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As I wrap up the second year of my presidency, I’m doing what I do at the end of every academic year: looking back in order to look forward. The process of reflection makes space for clarity, gratitude and lessons learned so that I can be better equipped to thoughtfully plan, strategize and ideate.
As I mentioned in my last Link column, the past academic year brought forth no shortage of headwinds. Higher education sector is reckoning with relevance, socio-political unrest, college readiness and mental health, demographic decline, and an increased regulatory environment—not to mention the unfortunate implications of a disastrous FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) rollout. In any case, colleges and universities—now more than ever—need to adapt, change and think differently about how we operate, teach and learn in order to remain relevant, fiscally responsible and champions of our value proposition. Change is incredibly hard, but it’s what artists and designers do so well—and what’s baked into CIA’s DNA.
I’m especially excited about the forward-facing curricular innovations that are currently under development at CIA, from launching even more minors to aligning new crossdisciplinary coursework to our future Interactive Media Lab, and from exploring other viable academic programs to finding ways to build more cross-functional systems and curricula in support of student success. Our current digital transformation (DX) efforts are allowing us to reinvent new ways of working and re-imagining processes to foster systemic change and improve institutional sustainability.
The college presidency has taught me to listen and learn from every moment afforded to me through my position— even if the role takes me to unexpected places. As I wrapped up the academic year, my presidential role evolved to that of garbage collector through our campus-wide community volunteer participation in the MidTown Cleanup day, dunk tank “dunkee” (12 times over!) during CIA’s year-end Pink Pig celebration, and sausage and pancake slinger at the Late-Night Breakfast during Finals Week. While my principal role remains that of fundraiser, administrator and ambassador, it’s through these other roles that I often truly experience and connect in the best ways with our amazing community, even if it sometimes gets messy (literally).
With that, it’s time to get back to summer to continue to recharge and reset in anticipation of the lessons, laughs and leadership ahead.
Summer 2024 Vol. 27, Issue 4
Helping alumni and friends of Cleveland Institute of Art remain informed of campus, faculty and alumni news. CIA publishes Link four times a year.
Copyright © 2024 Cleveland Institute of Art
Kathryn J. Heidemann President + CEO
Malou Monago Vice President of Institutional Advancement + External Relations
Michael C. Butz Director of College Communications + External Relations
Rachel Zinram Director of Alumni Relations + Scholarships
Stephanie Zolton Publication + Communication Design Specialist
Submit ideas and updates for Link:
Cleveland Institute of Art 11610 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44106
Email link@cia.edu
Phone 216.421.7412
On the cover: Visual arts students who created work for Ready, Set, Relay! pose for a group photo during the opening reception April 19 at Progressive Insurance. Read more about the creative collaboration between Painting major Emily Fontana and Andy Yoder ’82 starting on Page 4. Top row, from left: Arianna Papai, Maddie Cantrell, Agi Kasapi, Cora Terrion, Natalie Russell, Casey Wehrman, Jazzee Rozier, Lilly Ross. Bottom row, from left: Emily Fontana, Lucy Dietrich, Nola Williams-Riseng, James Schaffer, Jamie Brinker, Julissa Bruno, Gwen Putz, Choloe Newcomer. Floor: Kaylee Ryan.
Photo by Amber N. Ford ’16.
Kathryn J. Heidemann President + CEO
Omari Souza ’09 delivers stirring Commencement speech
Compiled by Michael C. Butz
Omari Souza—who earned his BFA in Technology Integrated Media Environment (T.I.M.E.-Digital Arts) from CIA in 2009— served as Commencement speaker for CIA’s Class of 2024. Souza is assistant professor of Communication Design at the University of North Texas as well as co-author of An Anthology of Blackness: The State of Black Design. He’s also the visionary founder of the State of Black Design conference.
In his address, “Rising Above: Harnessing the Power of Persistence,” Souza recounted the challenges that tested his resolve and shaped his character—challenges that included a struggle for acceptance, financial hardship and landscapes characterized by a lack of diversity. He credited his mother’s unwavering faith, compassion and empathy for seeing him through these challenges, and he encouraged the Class of 2024 to let their grit and tenacity—fueled by their families—propels them through their creative pursuits. To watch Souza’s entire speech, visit cia.edu/2024commencement.
2024 Alumni Exhibition, Are We There Yet?, on view
Proudly presented by CIA’s Reinberger Gallery and Alumni Council, and curated by Magdalena Moskalewicz, the 2024 Alumni Exhibition—Are We There Yet?—attempts to tackle the question: What is it to become a mature artist? The show includes 40 alumni, from 1961 to 2023, making it an extraordinary testament to six decades of continuous art school education. Are We There Yet? is on view through August 9 in Reinberger Gallery.
Teaching excellence, staff impact awards bestowed
Drawing faculty member Sarah Kabot and Photography faculty emerita Mary Jo Toles received this year’s Viktor Schreckengost Teaching Excellence Awards, which are presented to current and/ or former faculty members in recognition of teaching excellence at CIA. Industrial Design faculty member Carla Blackman received the Dan Tranberg Teaching Excellence Award, which is presented to current non-ranked faculty.
In addition, CIA’s inaugural Staff Impact Awards were given to recognize and celebrate the contributions of staff members who go above and beyond to support CIA’s mission, values and the overall success. Faculty and Academic Affairs Assistant Andrea Kohoot and Director of Career Services + Employer Relations Lauren Conway received awards.
