CIA
LINK
WELCOME
HHow do we ever know we are in the right place at the right time? In late July 2024, I felt that distinct right place, right time feeling as I began my role as the Cleveland Institute of Art’s new Dean of Students, an experience the College had provided once before. From 2009 to 2011, I was in the right place, right time when I served as the Graduate Assistant for Student Life and Orientation at CIA.
My homecoming was marked by distinct changes. First, the physical environment has undergone enormous growth and development in 15 years. Second, student needs and the student experience have transformed at a similar pace. As Dean of Students, it is my responsibility to ensure that CIA provides that right place, right time experience to all students we have the pleasure of serving.
Where do we start?
In Student Affairs, we know our work starts and ends with students. We also know that we work within a larger college structure that is student-centric and holds the shared values of creativity, inclusivity, excellence, accessibility and more.
Keeping these pillars in mind, CIA Student Affairs has begun the process of developing a divisional mission, vision and student learning outcomes to serve as a guide to our work in the name of student success. We are informing these items through CIA student data, trends in higher education student affairs, the lived and observed CIA student experience, and our lenses as student affairs practitioners.
Undoubtedly, building a comprehensive mission and vision takes time, and preliminary work has resulted in the development of common themes we intend to weave into our final product. Here is a sneak peek!
• Cultivating and providing impactful, meaningful and necessary student support
• Working in service of students while teaching self-direction and selfefficacy
• Leading with optimism and problemsolving intentions and outlooks
• Developing and protecting physical, mental and emotional spaces to allow for safe exploration and student experiences
We plan to finalize our mission, vision and student learning outcomes in the coming months and move into an examination of our policies, processes and practices to ensure alignment with our new Student Affairs identity while strategically achieving that right place, right time feeling. We are excited to share our work with the larger CIA community in the near future.
Amanda Fronek, PhD is Dean of Students.
Winter 2024 Vol. 28, Issue 1
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: Josette Galiano ’14, posing here with a giant peppermint, competed on Freeform TV’s gift-wrapping reality TV show Wrap Battle in 2019. Submitted.
Possibility for Repair on view now in Reinberger Gallery
Compiled by Michael C. Butz
Possibility for Repair, a group show that explores how artists consider repair as a prospect, is on view through February 9 in Reinberger Gallery. The exhibition features work by Lyndon Barrois Jr. (Pittsburgh), Mark Thomas Gibson (Philadelphia), Drawing professor Sarah Kabot (Cleveland), M. Carmen Lane (Cleveland) and Jessica Pinsky (Cleveland).
Acknowledging the 2024 election as a backdrop, each artist questions dominant systems and reflects on ways of seeing and experiencing the world in order to inspire new perspectives. In a time of heightened fear and conflict, how can a creative community meet this moment with complexity and care? How can a creative community navigate difficult conversations as opportunities for meaningful change?
Mark your calendars for these CIA exhibitions
In early 2025, there will be several noteworthy and engaging exhibitions—all student-led—on view at CIA. We hope you’ll join us!
• Back in the Dayz, the third annual Black History Month exhibition organized by Black Scholars and Artists students, will respond to the theme of “nostalgia” and what that looks like through the memories of Black personhood. The exhibition will be on view February 7–28 in both the Ann and Norman Roulet Student + Alumni Gallery and the Mary Ann and Jack Katzenmeyer Student Lounge.
• CIA’s Student Independent Exhibition will mark its 79th year in 2025. Organized entirely by students, who choose the jurors and mount the exhibition, SIE offers fresh—and sometimes surprising—approaches to contemporary art. As always, SIE will showcase work from all areas, from visual arts and craft to digital art and design. SIE 79 will be on view from February 28 to April 6 in Reinberger Gallery.
CIA welcomes new Board members for 2024–25
At the recent Annual Meeting, CIA officially welcomed the following leaders to its Board of Directors: Lisa Codispoti, Chief Operating and People Officer for the Cleveland Museum of Art; Jim Keene, president and owner of Keene Building Products (now Keene, Inc.); José Longoria ’81, president and founder of Longoria Design; Svetlana M. Loshakov, CFA, Chief Investment Officer of Ridama Capital LLC; and Susan Stone is co-chair of Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP’s Student & Athlete Defense/Title IX Practice Group. Learn more about them at cia.edu/Board24-25.
