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Deidre McPherson

@dmcphcle

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I help people navigate Cleveland’s arts ecosystem @assemblycle / founding director @bikeyourneighborhoodcle 🚴🏿 /organizer @sistah_sinemacleveland 🏳️‍🌈

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13 days ago

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2 months ago

🎉 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝟭𝟰 | 𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗛 𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗠𝗔 𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗
Join us for a film + open mic amplifying the voices and experiences of queer women of color on Sunday, June 14, 2026 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM at SPACES Cleveland @spacescle.

𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝘈 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 & 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘶𝘥𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦
An intimate portrait of Black lesbian poet, teacher, mother, and activist Audre Lorde, tracing her impact across the Civil Rights, feminist, and LGBTQ+ movements.

𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗜𝗖 Audre Lorde-inspired performances welcome. Featuring Nedra Johnson and Storme Webber.

𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 SPACES 2900 Detroit Ave Cleveland, OH 44113

Sponsored by AIDS Task Force of Greater Cleveland | Community Partner: LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland

🎟️ $15 — TINYURL.COM/SISTAHAUDRE by @dmcphcle

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2 months ago

MetroHealth just invested $700K into our local creative economy by outfitting its new Outpatient Center with incredible art from over 100 artists.

The Center opens later this month, but last night I had the opportunity to tour the building, experience these artworks in their permanent locations and hear directly from many of the artists that created them. Their work will touch the lives and bring joy and hope to thousands of patients and health care workers everyday.

Congratulations to Linda Jackson (MetroHealth Center for arts in health director) and everyone at @landstudio that led the curation of this project. I was so happy to be there last night to celebrate with you and all the artists! ✨✨✨ taken in MetroHealth Main Campus Medical Center by @dmcphcle

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8 days ago

Trying to get what little game I got back with @forestcitytennisclub_1912 We Up Wednesdays! And yes, we beat the heat and stayed hydrated today. 😅💦 taken in Rockefeller Tennis Courts by @dmcphcle

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24 days ago

More highlights from this year’s epic @tricjazzfest! ✨ taken in Playhouse Square by @dmcphcle

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a month ago

I stopped by the annual Rediscover Veterans Memorial Bridge event yesterday. Also known as the Detroit-Superior Bridge, we cross this bridge from east to west all the time and don’t really think about it. Well Cuyahoga County @cuyahogacounty is thinking about it. The vision is to eventually transform the bridge’s lower level into a public space for walking, biking, and experiencing the city from an entirely new perspective.

Yesterday’s event featured guided tours and live music on the bridge. I stopped to catch the always-lovely and incredibly talented Sadhu @sadhu_sounds perform before heading over to Tri-C JazzFest.

Walking across the bridge feels like stepping into a hidden piece of Cleveland history. Long before @ridegcrta Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority existed, trolleys ran across the bridge’s lower level between 1918 and 1954. When crossing the bridge, you’re treated to incredible views of The Flats, the Cuyahoga River, and the future Irishtown Bend Park, currently under construction (estimated completion 2029).

Cleveland has two waterfronts—Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River—and I’m excited by the momentum behind making both more publicly accessible, welcoming, and beautiful. With more than $3 billion being invested in waterfront development in coming years, these waterfronts are being transformed from places we simply pass by into connected, vibrant public spaces where history, nature, recreation, arts & culture, and community come together. It’s an exciting of how we’ll experience—and define—Cleveland for generations to come. taken in Cleveland, Ohio by @dmcphcle

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a month ago

What a joy it was to be in Downtown Cleveland for Tri-C JazzFest last night! June 26 has officially been declared DURAND BERNARR DAY in Cleveland in honor of the Grammy Award Winning hometown hero. The night opened with a LeVert tribute concert by local legends Hubbs Groove. LeVert, another Cleveland-bred talent, helped define the sound of R&B in the 1980s and 1990s. Tonight Cleveland-born, internationally acclaimed Laurin Talese headlines. Much to celebrate and be proud of Cleveland.

