On a warm Saturday, September 27, Cleveland’s AsiaTown glowed with community, music, dance, food and the unveiling of five new public art installations. The Mid-Autumn Festival drew hundreds of residents and visitors into what has long been known informally as the Square Dancing Park — a former parking lot now transformed into a gathering place.
The afternoon carried a sense of both celebration and permanence: an affirmation that the neighborhood deserves not only festivals but lasting spaces for joy, heritage and belonging.
A Vision Realized
Lead artist Jordan Wong, whose project was funded by the City of Cleveland’s Transformative Arts Fund (TAF), called the moment surreal. “Everything we envisioned came true,” he said. “Seeing everyone enjoy the five public art installations in the ways we hoped was powerful.”
Wong’s contributions include a monumental Entrance Gate in bright red and orange with rotating tiles, a stage with a glowing light box, ping-pong tables doubling as recreation, playful seating and planters designed by three emerging Asian American artists. The gate, he explained, was meant to be both formal and welcoming: “It transforms a parking lot into a portal — an object and gesture the community deserves.”
Grace Chin, director of the Sculpture Center and Wong’s institutional partner, recalled the project’s origins: “A year ago, we stood in this same empty lot gathering input from neighbors. To see it filled now with art and activity — even re-creating a photo with the same square-dancing ladies (the traditional Chinese variety) who inspired it — was remarkable.”
A Community Claiming Its Space
For Anthony Giambroni and Feiran Yang of MidTown Cleveland, the installations marked a turning point. “The space finally felt worthy of the people who inhabit it,” said Giambroni, citing kids who were glued to the ping-pong tables and dancers performing on a proper stage.
Yang emphasized the park’s role across generations: “From newborns to 99-year-olds, you could see everyone interacting together. Projects that began small — literacy sessions, dance groups, basketball teams — are growing by themselves. That’s empowerment.”
The push for permanence — and for formal designation as a true park — has been a long-standing dream. After the closure of Dave’s Market in 2017, the lot became an informal gathering spot for Chinese seniors who met nightly to dance. Their presence inspired the first pop-up “Square Dancing Park” in 2021, later supported by grants from the Gund Foundation. As Yang put it: “The community asked again and again for a real park. Step by step, it’s happening.”
Leadership, Partnerships, and Funding
Ashley Shaw, Midtown Cleveland’s executive director of community engagement, described how the site gained momentum: first pop-up chairs and plantings in 2021; then new furniture in 2022; and eventually, $460,000 from the city’s Transformative Arts Fund for Wong’s installations, with Gund and Mandel Foundations adding support.
“This space became the obvious choice for investment,” Shaw said. “What began with square dancers in 2020 has grown into a cultural hub, with the developer even pledging to donate the parcel for a permanent park.”
Arts as Assembly
From the stage, Jeremy Johnson, president and CEO of Assembly for the Arts, captured the spirit, “We are Ohio, we are Cleveland, we are Midtown, we are AsiaTown. We’re in this together. It’s important to step away from our digital devices and be here in physical space.”
Behind the joy, he reminded festivalgoers, is advocacy: stable tax funding for Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, new state allocations for the arts, and Assembly’s role as fiscal agent ensuring TAF funds reached artists quickly. “This project is two years in the making,” he said. “It shows what happens when smart policymakers, philanthropists, and creatives align.”
Cleveland Glory Waist Drum Team
Adding to that mashup was the Cleveland Glory Waist Drum Team, a nonprofit ensemble of mostly middle-aged women who rehearse weekly at Asia Plaza. Instructor Joy Shi explained their rhythm, “Every Saturday we practice two hours — first the drumming, then traditional dance.”
Now 30 to 40 members strong, the group has grown steadily over the past decade. They perform at Lunar New Year, Asian Festival, One World Day, and other community events. Team organizer Min Liang emphasized their deeper purpose: “Even though we come from another country, Cleveland is our second hometown. We want people from different cultural backgrounds to recognize Chinese culture and enjoy life here.”
Martial Arts, Music and Heritage
Not all the art was static. Performers from Great Wall Kung Fu and Tai Chi, led by Cleveland State University professor Alan Tseng with graduate student Jackson Jin, drew cheers with their martial arts demonstrations. “We often perform at the Lunar New Year and Asian Festival,” said Jin. “It’s community service, but also a way to share what we love.” The group trains in both traditional kung fu and wushu — modern Chinese martial arts that combine gymnastics-like performance with competitive sparring.
Rust Belt Riders and Sustainability
Beyond performance, the festival spotlighted partners advancing sustainability. Rust Belt Riders, headquartered just blocks away on St. Clair Avenue, marked its 11th year of turning local food scraps into compost instead of landfill waste.
“We work with more than 40 residential drop-off sites across Cuyahoga County, as well as major partners like Whole Foods and the Browns,” said marketing coordinator Dorian Martin. Their services now span from restaurants and institutions to home pickup programs — all aimed at closing the loop between food and soil.
Zygote Press and the Broader Arts Ecosystem
Nearby, the Zygote Press booth hosted activities as part of its long-standing commitment to AsiaTown. “We’ve been here nearly 30 years,” said executive director Jackie Feldman.
She called this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival “particularly special” because of Wong’s unveiling. “Jordan has been a friend of Zygote for many years,” she said. “He’s an absolute gem — a brilliant artist. To see his work celebrated here in the community feels just right.”
Looking Ahead
When asked about the park’s future, hopes ranged from the practical — restrooms, shade, and more greenery — to the visionary. Yang imagined a dedicated community center. Giambroni stressed permanence: “Ten years from now, I want people to say, yes, the asphalt is gone, this is a real park.”
For Wong, the vision is generational: children who pass through the small entrance of his gate today will someday stride through the larger one as adults. “This community deserves a landmark,” he said. “And someday, I hope Asian art won’t just live in AsiaTown — it will have a place downtown and across Cleveland.”
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