Grads receive President’s Traveling
Scholarships
President’s Traveling Scholarship recipients receive funds toward travel that allows them to dive deeper into their creative process. This year’s winners: Janoi Daley ’24, Painting (First Agnes Gund Award); Daly Horton ’24, Life Sciences Illustration (Second Agnes Gund Award); Sylvia Altman ’24, Glass (Third Agnes Gund Award); Elly Arvizu ’24, Ceramics (Helen Greene Perry Traveling Scholarship); DeAnne Smith ’24, Painting (Mary C. Page Memorial Scholarship); Cale Ours ’24, Photography (Nancy Dunn Memorial Scholarship).
Cassara remembered for impact on students
Former faculty member Tina Cassara, who retired in 2020 after teaching at CIA for nearly 36 years, passed away June 18.
Cassara joined CIA’s faculty in 1985 as a visiting artist in the Surface Design Department. The following year, she founded CIA’s Fiber + Material Studies program. In 2012 and 2013, Cassara collaborated with faculty member Sarah Paul to reorganize CIA’s Sculpture major. What emerged was the present-day Sculpture + Expanded Media program. Cassara co-chaired SEM with Sarah until 2016 and held the Joseph Motto Chair from 2014 to 2016. She also taught Foundation courses at CIA.
Cassara’s fierce dedication to art standards and her sharp critical faculties were a benefit to her colleagues and students alike. In addition to being a creative force in our community, she was loyal and supportive to colleagues within and across departments as well as to the generations of students whose careers were seeded by her visionary classroom and studio work.
In Memoriam
Marjorie Kubach ’45 passed away January 27 and majored in Illustration. Melvin Butor ’52, who majored in Advertising Art, died May 16. Kathleen Sedory ’54 died June 10 and earned a certificate in Art Education. Michael Williams ’59 passed away January 29 and majored in Industrial Design. Jeffrey Sturm ’63, who majored in Graphic Design, died April 15. Mary McGraw ‘66, who majored in Graphic Design, passed away on December 16, 2023. Nancy Carroll ’68 passed away April 2 and majored in Painting. Andrew Hanzel ’71, who majored in Industrial Design, passed away April 17. Marilyn Mizen ’72, who studied Painting, died December 27, 2023. Donald Hronek ’74 died in March and majored in Painting.
Omari Souza ’09 receives a warm response from Class of 2024 graduates and family members during CIA’s Commencement ceremony May 19 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center in Cleveland. Photo by Rustin McCann.
Student-alum connection inspires artwork on view at Progressive
By Michael C. Butz
Earlier this year, Cleveland Institute of Art visual arts students visited Progressive Insurance’s headquarters in Mayfield Village, Ohio to scout the celebrated Progressive Art Collection. It was the first step in bringing to life Ready, Set, Relay!, a group exhibition in which students created paintings, drawings, sculptures and digital media in response to Progressive works.
As part of CIA’s Role of the Artist as Producer course, 17 CIA students developed, curated, marketed and
installed Ready, Set, Relay!. To create the work, they spent the semester researching and responding to pieces by world-renowned artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, Petah Coyne, Vik Muniz, Jennifer Steinkamp, Felice Varini, Todd Pavlisko, and Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry.
Among the participating students was Painting major Emily Fontana. During that initial visit to Progressive, she immediately connected with “Rebus,” a site-specific installation of porcelain ceramics created by Andy Yoder ’82.
The pieces together form a rebus, or puzzle where words or syllables are represented by pictures.
“I find it important that Andy’s work displaces objects from their typical setting, therefore displacing the rules we associate with them,” Fontana says. “One form that my work takes is sculpture, and I started to imagine how I could do the same thing. I chose to create eight cakes, titled ‘How To Make a Cake.’ Each one is a word puzzle of an ingredient in a cake and is installed on the wall in similar fashion to ‘Rebus.’”
Painting major Emily Fontana stands next to her piece, How to Make a Cake, during the opening reception for Ready, Set, Relay on April 19 at Progressive Insurance Campus One. Top row, left to right: butter, 1 + 1 1/2 cups of flour, scrambled eggs, a pinch of salt. Bottom row, left to right: sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, baking soda. Photo by Amber N. Ford ’16.
During the semester, students met virtually with the artists whose work they responded to. Fontana’s conversation with Yoder—who lives in Falls Church, Virginia—was insightful.
“Andy described how his work has a key connection to memory,” Fontana says. “Whether an idea stemmed from seeing how large his father’s shoes looked in the closet as a child or his grandmother’s licorice stash, the goal is to gain a visceral and humorous reaction. This helped me think about my intentionality with the objects I use/ represent in my work.
“I was lucky to also hear endless stories about Andy’s time as a student at CIA, as well as what came afterwards,” she continued. “It was inspiring to be told how crucial it is to stay a part of the art community, whether it is through volunteering, making connections or simply continuing to create.”
Yoder, who earned his BFA in Sculpture, enjoyed reminiscing. “My time at CIA was transformative, and connecting with Emily felt like a bit of a time machine. I remember the feeling of so many possibilities. We were starting to figure things out while taking chances.”
These days, Yoder teaches as an adjunct faculty at George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts in Fairfax, Virginia. He’s a practicing and exhibiting artist, too. Overboard—a 2020 exhibition featuring more than 200 replicas of Nike Air Jordan 5 shoes that Yoder created using trash he foraged from his suburban Washington, D.C. neighborhood—garnered coverage from The New York Times, The Washington Post, PBS NewsHour and Smithsonian Magazine, among others.
Ready, Set
Relay! is now on view
Ready, Set, Relay! is on view through September 6 at Progressive’s Campus One in Mayfield Village. RSVPs are required; visit readysetrelay.com.
Though “Rebus” might not have received the same media attention when it was installed in 1997, Yoder says it “will always be near and dear to my heart.”