CIA updates website, personalizes experience CIA’s website went through a complete redesign throughout the last year. The new and improved cia.edu launched in late September. It prioritizes student artwork, personalization, exploration, ease of use and student experiences. One of the site’s new features is an audience-selection tool, which allows visitors—including alumni—to see more content that’s relevant to them.
• Every Day Echoes: Small Moments, Big Connections, Lasting Traditions, the Latinx Club’s second annual exhibition, will celebrate the powerful, everyday ways Latinx and Hispanic heritage shapes lives through gestures, memories and rituals. The exhibition will be on view March 7–28 in the Alan Lipson Gallery.
In Memoriam
Hilda Mattlin ’48 passed away June 22 and majored in Fiber + Material Studies. Christine Seydlitz ’54, who studied Painting, died October 25. Rolfe Singerman ’60 passed away June 29 and earned a certificate in Art Education. Jack Benvenuto ’66, who majored in Painting, died July 15. Dennis Drummond ’66 passed away February 9 and majored in Painting and Drawing. Michael Tracy ’68 died June 15. Fred Oberlander ’72 died July 21 and majored in Painting. Paul Pizzini ’72 , who majored in Printmaking, passed away July 9. Harold Halvorson ’79 died August 26 and majored in Industrial Design. Marilyn Farinacci ’81, who majored in Painting, passed away July 22. Lisa Zitello ’02 passed away August 23 and majored in Painting. Peter Leon ’09, who majored in Painting, died October 13. Kelly Bigelow Becerra died July 8 and majored in Photography until 1995.
Top row, from left: Lisa Codispoti, Jim Keene, José Longoria ’81.
Bottom row, from left: Svetlana M. Loshakov, Susan Stone.
Visitors take in Possibility for Repair during its opening reception in Reinberger Gallery. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
Sesame Street short tickles and challenges CIA grad
By Carlo Wolff
When Sesame Street asked Ashley Gerst ’07 to create a short animation for the storied children’s show, Gerst snagged a chance to add one more definition of success to her career.
Gerst earned her BFA in T.I.M.E.-Digital Arts* (Technology + Integrated Media Environment) and has done commercial work for such companies as Red Bull, JBL, Nissan and American Express. She also has worked on films.
But the Sesame Street project marked an opportunity to be part of a creative brand she’s known nearly all her life.
“This is my first role as producer and director of a short,” Gerst says. “This is the first one I could claim ownership of, as opposed to being someone hired to help do a part of it.”
Gerst loved Sesame Street as a kid and was delighted to see her animation,
titled “Number 5 Jobs,” debut on HBO MAX on May 24. Along with her handpicked crew, she spent nearly a year developing the piece, which appeared in Season 54, Episode 29, which was called “Brave Bessie by Brave Gabrielle.”
Part of the fun is the shared experience.
“Some friends and family I’ve known my whole life were sending me pictures of their kids watching it in their living room,” Gerst said during a call from the Hudson Valley home she shares with her husband and fellow animator Ben Morse ’07. “And I just loved that.”
Gerst believes word-of-mouth led Sesame Street to tap her for this project. A Sesame Street spokesperson explained, “From attending film festivals to maintaining strong relationships with colleges and universities with student filmmakers, to fielding inquiries from filmmakers, we are always interested in meeting new talent.”
A personal connection
Working on “Number 5 Jobs” reminded Gerst of watching Sesame Street as a child on the West Side of Cleveland. One character that still fires her imagination was “Teeny Little Super Guy,” who rode a drinking glass through a kitchen.
“All of those animations are so different and unique, based on the individual artist’s personality,” she says. “So when I was asked to do a one-minute short for them, I was really excited to put some of my key styles within the animation.”