I love that the JazzFest did an equal amount of locally and internationally renowned music artists both indoors (ticketed) and outdoors (free), making the JazzFest experience more accessible and equitable than ever in its 47th year. For example, last night Tony Award Winning choreographer and tap dancer Savion Glover did a free outdoor set with a guest appearance by Weedie Braimah. And Hubbs Groove opened for Durand Bernarr in State Theater. All of the stages provided an elevated experience for audiences.

Today there’s a stellar lineup of free performances outside under the Playhouse Sq chandelier. Check out the schedule in the link in my bio. taken in Playhouse Square by @dmcphcle

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a month ago

Sistah Sinema provides reel Ohio opportunities to amplify queer women of color through film and dialogue.

‘Queer women of color are often treated like we’re invisible, and having a platform like Sistah Sinema is our way of communicating that our stories matter.’

🔗 Hit the LINK IN OUR BIO for the full story.

#LGBTQ #Ohio #RepresentationMatters #BIPOC taken in Ohio by @dmcphcle

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2 months ago

Sharing a few photos of the arts in action around my hometown, the City of Cleveland Heights. The City is conducting an Artist Housing Feasibility Study and will be hosting a series of community conversations to explore creative space needs and the broader creative economy. The goal of this effort is to better understand and evaluate the potential for a mixed-use, artist-focused development.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
If you are an artist, maker, creative, arts worker, or creative business owner—and you live in Cleveland Heights or nearby communities (East Cleveland, Cleveland, Shaker Heights, University Heights, South Euclid), you’re invited to attend an upcoming session. These conversations are an opportunity to share your perspectives on the need for affordable live/workspaces for artists.

The arts have a great legacy in Cleveland Heights, from Coventry Village to Cedar Lee, with continued growth and investment in other neighborhoods. It’s encouraging to see the City intentionally recognize the vital role arts and culture play in shaping our neighborhoods and quality of life by making an investment in this feasibility study. A vibrant arts community depends on artists, and this initiative reflects a meaningful step toward ensuring Cleveland Heights remains an attractive and supportive place for creatives to live and work.

As a member of the Cleveland Heights Artist Steering Committee, I am helping to spread the word and encourage participation from artists of all disciplines, community creatives, and arts workers. Please consider this your invitation to attend, share your voice, and help inform the project team. Your input will serve as an important sounding board as they work to better understand and support arts & culture in Cleveland Heights. taken in Cleveland Heights, Ohio by @dmcphcle

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2 months ago

I flew into Atlanta on my way to Savannah last weekend to check out the exhibition, Amy Sherald: American Sublime at the @highmuseumofart . Amy Sherald has become one of my favorite artists because her work feels like a love letter to Black people. Her portraits are a celebration of our beauty, dignity, and everyday lives and are a reminder of how important it is to feel seen. The scale of some of these paintings was huge.

Of course, her famous portrait of Michelle Obama was included, and the painting of Breonna Taylor that was commissioned by Vanity Fair for their 2020 magazine cover (I went to Louisville to see this). Another favorite in the show for me was “For Love, and for Country,” which reimagines Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic 1945 photo but with two Black men kissing.

Another reason why I wanted to see this show is because last year, this exhibition was supposed to travel to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery but Any Sherald had to withdraw the show due to censorship. The federally funded museum raised concerns about including her painting “Trans Forming Liberty,” a portrait of a transwoman reimagined as the Statue of Liberty. Last year the current administration was aggressively targeting trans people and issuing executive orders to erase America’s history of racist violence. When she cancelled the show, she said “It’s clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role.”

This show was stunning and incredibly moving to see in person. It left me thinking about visibility, belonging, and the power of art to tell fuller stories about who we are as a nation. taken in High Museum of Art, Atlanta by @dmcphcle

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2 months ago