“It was my first permanent commission, and it was done thanks to Toby Lewis, who was a friend and force of nature in the art world,” he says. “This recent exchange with Emily was enjoyable for many reasons, among them the chance to share the circumstances surrounding the piece, getting to know a current student at CIA, and connecting with the fab, present-day curatorial team at Progressive.”
Yoder commended Fontana’s “How To Make a Cake.” “It was great to see the work she did in response to my installation, and I deeply appreciate that she chose my work to consider. I could see Emily’s work had some parallels [to ‘Rebus’], such as wordplay, the use of everyday objects and a dose of humor—but I was glad to see it remained distinctly different, as an extension of her perspective and personality.”
Drawing professor Sarah Kabot, who taught the Role of the Artist as Producer course with fellow Drawing professor Amber Kempthorn, said that all of the artists involved in Ready, Set, Relay!—CIA students and Progressive artists alike—benefited from the connection cultivated by the Progressive collaboration.
“I think the students were thrilled to get to speak with and interview artists who have had long and successful careers to understand a bit of what it takes to get from being a student—and in the case of Andy Yoder, a student at CIA—to being an internationally recognized artist,” she says. “And, I think it’s exciting from the artists’ point of view to have an opportunity to both look back at the time when they installed the work at Progressive but also to be able to share their insights.
“There’s so much generosity on the part of these incredibly busy and well-recognized artists to share their insights with a single young person,” she continued. “I mean, this doesn’t happen anywhere, and it’s because of this extraordinary collaboration between CIA and Progressive that our students experienced something unique.
Kabot added it was “exciting” to have Yoder—as well as former CIA student Joseph Kosuth—involved in the project.
“I think it’s very heartening to realize CIA graduates have had massive impacts in terms of culture in the local art community and wider, national art community,” Kabot says. “I think it just really goes to show that we give a great education and we’ve done so for decades. So many of the artists who’ve graduated from here go on to have these massive impacts.”
“Rebus” by Andy Yoder ’82 (1997); porcelain; 50 inches x 26 feet x 7 inches. Courtesy of Progressive Art Collection.
When art went to war: CIA artists in WWII ‘Ghost Army’
By Karen Sandstrom ’12
Guns, tanks, trucks and soldiers: They were among the most important elements used by the Allies in defeating Hitler’s army during World War II. But they were not the only elements.
Camouflage, decoys, deception and theatrics played crucial supporting roles, and artists were key to these efforts.
From 1944 to 1945, at least five men educated at the Cleveland Institute of Art were part of what became known as the “Ghost Army.” These 1,100 soldiers invested their talents into creating the illusion that American battle troops were in places they were not.
The purpose was to divert the Nazis’ attention so that Allied combat troops could take them by surprise. The tools: innovative inflatable tanks, trucks and artillery. There were fake signs, costumes and dummy soldiers. All of it needed to look convincing from the air
and even from German reconnaissance men using binoculars.
The artists were part of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a field unit created to appear to be a large and wellarmed division.
The 23rd was composed of four groups. The 603rd Camouflage Battalion, to which the CIA artists and others belonged, created and staged the props. The 244th Signal Company sent fake radio signals. The 3132 Signal Service Company recorded sounds of military equipment on the movement and blasted them through enormous speakers mounted on trucks. And the 406th Engineer Combat Company provided defense for everyone else; the camouflage workers had no heavy weapons.
In 2013, CIA alum Pamela Pastoric ’77 watched a PBS documentary by writer and filmmaker Rick Beyer called The
Ghost Army and felt a spark of curiosity. Her father Marion “Pat” Pastorcich, an industrial designer, had died in 2003, but she knew he had served in the Army in Europe. Could Pat have been in the Ghost Army?
Pam followed her curiosity to ghostarmy. org, the online home of the Ghost Army Legacy Project. The nonprofit organization preserves the history of the soldiers who served in this unique role. There, fragments of information started to make sense. “I’ve been putting the dots together ever since,” Pam says.
She began researching to learn more about the contributions made by her father (who changed the family name to Pastoric in the ’50s). He had been a student at the Columbus School of Art before he enlisted. After the war, he transferred to CIA, where he earned his BFA degree in Graphic Design and Industrial Design in 1947. That research led to details about four other CIA-
Left: A bronze copy of the Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Marion (Pastorcich) Pastoric ‘47 for his role in the “Ghost Army,” a group of soldiers whose purpose during World War II was to divert the Nazis’ attention so that Allied forces could take them by surprise. Right: Marion Pastoric ’47 somewhere in Europe during World War II. Submitted.
related members with profiles on the ghostarmy.org website:
William Marsalko (1923–2012): Marsalko was best man at Pat Pastoric’s wedding and “Uncle Billy” to Pam and her siblings. Marsalko had taken classes at CIA before the war and, according to the Ghost War Legacy Project, had hoped to become a comics artist. During his service, he was seriously injured by shelling and spent three years recovering. After the war, he worked as a commercial and fine artist.
George Vander Sluis ’38 (1915–1984): After graduating from CIA with a degree in mural painting, Vander Sluis had some rich career experiences, including drawing at the New York World’s Fair in 1939–40 and completing U.S. Post Office murals as a New Deal artist. He was an art educator for 35 years at Syracuse University.
William Merkle ’42 (1920–1994): Before enlisting, Merkle spent three years at CIA, where he met fellow student Gloria E. Morgan ’44. During the war, he served in the camouflage unit as a truck driver. According to the legacy project, Merkle and Morgan married in 1945 and eventually moved to California.
Bernard Bluestein ’47 is the only living member of the CIA group. In the service, he painted stencils on vehicles and created fake military patches for uniforms. After the war, he was an industrial designer and sculptor. “Our mission was to simulate real troops while the real troops were deployed someplace else,”
Bluestein told WLS-TV ABC-7 News Chicago in 2018.