Her prompts from the Sesame Street team included the number 5 and the notion of work. She started thinking about what kinds of jobs a young person could do.
Gerst came up with dog-walking and provided Sesame Street a script, storyboards, an animatic (a presentation of the storyboards in motion) and a guide vocal. In her resulting, endearing video, a girl named Wei leashes the
In “Number 5 Jobs,” an animation by Ashley Gerst ’07 that appeared on Sesame Street, a girl named Wei walks dogs to a Central Park dog treat stand. Submitted.
dogs, counts them, walks them and gets them a treat at a Central Park food stand.
Sesame Street weighed in with requirements specific to early education and new learners, like the importance of repetitiveness in instructions. Gerst had proposed the dogs visit a hot dog cart, but had to change it to a dog treat cart when she learned hot dogs aren’t good for dogs.
“It was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of work,” she says. “I think the average animator, working a 40-hour work week, makes between six to 20 seconds. It depends on what they’re creating and how complicated it is.
“I’m average, I’m not faster than anybody else. And so it does take quite some time to even make just one minute.”
At CIA, Gerst says, one of her favorite teachers was Kasumi, a Cleveland Heights artist known for her startling works of mixed media.
“I really learned a lot about animation from her and I still use much of that knowledge today,” Gerst says. “In fact, I learned all of my 2D animation expertise from CIA.”
Kasumi remembers Gerst as well.
“Ashley was one of my all-time greatest students and was (and is) nothing short of a human dynamo,” Kasumi says. “She is highly creative, intensely hardworking, exceedingly bright, cheerful, socially conscious, generous and ambitious. In all the years I’ve known her, she has produced project after project of imaginative and beautiful work.”
CIA alum and present-day Animation faculty member Anthony Scalmato was one of Gerst’s classmates.
“You knew when she entered the studio and you felt her presence even when she wasn’t in there,” Scalmato says.
“Her studio space was a ball of materials, inspirations and oddities that grew daily and consumed anything in its path. It had to regularly be tamed.”
Above-average Ashley
Gerst has been extraordinarily active. She earned her master’s degree in computer art at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. She is an adjunct professor there and a tenured faculty member at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. She also makes commercials and movies.
Three years ago, Gerst started writing a short film she describes as a “straightup memoir” about her relationship with her father, a tax and finance expert who died in 2019. With the help of grants from William Paterson University, the PANO Network and Arts Alive, she’s been able to work on it steadily.
“Sundays,” as she calls it, is intended to honor her family, but there’s more to it than that. She expects to complete the film this fall and present it for inclusion in film festivals.
“Art therapy exists for a reason,” Gerst says, “but there certainly is a labor of love aspect to this.”
In this scene from “Number 5 Jobs,” Wei counts dogs before walking them to Central Park. Submitted.
Ashley Gerst ’07
Comprehensive campaign designed to ‘transform’ future
By Michael C. Butz
Art and design are transformative by nature. At its best, art changes the way we see the world and opens our minds to new perspectives. And good design changes—and improves—how we interact with products and experience surrounding environments. Combined, art and design help us learn and evolve.
It’s with that mindset that the Cleveland Institute of Art launched its Transformation Campaign, a $35 million comprehensive campaign aimed at increasing student scholarships, strengthening resources for student and faculty success, and contributing to campus enhancements— including construction of the College’s Interactive Media Lab. The campaign also supports the CIA’s financial sustainability and aligns with the “Advance our College” goal established in the 2020–2027 Strategic Plan.
More specifically, the Transformation Campaign focuses on five key impact areas: Student Access + Success, Technology + Innovation, Teaching + Learning, Community, and Campus.
Those are buzzy terms, but what do they actually mean? And why are these impact areas deserving of support?
To help illustrate the significance of two of those impact areas, we checked in with two CIA alumni: Beth Halasz ’89, who has already benefited from initiatives connected to Teaching + Learning, and Maria Rouzzo ’15, who can speak to the potentially profound impact of Technology + Innovation.
