — it’s welcoming, embracing, and allows anyone to experience its beauty. From there, I want people to feel engaged. Art should make you look, think, and feel.
We’re reopening soon with new energy and launching Deep Root Studios, a creative space for all our projects. Next year, we have a couple of solo shows planned, including Bee1ne and Asia Armour, though the lineup is still flexible. I’m finishing my MFA in Arts Administration, and we’re planning a pilot program in the Buckeye neighborhood to make art a permanent, institutional part of that community.
That’s home for me. My mom still lives there. My sons get their haircuts at the same barbershop I did. That neighborhood deserves to have culture rooted right where it lives.