Among details Pam learned over the years is that Bluestein recalled flyers hung in hallways at CIA promoting a camouflage course that was being taught as part of preparation for the service. Men who were recruited for camouflage work trained for more than a year for the strange work they would be doing.
But further details of her father’s war efforts are lost to time because he honored his duty to secrecy and spoke little about the war, she says. Ghost Army troops had few weapons, but her father carried a “grease gun” (an M3 submachine gun). “The only thing he told me was he came across a German soldier and he didn’t want to kill him,” Pam says.
Well documented, however, is that during downtime at war, the artists recorded their experiences and environments in drawings and paintings. Pat made watercolors of camp buildings and beautiful scenery, as well as a page of quick sketches of a platoon puppy who hung with the soldiers in France.
One of the longtime missions of the Ghost Army Legacy Project was to secure the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor the U.S. Congress awards to civilians who have made significant contributions to the country.
On March 21, 2024, Bernard Bluestein, 100, was among three members of the Ghost Army at the U.S. Capitol to receive the medal. There were 600 people in attendance, including family members receiving the medal on behalf of deceased relatives.
The ceremony was “surreal,” Pam says. “I went with my daughter and my youngest brother, Ray, and his wife. There was (House Speaker) Mike Johnson, and (Senator Mitch) McConnell and (Congresswoman Susan) Collins and the head of the Joint Chiefs. In the evening, we had dinner with the families.”
It was after these events that Pam was emotionally struck by the fundamental importance of what the Ghost Army soldiers contributed.
“They were just one cog in this whole thing. There were the paratroopers, the guys landing on the beaches, the spies—so many aspects of the war,” she says. “And it reflects on what we’re dealing with today, and what can happen.”
WWII Ghost Army
Marion Pastoric ’47, left, and Bernard Bluestein ’47, far right, at the Class of 1947’s 50-year reunion in 1997 in Cleveland. Both CIA alums played integral roles for U.S. forces during World War II. Submitted photo.
Fellow CIA alums and Ghost Army soldiers William Marsalko, left, and Marion Pastoric at Pamela Pastoric’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Marsalko served as best man at the wedding. Submitted photo.
Roll credits: Ewing reflects on unique Cinematheque career
By Carlo Wolff
When John Cameron Ewing was a child, he imagined movies he wanted to make. He drew ads for them. Sometimes he would write their plots in his head. Ewing has been devouring movies since he was in high school in his native Canton, Ohio.
In college, Ewing made several movies, but his interest in cinema ultimately took another turn: He became a film programmer, making an indelible mark in that field as director of the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque.
Ewing retired on June 30, presenting three of his favorite movies that Sunday at the Cinematheque: Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons; Late Spring, a South Korean film shot during the Allies’ occupation of Japan during World War II; and Shane, George Stevens’ archetypal American Western.
Ewing is eager to spend time with his two grandchildren (with one on the way), leaving the running of the Cinematheque to someone else. Easing into the job already: Bilgesu Sisman, who’s an experienced film programmer with impressive credentials in higher education, grassroots organization, media and entertainment.
Also figuring in his decision: health issues, and technological upgrades to the Cinematheque he says he lacks the energy to manage.
“I also have this general sense that I’ve run the Cinematheque long enough and should try something else,” Ewing says. “Since the program is doing well, with attendance back up to pre-pandemic levels, it seems a good time to exit.”
Raising the cinema profile
As co-founder of the Cinematheque, Ewing has shown about 10,000 feature films since he screened the first one there
in 1986. His has been a dedicated career, making the Cinematheque a cultural force and earning Ewing national and international acclaim. Not only did Ewing win a special Cleveland Arts Prize in 1995, he became a Chevalier, or knight, in the Order of Arts and Letters at the Republic of France in 2010. The New York Times spotlighted the Cinematheque, too.
Grafton Nunes, CIA president emeritus and a cinema savant himself, praised his friend to the skies, calling Ewing a “stalwart in maintaining the cinema culture of Cleveland. It’s about the love of being with an audience in a dark space, looking at larger-than-life images and having this communal experience, which is only possible in cinema.”
Ewing was a factor in his decision to accept the job of CIA president and CEO, Nunes said in remarks prepared for a private event honoring Ewing June 11. “I knew of him and the Cinematheque from The New York Times, which declared
Left: Former Cinematheque director John Ewing loads a 35mm film reel in the Cinematheque projector room in 1988. Right: Ewing does the same in 2024, just weeks before his retirement on June 30.
the Cinematheque as one of the top 10 repertory film programs in the nation, music to the ears of a film scholar and former movie producer like me.”
Known for his witty introductions to films he’s selected for the Cinematheque and the Cleveland Museum of Art, where he was coordinator of film programs until 2020, Ewing is indeed a fierce advocate for cinema. He’s also been lucky, making the right connections at the right time.
Finding his groove
The budding film authority graduated from Denison University in central Ohio in 1973 with a double major: English, and Theater and Film. He wrote reviews for the student paper. His editor at The Denisonian was Dave Abbott, a Fremont, Ohio native who would become president of the George Gund Foundation, a highprofile philanthropic institution.
Another Gund connection, the Foundation’s George Gund III, along with Ron Holloway, an entertainment journalist and Gund associate, would found the Cinematheque in 1986 with Ewing at its helm.
Before he settled into his Cinematheque career, Ewing held a series of jobs including newspaper route manager, assistant librarian in a county library, classical music specialist in a record store, and freelance film critic for newspapers and magazines. All the while, he watched movies, traveling all over in search of celluloid bliss.