Teaching + Learning
Halasz is a certified medical illustrator. She became a nighttime adjunct faculty member in 2003, when by day she was a staff medical illustrator at the Cleveland Clinic. In 2017, a full-time faculty position opened up and she jumped at the chance to fill the role. She says it was an easy decision.
“I could illustrate all these textbooks, journals and atlases—and it’s terrific to see your work in print—but eventually they sit on a shelf. Nothing compares to a student who, years later,
CIA faculty member Beth Halasz ’89 teaches a class of Life Science Illustration students. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
comes back and says, ‘Remember that thing you taught us? I never forgot it!’” Halasz says. “That’s why I teach.”
Most faculty members will tell you, though, that the demands of teaching—and the needs of students—change over time. That’s why CIA launched the Jane B. Nord Center for Teaching + Learning in 2022.
The Nord Center serves as a resource hub and incubator to advance faculty members’ skills in teaching, instructional design, learning assessment and whole student support. It also bolsters the College’s ongoing efforts to ensure its curriculum and teaching methodology are inclusive, socially responsible and continuously improved.
“I engaged with the Nord Center at the first chance. I find it extremely helpful,” says Halasz, adding that she reads every book suggested by Nord Center director Kari Weaver, PhD.
“I love to learn, and I think the students recognize I am learning with them when I reference a book I just read and how it applies to something we are doing in class,” Halasz says. “The books offered give me a broader understanding of teaching methods, differences in learning (and learners), accessibility to learning, and other topics.”
The Transformation Campaign’s Teaching + Learning impact area ties directly to expanding programming offered by the Nord Center—programming that’s already making a difference.
“I’ve changed how I present materials. I’ve gained a better understanding of neurodiversity and how to change up teaching—as well as how students respond to critiques, assignments and homework,” Halasz says. “When I apply some of these suggestions to the classroom, I find the students begin to engage quicker and more confidently.”
Technology + Innovation
Rouzzo’s interest in a media-production career started in high school and was solidified during her participation in CIA’s Pre-College program, where she learned from Greg Martin ’89 and Richard Fiorelli ’74.
She earned her BFA in Technology and Integrated Media (T.I.M.E.), and credits faculty such as Barbara Chira, Sarah Paul, Paul Sobota, Angela Russo-Ostot, Tina Cassara, Mark Tekushan and Barry Underwood with helping shape her path to a creative career.
Support CIA’s Transformation Campaign
To support or learn more about the Transformation Campaign, scan the QR code or visit cia.edu/campaign
“I was spoiled, and I’ll always be grateful for my experience at CIA,” Rouzzo says. “I could fill the page with names of incredible faculty I learned a wealth from and now work with to help build Northeast Ohio’s creative workforce.”
Rouzzo is referring to her work as the Greater Cleveland Film Commission’s Workforce Development Manager, a role that focuses on building, training and retaining the region’s media production crew base by providing local talent with the education and tools needed to succeed in the industry.
Her role gives her a valuable perspective on the potential impact of CIA’s Interactive Media Lab (IML), which will open in 2025 and is central to the Transformation Campaign’s Technology + Innovation impact area.
Among other things, the IML will feature an extended reality (XR) virtual production studio and a multi-format screening room outfitted for virtual reality (VR), 3D and 2D visual experiences, immersive audio experiences, video editing, color grading and sound mastering.
“Students will be able to create dynamic environments in real time, blending physical and digital elements in ways once only available to high-budget studio productions,” Rouzzo says. “The integration of these advanced technologies will foster cross-disciplinary collaboration in student work and give them a competitive edge.”
The IML will also be open to film productions shooting in Northeast Ohio. Film crews are home to hundreds of production jobs, and the industry has more than doubled its spending on such jobs in the last decade. And, just this year, Ohio almost doubled the tax credit program that attracts these jobs to the state. Rouzzo suggests those factors, coupled with the IML, stand to significantly benefit CIA students.
“A production’s art department typically hires the most crew. All CIA majors are suited for these roles, and IML training will further enhance employability,” Rouzzo says. “I truly wish the IML had existed when I was a CIA student—this facility is a game-changer for the next generation of creative professionals!”
