Karamu House Announces A Continuation Of Responsible Stewardship

CLEVELAND, Ohio– March 19, 2024: Karamu House, after more than a year of careful study and consideration of priorities, is announcing the postponement of its season-end production and the simultaneous launch of an extensive effort to conduct strategic planning and professional development, continue the evolution of partnerships and collaborations to activate newly constructed spaces, to align and increase staffing for new lines of business, and kick off a new season while reenergizing fundraising around the final phase of construction.

“Karamu’s Board of Trustees and I are calling this ‘A Continuation of Responsible Stewardship,'” said Karamu President and CEO Tony F. Sias. “By realigning our time and investing resources in building our future, we will honor the legacy of our treasured institution. Throughout its century-plus existence, Karamu House has risen to the challenges of each transition. As stewards of this living organism, we will protect its core and prepare for its next 100 years of communing in and through the arts.”

Part of this process was the difficult but necessary decision to reschedule the regional premiere production of “Choir Boy” from this spring to the 2024-25 season, with the exact dates to be determined.

Sias added that the rescheduling resulted from “a culmination of factors,” including a 13-month delay on Karamu’s construction projects, mostly stemming from supply chain issues, and the pressure those delays continued to place on operations as staff launches the planning project.

“Rest assured, ‘Choir Boy’ will be staged at Karamu,” Sias said. “This decision is part of a very ambitious plan. We’re ‘resetting,’ not ‘stopping.'”

Karamu House will continue these scheduled events and activities:

April 2024: Karamu Arts Academy production of “The Web of Anansi”.
April 2024: Great Lakes Science Center Solar Eclipse Event featuring the Karamu House Ensemble.
May 2024: Black Composers Concert in partnership with the Cleveland Orchestra.
June 2024: 4th Annual MetroHealth Cleveland Juneteenth Freedom Fest featuring Karamu House.
June/July 2024: Karamu Arts Academy Summer Session + Launch of the Technical Theatre Workforce Development program (partially funded by PNC Foundation)
July 2024: Karamu Homecoming + Phase III Grand Re-opening.

Karamu will announce its 2024-25 season including the rescheduled “Choir Boy,” arts education classes, and community program offerings by May 2024. Planning will include activation and scheduling of new spaces, as well as development of artistic and educational programming for the community. Sias said Karamu has identified specific strategic components to position the theatre for operational and artistic growth, and to spur philanthropic partnerships. Between April and August, the focus will be on these priorities:

Through the generous support of The George Gund Foundation, the Karamu board and staff will be immersed in planning for near-term success and long-term sustainability through strategic planning, a marketing assessment and plan development, an environmental study, board development, and staff professional development.
Developing a business plan and operational schedule for the new bistro.
Conducting scenario planning to operationalize newly renovated spaces in the postpandemic environment.

Partnerships & Collaboration

“Now more than ever, in the post-pandemic environment we understand the need to reimagine the traditional theatre model and value both the partnerships and collaborations we continue to have with many institutions and individuals in our community, and the innovative relationships we continue to develop through open and transparent conversations,” Sias said.

Karamu House Announces A Continuation Of Responsible Stewardship