In college, in the days before videotape, Ewing says, he “would drive all over to see stuff because you couldn’t see it any other way unless you waited for it to come on TV. I drove to Kenyon College to see Strangers on a Train. I drove to Cincinnati to see The Wild Child by [François] Truffaut, which never opened in Cleveland, which was unbelievable.”
Ewing was not alone in wanting to watch unusual movies closer to home. Once he, Holloway and Gund decided to leverage their mutual interest in movies, Ewing was deputized to find a home for their vision.
Ewing scouted several sites before he settled on CIA’s Russell B. Aitken Auditorium in the College’s former
headquarters on East Boulevard. It seated 600, had heating and air conditioning and a parking lot, and it wasn’t being used on weekends. Ewing called then-CIA President Joseph McCullough to express his interest. McCullough expressed doubt that people would come to the CIA campus after dark, but Ewing persuaded him to mount a test run, a screening of Vortex, a 1981 noir melodrama starring James Russo and the No Wave singer Lydia Lunch.
“It had kind of a hipster, rock ’n’ roll sensibility that would speak to art students and other young filmgoers, and it worked,” says Ewing. “I want to say we had at least 400 people over two shows that Friday night.”
Eventually, CIA applied to the Gund Foundation for a grant that brought higher tech to the facility, including two 35-millimeter projectors, a new sound
Top: Former Cinematheque director John Ewing mics questions from the audience during a Cinematheque event in Russell B. Aitken Auditorium, the program’s Cleveland Institute of Art home prior to the Peter B. Lewis Theater. Bottom: John Ewing, center, was joined on stage by Cinematheque staff during his recent retirement celebration. From left are ticket seller Steven Fitch, assistant director Genevieve Schwartz, projectionist Les Vince and projectionist Mike Glazer. Photo by Leah Trznadel ‘19.
Meet the Cinematheque’s new director: Bilgesu Sisman
By Michael C. Butz
Bilgesu Sisman’s first film as the Cinematheque’s second-ever director was Sans Soleil (Sunless), a French documentary by Chris (La Jetée) Marker. The 1983 film was billed as an evocative collage of sights captured by the globe-trotting filmmaker in Japan, Africa, Iceland, Paris and San Francisco, accompanied by Marker’s insights about memory, history, society and technology.
Sisman acknowledges it would be “impossible” for her to select a single movie as her favorite, but Sans Soleil is among her top picks—and the film offers insight into what the CIA community can expect from the Cinematheque’s new director.
“I have a strong inclination for films that meditate on questions around memory, desire, identity and the self,” she says. “I find that these questions very often find themselves embedded in the genres of thriller and mystery, and if not, drive experimental, nonlinear narratives.”
Sans Soleil screened just days after Sisman officially started as Cinematheque director on June 17. She succeeded director and co-founder John Ewing, who retired June 30.
“I am honored to be selected to be John Ewing’s successor and look forward to boosting and broadening the Cinematheque’s reputation and influence,” Sisman says. “I cannot wait to connect with CIA students, faculty and the broader film-loving community in Cleveland.”
Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Sisman is passionate about supporting the creation, distribution and exhibition of visionary art—and fostering inclusive and connected communities around it. Her background encompasses research, curation, creative development and critical praxis in higher education, film exhibition, grassroots organizations, and media and entertainment.
system and a new screen, and the Cinematheque began to screen movies at Aitken in August 1986. About 10,000 films later, the Cinematheque is still going strong, screening all kinds of films in the Peter B. Lewis Theater at CIA 50 weeks a year.
Besides the films, Ewing has enjoyed hosting directors, including Peter Greenaway and Alexander Payne and actors such as Willem Dafoe for discussions at the Cinematheque. After all, educating audiences about cinema is one of Ewing’s goals.
One of his fondest memories is of hosting Akron, Ohio native Jim Jarmusch in 2002. The Cinematheque was almost
Sisman most recently served as director of programming at Maryland Hall in Annapolis, where she oversaw the cultural center’s efforts related to tuition-based programs, free community programs, exhibitions and workshops. She also helped gain funding for a comprehensive film program. Prior to that, she served as director of programming at Film Streams in the Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska area.
“I am a strong believer in the transformative potential of cinema, of it having a specific power to make us think in novel ways. As French philosopher Alain Badiou states, it is the artform that is able to contain within itself the building blocks of all other arts, giving it the ability to move us in many different ways,” Sisman says. “Moreover, cinema spectatorship encourages convening and opens up a path for people to connect, whether at the theater lobby or on social media. My hope is for the Cinematheque to be a sanctuary for contemplation, creativity and connection for all current and future audiences at CIA and in the greater Cleveland community.”
sold out for a talk by Jarmusch, clips from his movies and a Q&A. Jarmusch entered from the back of the auditorium and walked toward the stage, stopping by the front of the rear section to embrace his mother and hug his father.
“It was very touching that he greeted his parents on the way to the stage,” Ewing says.
Ewing, who hopes to have a hand in Cinematheque programming from time to time, says he doesn’t know exactly how many films he has screened.
“I don’t want to think about it,” he says.
He just wants to watch them.
Bilgesu Sisman started as the new Cinematheque director on June 17.
Cinematheque director John Ewing interviews actor Willem Dafoe during “An Evening with Willem Dafoe” in 2014. The event featured a screening of E. Elias Merhige’s 2000 film The Shadow of the Vampire (for which Dafoe was nominated for an Oscar) and a wide-ranging Q&A with Dafoe about his career.
Alum gives to bolster futures
By Kennedi Combs
Mark Nichols ’93 started gift-giving to the Cleveland Institute of Art with a $20 pledge two years after graduating, and in the three decades since, he has steadily increased his support of the College. Nichols, who majored in Industrial Design, earned scholarships—including a traveling scholarship his senior year— that helped him make his way through school and start his career on steady footing.
