Nestled in the midst of Midtown, in a former factory off of Payne Avenue, the Morgan Conservatory bills itself as “the largest arts center in the United States dedicated to every facet of papermaking, book arts and letterpress printing,” according to its website. However, if you weren’t already in the know, you might not even know it’s there. Now, it’s set to expand in several key ways that will add to momentum within the neighborhood.
Executive Director Nicole Donnelly moved here from Philly a few years ago to take the top job. She said she knew of the Morgan even before coming to Cleveland because of its stellar national and even international reputation. Founded by artist Tom Balbo and named after Ted Morgan, who bequeathed a generous endowment to the conservatory, the Morgan has been in existence since 2008.
“If you’re based in Cleveland, you might assume other big cities have a center like this,” she explained. “Coming from the East Coast and from a very international perspective I knew that the Morgan is really an incredible asset. There are really only a handful of places like it in the country, let alone the world. To have an arts center of this size and as well equipped as it is, focused on hand papermaking, printmaking and book arts, it’s a very rare find.”
Donnelly said that while there are a “smattering of places” around the country that do similar work – a couple hours north of New York City you have the Women’s Studio Workshop, there’s Pyramid Atlantic in the Baltimore/DC area, and Minneapolis hosts the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts – nonetheless, the Morgan really is unique. “None of them are doing quite as extensive programming as what we have,” she said.
In addition to hosting studio space and artist residency programs for professional artists, the Morgan (1754 E. 47th St.) provides classes in papermaking, letterpress and book arts. Artists from the Morgan also visit area schools to teach students the art of letterpress, papermaking and book binding. Finally, the 15,000-square-foot art studio hosts art exhibitions, sells fine handmade paper, and has a garden dedicated to growing the plants used in papermaking.
Local artist Mike Gill said he purchases a membership for a couple hundred dollars per month when he’s got big projects. “I’ve printed there for a long time,” he said. “I use mostly the letterpress facility which has several different types of presses bigger than the one I have in my basement. I just wrapped up a woodcut and letterpress book called “Momentum Like Diamonds,” about the joy and physics of bicycling, including why cyclists run red lights. It has to do with their precious momentum, like the title. It’s coming out in a show at Bill Busta’s gallery.”
Next year is slated to be a big one for the Morgan. First, they’re launching a professional papermaker certification, only the second of its kind in the world (the other program is in Italy, said Donnelly), and second, they’re demolishing two adjacent distressed properties and creating a garden for the community to enjoy.
“Because we’re sort of a rare thing, it’s difficult to find really well-trained papermakers,” Donnelly said. “The program we’re launching in 2026 … that’s what I’m trying to build.”
She explains it’s a six-week intensive program, and the first cohort will consist of four to six artists who hail from all over the country and maybe even the world. The first cohort will be selected in March and will start at the beginning of April at the latest. “They’ll be learning contemporary artistic techniques, and how to make it into art rather than a sheet of paper,” Donnelly said.
The professional papermaking certification is all the more important in the face of cuts that are taking place at universities all across the country, she argued. “The academic arts/crafts programs, they’re the first to get cut as colleges and universities have been tightening their belts because they’re at a shortfall,” Donnelly said. “They’re condensing departments and getting rid of teachers that have only a few students in their major. This is pretty specialized knowledge, and I really think places like the Morgan are so important because they provide a space where there’s continuity to education and it’s accessible to people who are not enrolled in college or university.”
“We can lose the craft if we allow it to dissipate,” she said pointedly.
Here in Ohio, SB 1 requires that state colleges and universities eliminate programs that graduate fewer than five individuals over a three-year period. That has led to concerns of cutbacks to liberal arts programs, a trend that is already happening at the University of Toledo, Ohio University and other places. Numerous colleges and universities across the Midwest have also announced program cuts in recent years due to enrollment challenges and higher costs, cuts that disproportionately affect liberal arts programs like those offered at the Morgan Conservatory.
The original goal of the Morgan was to rehabilitate the two homes they purchased adjacent to their property and use them for artist housing. However, that turned out to be too expensive. So, instead, they’re demolishing these decrepit houses and are turning the lots into green space for all to enjoy. “The demo lit a fire to dream of what the space could be,” Donnelly said. “We have half an acre of green space we own already. I thought, ‘Hey, we have a fiber garden back there, maybe the front garden is natural dyes.’ I also realized we could install a rain garden there.”
The overall goal, she said, is to “have a green corridor that connects our primary front entrance to the rear fiber garden, which would help people know it’s back there. We can do native plants and have it be a space where our neighbors can possibly take a stroll through there. We would have it open to the public during open hours.”
“The garden we have in the back is an incredible asset and feels like a little oasis in the middle of Midtown,” she added. “The rest of it is pretty industrial. I love being able to put in a little pocket park.”
The park is part of a larger push to connect with the Midtown neighborhood. “When you go in a five-block radius, a lot of people don’t know we’re here,” Donnelly said. “Our network tends to be more national and even international.” To break through these barriers and provide more programming to the community, every May, the Morgan hosts a community open house. In addition to running school programs, they also offer programming in senior centers, libraries and more. The gallery and store are open to the public Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The Morgan’s expansion is part of a growth trend in the Midtown neighborhood, which is seeing an infusion of investment from the Cleveland Foundation and other partners that want to better connect downtown and University Circle. Other examples of development projects include the new Cleveland Foundation headquarters, the Midtown Innovation Center and the E. 66th complete street project.
“The Morgan has been a cultural anchor in Midtown for many years,” said Niraj Naik, planning director for the nonprofit community development organization Midtown Cleveland, Inc. “One of the priorities in our master plan is to enhance our green infrastructure. This project aligns with that in terms of stormwater management and creating a sustainable green space in the community.”
Coming up next, the Morgan is hosting its annual fundraiser this coming Saturday, October 4, a paper fashion show called “Dress to Impress.” Donnelly said, “We’re working under the theme of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ that’s at the heart of what we’re doing. Most fashion designers start with a paper model, so this is not outlandish. We have a red carpet runway event at 7 p.m. Last year, we had just over 200 people, and this year we’ll probably have the same.”
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