“It was really great to give back to a school that gave so much to me,” Nichols says. “The school really helped me out financially, which allowed me to hit the market in a good position. I felt like I wanted to give back and have been trying to do that ever since.”
Nichols didn’t always want to be an industrial designer. He didn’t even know the field existed, and instead had his eye on a career in graphic design. It wasn’t until his older brother, Sam Nichols ’93, introduced industrial design as “graphic design with a three-dimensional element’’ that he realized it was the perfect fit for him. Today, Mark is the founder and president of Boston-based Olus, where he works on a three-pronged approach to integrate consulting, designing and renewable energy into products.
His passion for the field was passed on to his son, Oliver Nichols ’24, whose attendance at CIA further spurred Mark’s commitment to gift-giving. “When your kid goes there, your passion level goes up,” Mark says.
Oliver followed in his father’s Industrial Design footsteps. “I always knew I would want to do some kind of art as a job. I observed my dad doing design work as a kid, so it kind of led me down that path to follow that same career,” he says.
Like his father, Oliver also received a scholarship and a grant— support that Mark deeply appreciated.
“I’m very grateful for it. Hopefully, people—myself included—are giving back enough so that we can keep those going,” he says. “I do worry a little bit about the students taking on too much debt if they are really, truly following the arts without a potentially higher-paying career, so I’m hopeful that enough people give back to the school to make it a little bit easier on the students.”
Mark’s generosity goes beyond gift-giving. He offers his time and energy to promote CIA in Boston and along the East Coast.
“I think there’s giving in many ways, not just financially, but always looking to see how I can help get the name out there in the school districts out by us,” he says. “I see CIA as a top player in the creative colleges, and [even though] the Cleveland Institute of Art is a smaller school, I clearly want to see it continue to succeed.”
Mark understands the value of alumni giving back to CIA. “I would encourage them—like I will my son once he gets up and running—to pay it forward. Help out the next folks who are coming up through a similar path that you went down. Even if it’s a small amount like I did in the beginning, everything helps.”
Mark Nichols ’93, left, has supported CIA since 1995. His passion for giving back to his alma mater increased when his son, Oliver Nichols ’24, enrolled at CIA. Submitted.
NOTES
Compiled by Rachel Zinram
Rebecca Kaler ’64 had work in Temporal Tracks at Context Fine Art in Cleveland.
Ron Testa ’65 participated in a members showcase at Praxis Photo Arts Center in St. Paul, Minnesota and had work in 6x6 at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center in Rochester, New York.
Gary Bukovnik ’71 had a solo show, Forever Spring, at Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, California.
Kim Zarney ’71 participated in a group exhibition, Interpretations of
our Natural World, at River Gallery in Rocky River, Ohio.
Joe Workosky ’72 won the 2024 Lantz Hoffman Broadcast Media Award at the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association’s Excellence in Craft awards banquet for his video “Surrounded by Bears” in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Richard Heipp ’76 had a solo show, Paintings Like Pictures: Museum Views, at 14BC Gallery in New York City.
Ron Krygowski ’76 had a solo show, CURIOSITIES, at McDonough Museum of Art in Youngstown, Ohio.
Pamela Pastoric ’77 had work, “My Guardian Pin,” included in the Best of Ohio 2023 exhibition at the Ohio Craft Museum in Columbus, Ohio.
Babs Reingold ’78 had a solo exhibition at SPAACES Art Gallery in Sarasota, Florida. She also had work in Biophilia: In Excelsis at the Yale School of Sacred Music in New Haven, Connecticut.
David Verba ’80 had work on view in the Trudy Wiesenberger Gallery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland.
Catherine Butler ’81 had a sound/ spoken word piece, “Fragile Eggisistence,” chosen for Cassette Fest organized by WCSB-FM 89.3 in Cleveland.
Guy-Vincent ’83 released Dualismo, a visionary concept album, on May 31.
Kim Kulow-Jones ’84 has a sculpture in Celebration of the Book at Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
William T. Moore ’84 has work in multiple online shows through Biafarin: A Study in Tranquil Illuminations, Elysium, Fire, Tranquillum, Inspirations and Believe. He was featured through Exhibizone in Boundless, had work in Spotlight magazine (Issue 37, June 2024) and was featured in the Circle Foundation for the Arts’ Spotlight International Contemporary Art Magazine. He will also have work in Masters of Art 21st Century in September and Important World Artists, Volume 6 in August through World Wide Art Books.
Eric Tuck-Macalla ’86 was awarded 2nd place in Fresh at Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio, and participated in the 101st Annual Spring Show at the Erie Art Museum in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was featured in Subtractica at Troppus Projects in Kent, Ohio, and he had work in Mirrored Perspectives: The Art of Reflection at Understory in Cleveland.
Joe Karlovec ’09
Steve Mastroianni ’88 had work in The Cleveland Eclipse Show at Pinwheel Gallery in Cleveland and in the Emerging Artist Exhibition at Roy G Biv Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. He will also have a solo show, Diagrams for Inner Space, on view from July 12 through September 14 at Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio.
Jonathan Wayne ’88 was a recipient of the 2023 Ralph M. Besse Award for Teaching Excellence at Cuyahoga Community College.
Susan Donovan Lowe ’89 has a solo show, Blue and Beyond, on view until July 31 at the Malvina J. Freedson Gallery at Winton Place in Lakewood, Ohio.
Terry Gess ’91 had pottery exhibited at Gallery 164 in Waynesville, North Carolina.
Laura D’Alessandro ’93 had a solo show, Fated Fairy Tales, at the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in Cleveland.
Richard Shrewsbury ’93 had a solo show, Spirits, on view in Carnegie Hall’s Museum Gallery in Lewisburg, West Virginia.
Kuoyong Huang ’94 collaborated with the start-up Outside Now to design the Play it Safe System as part of the Adidas Community Lab featured in Forbes.
Dawn Tekler ’94 is serving as one of three jurors for the 48th annual Fairmount Art Exhibition, on view August 6–22 at the Fairmount Center in Novelty, Ohio. She also had work in a two-person art show at The Red Twig floral design studio in Hudson, Ohio.
Dawn Brockman Petrill ’95 had work in a three-woman show, Echoes of Memory, at the Dublin Arts Council Gallery in Dublin, Ohio.
Bruno Casiano ’96 had new work on display at the KeyBank Studio for Arts + Community inside the Cleveland Foundation’s offices.
Amy Casey ’99 had a solo exhibition, Headlong Towards a Precipice, at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.
Nicole Hanusek ’00 curated the Smack Happy Art Show, available to view online through the end of July.
Jenniffer Omaitz ’02 had an exhibition, Where Love Lives, at Gallery 202 in Cleveland.
Alison O’Daniel ’03 earned a Critic’s Pick review for her film, The Tuba Thieves, in The New York Times.
Leana Quade ’03 competed in Season 4 of Blown Away on Netflix.
MMM ’04 shared transdisciplinary lecture performance and socioartifacts from NASA titled Space Race: UNCLASSIFIED at the Poetry Foundation’s Pi Day event in Chicago.
Ariel Vergez ’05 collaborated with artists from Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center, Unidos por el Arte at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.
Mark Reigelman ’06 designed Right Turn Only, a 20-foot spiral installed in the Las Vegas Trail community in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ashley Gerst ’07 had her short film, Number 5 Jobs, featured in Episode 29 “Brave Bessie by Brave Gabrielle,” as part of Season 54 of Sesame Street.
Jon Gott ’09 had a solo show, If You Receive a Love Letter From Me, You Are Fucked Forever, at SHED Projects in Cleveland.
Joe Karlovec ’09 was awarded a Lightning Residency and had a twoperson show, Loose Joints, at Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
Lauren Yeager ’09 participated in IN/ SITU through Expo Chicago 2024 at Chicago’s Navy Pier Festival Hall. She is also featured in Everlasting Plastics, a traveling exhibition, through August 11.
Bryce Campbell ’09 was promoted to design director at Richardson Design in Cleveland.
Mike Meier ’10 had work in Vivid Arrangements at KINK Contemporary in Cleveland.
Emily Hromi ’14 had three pieces in the I Heart Recycled Art exhibition at Cocoon Art Space and ArtRat Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Amnon Carmi had his film, Yaniv, screened during the 48th Cleveland International Film Festival.
QiuChen Fan ’15 had her HABITAT painting series exhibited in the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s Guren Gallery.
Annmarie Suglio ’15 was featured in From Fiber to Hand at the Textile Arts Center of Madison in Madison, Wisconsin.
Ben Wretch ’17 had a solo exhibition, Your Garden Gnome has no Soul, at Maria Neil Art Project in Cleveland.
Davon Brantley ’18 curated J uneteenth Exhibition: A Look Amongst the Stars featuring Amber N. Ford ’16, Amirah Cunningham ’18, Amani Williams ’21, Crystal Miller ’23, Derek Walker ’23 and DeAnne Smith ’24 at Ursuline College’s Wasmer Gallery in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
Joey Goergen ’18 was featured at Seneca One Tower’s new Pocket Gallery in Buffalo, New York.
Fern Haught ’18 published a debut young adult graphic novel, The Baker and the Bard.
ALUM
Continued on page 15
William T. Moore ’84
NOTES
Compiled by Michael C. Butz
Michael C. Butz (Institutional Advancement) earned four awards via The Press Club of Cleveland’s 2024 All Ohio Excellence in Journalism competition for co-writing and cohosting Aliza: Her Story at 10 Years, a podcast produced by the Cleveland Jewish News. He won first place in In-Depth Report or Series, first place in Crime & Justice, second place in Podcast and second place in Documentary. For the same podcast, he also earned first place for Excellence in Podcasting via the American Jewish Press Association’s 2024 Simon Rockower Awards competition.
Nicole Condon-Shih (Foundation) presented a two-person exhibition, Microcosmic Orbit, at Waterloo Arts from April to May 2024, probing the delicate tension between the microscopic and macrocosmic.
Dan Cuffaro ’91 (Industrial Design) had two patents issued in 2023 and one in May 2024, bringing his total to 19. In addition, he earned a 2023 Pro Tool Innovation Award; completed a multimedia model of CIA’s Interactive Media Lab; was featured in an Ideastream Public Media article about his m.power entrepreneurship program at CIA; and will serve as a 2024 Cleveland Arts Prize juror.
Scott Goss ’06 (Foundation) completed “Wind Farm,” a series of sculptural wind turbines in the form of oversized pinwheels in Peekskill, New York. Each wind turbine collects energy via wind and solar, stores the power in an enclosed battery and powers lights on the sculptures in the evening. In June, he will install NEST—a sculptural playscape in the form of a climbable bird’s nest—at the Lorraine Whitlock Elementary School in Washington, D.C.
Steven Gutierrez (Foundation) led Foundation students in creating artistic panels for Greater Cleveland Rapid Transit Authority bus shelters in Cleveland’s University Circle
neighborhood. Carried out in collaboration with GCRTA, the project received national coverage from Mass Transit magazine.
Ambreen Hasan (Academic Affairs) presented “Simplifying Academic Advising: IR’s Ability to Augment” at the Association of Institutional Research Conference in Denver. She also presented on “Strategies to Avoid Common Survey Bias” at the Ohio Association of Institutional Research and Planning Spring 2024 Conference.
Elizabeth Hoag (Liberal Arts) presented a paper, “Resilience and Empowerment: One Hundred Years of Archaeological Mothers in the Field,” during the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting. She also co-authored a piece, “Experiential Learning and High-Impact Practices,” on which Riley Rist ’ 21 was a contributing author.
Benjamin Johnson (Craft + Design) received the Labino Award for Excellence in Glass for his work, “Linear Progression,” in the Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s Best of 2024 Exhibition at the Ohio Craft Museum
in Columbus, Ohio. He also exhibited in the Connections 2024: Glass from Every Angle, Glass Art Society Member Exhibition in Berlin, Germany during the international Glass Art Society conference in May.
Amber Kempthorn (Drawing) received the Institutional Bickford Award for Visiting Artists to bring writer, design researcher, artist and cultural producer Sara Hendren to CIA for a public event on November 14.
Jimmy Kuehnle (Sculpture + Expanded Media) has work, “Bau(ncy) Haus,” in the Balloon Museum’s touring exhibition, Pop Air: Art is Inflatable. The exhibition, dedicated entirely to inflatable art, is currently on view in Barcelona, Spain, and will open in Berlin, Germany and Vienna, Austria over the next three years.
Nancy Lick (Illustration) had her monotype collage, “Victoria,” accepted into the juried 14th May Show, on view through July 19 at The Gallery at Lakeland in Kirtland, Ohio. She will also be a guest presenter during the Ohio Regional Urban Sketchers Summit to be held August 9–11 in Dayton, Ohio.
Scott Goss ’06
Adam Lucas (Graphic Design) was published in Slanted Magazine #42 Books, a Germany-based art and design publication. Also, his most recent major book design and publishing project, AutoSummarize, an artist book by Jason Huff, was selected for an STA100 award from the Chicago-based Society
for Typographic Arts, a 45-year-old competition honoring the 100 best examples of typographic excellence produced around the globe.
Zach Savich (Liberal Arts) edited a series of essays on “Awe” for the Cleveland Review of Books as part of
Continued from page 13
Bianca Fields ’19 was one of 12 artists selected for Pratt>Forward 2024, a program for emerging artists in New York City.
Kelly Pontoni ’19 organized Connections I at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. This exhibition also included Sam Butler ’19, Evyn Venkateswaran ’20, Owlet Hourglass ’23, Nat Lenington ’24, James Negron ’24 and James Schaffer ’25.
Alex Heard ’20 is the first maker-inresidence in the Heights Knowledge and Innovation Center STEAM Lab at the Lee Road branch of Heights Libraries through July in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Brandon Secrest ’20 is the artist-inresidence at Bread & Salt in San Diego through July 31. He’ll have new work on display in conjunction with the World Design Capital exhibition at City College San Diego through August 17.
Samantha Schneider ’21 had a solo show, Root Beer Float: The Simple Pleasures of Childhood, at the Mansfield Art Center in Mansfield, Ohio.
Evyn Venkateswaran ’20 and Cass Penegor ’20 have work in the Queer Sh’bang Exhibition through July 19 at the Hildebrandt Artist Collective in Cleveland.
Destyni Green ’21 was named interim coordinator of the Orange Art Center in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
Riley Rist ’21 had work in Small Favors at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia.
Liana Gonzalez ’22 and Thomas Smith ’23 have an exhibition, Forests of Thoughts: Elevation of the Ordinary, at Cain Park’s Feinberg Gallery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Alyssa Lizzini ’22 had a solo show, The Universe Between Here and There, at Akron Soul Train’s CapSOUL Gallery in Akron, Ohio.
the Cleveland Humanities Festival. He published new work in Autofocus and served as guest faculty with the Iowa Summer Writing Festival.
John Tortelli (Business Affairs) was named a Notable Leader in Finance by Crain’s Cleveland Business.
Kara White (Photography) was accepted into the Alliance of Women Directors based in Los Angeles. Also, she served as writer, director, co-editor and producer on the recently completed hour-long documentary, Witness to Revolution: One Doctor’s Story of the Xinhai Revolution, which will air on PBS later this year.
Nikki Woods ’12 (Reinberger Gallery) opens a solo exhibition of her most recent oil paintings, Conjuring Images, on July 19 at HEDGE Gallery in Cleveland. She is also collaborating with Bianca Fields ’19 and Katy Richards ’11 on a group exhibition, Dream Gardens, that will be hosted within Conjuring Images at HEDGE Gallery.
FACUL TY ALUM
Sebastian Schenz ’22 curated Inside the Closet featuring Alex Heard ’20, Nova Stewart ’20, Max McMillen ’21, Liana Gonzalez ’22, Oliver Chapman ’23, Thomas Smith ’23, Alexa Wehrman ’23, Zoë Welch ’23, Elly Arvizu ’24, Layla Harris ’24, Nat Lenington ’24, James Negron ’24, James Schaffer ’25 and Cora Terrion ’25 at Hildebrant Artists Collective in Cleveland.
Alison Alsup ’23 had a solo exhibition, Ohio: Love for the Heart of it All, at Waterloo Arts Gallery in Cleveland.
Alexa Wehrman ’23 had work in Women Who Print, which also featured uko Kimura ’94, Tatiana Hornung ’21, Xani Dean ’22 and Layla Harris ’24, at Future Ink Graphics in Cleveland.
Tamsyn Kuehnert ’24 had a solo exhibition, Searching for the Meander, at the Rocky River Nature Center in North Olmsted, Ohio.
Adam Lucas
From left, Jamie Clampitt ’24, Lily Hupp ’24 and Motley Stephens ’24
at the Maltz Performing Arts Center in Cleveland. Photo by Rustin McCann.