Maria Rouzzo ’15 helps students from Cleveland High School for Digital Arts recreate a TV scene as part of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission’s FilmSkills lecture series, a semester-long project that teams up with industry professionals to lead students through various careers in production. Submitted.
Reality (TV) check: Really big challenges, unreal pressure
By Karen Sandstrom ’12
If there’s a single question that people ask anyone who has ever been on a reality show, it has to be this: Would you do it again? Mark Rubelowsky ’19 answers fast and furiously. “I would one-thousand-percent do it again,” he says. “It was a 10-out-of-10 experience.”
Rubelowsky earned his BFA in Glass at CIA and now makes custom furniture, lighting and artwork at his studio in Geneva, Ohio. He and friends Eli Baylis and Freeland Southard ’05 (who earned his BFA in Ceramics and was once CIA’s Fabrication Studio manager) teamed up on Season 10 of the History Channel series Forged in Fire
In the 83-minute special episode, Instruments of Death: Masters of the Siege, the trio competes against three other teams to design and fabricate weapons that might be used to storm a castle.
“I have been a fan of Forged in Fire since it came out. I love that show,” Rubelowsky says. “I saw on Instagram that they were looking for woodworkers and metalworkers with limited forging experience who had a knowledge of mechanical movement. I sent in the paperwork, and a couple months later, they told us we were getting on the show.”
Mark Rubelowsky ’19, left, Freeland Southard ’05 and Eli Baylis arrive at their hotel for the filming of Forged in Fire carrying a gun case containing a war hammer they crafted at home. The hammer was the first challenge of the show. Submitted.
Forged in Fire is far from the first appearance by a CIA artist on reality TV. Rubelowsky is in company with at least four others:
• In 2010, Valerie Mayén ’05 appeared on Season 8 of Project Runway, which then appeared on the Lifetime network.
• In 2011, Drawing professor Sarah Kabot competed on Season 2 of Bravo TV’s Work of Art: The Next Great Artist
• In 2019, Josette Galiano ’14 brought sparkles and ribbons to Freeform TV’s Wrap Battle, a gift-wrapping competition.
• And early in 2024, glass artist Leana Quade ’03 competed on Season 4 of Netflix’s glassblowing show, Blown Away
The artists describe their reality TV experiences as wild, rollicking and often harrowing work. They also offer a glimpse of what it means—creatively speaking—to decide that you’re up for anything.
Valerie Mayén
Mayén is founder of Yellowcake, a line of clothing and accessories she developed after first studying illustration at CIA and then learning fashion design at Virginia Marti College.
Mayén was still a fashion newbie when it happened. She was selling her work off a small independent website when she got a call from the show producers. They wanted her to apply quickly. They wanted copies of her patterns, a carousel of slides, and she needed to go to Chicago for an interview and to meet designer Tim Gunn, the show’s on-air mentor.
As it happened, she was low on inventory, so she made the best of her travel time. “I had nothing to take to my audition,” she says. “I was literally sewing on the Megabus on the way there.”
She wasn’t chosen for Season 7, but she was successful when she was asked to reapply for Season 8—and was still a relative fashion newbie. “I’d only been sewing two years when I was on the show,” she says.
On the other hand, the timing proved to be as good a time as any to throw herself into a huge national TV challenge. She had been freelancing her design, freelancing illustration, and had juggled gigs as a sales clerk, waitress and nanny. “I really had nothing to lose.”
The experience was wild. She arrived in New York for filming only to find the airline had lost her luggage. The next day, she and 16 other contestants went to work right away.
“It was nonstop. It was like fashion camp prison,” she says. “Terrifying but exhilarating. We were all motivated by our adrenaline. I loved it and I’ll never do it again.”
Yet she did do it again. Mayén lasted through 10 of the 14 episodes in Season 8 and placed seventh overall. Then she was invited back for Project Runway All Stars, Season 5, which aired in 2016. She came in ninth out of 13 contestants.
All in all, the national audience did not rocket her to stardom, but it helped spread the word about her work.
Valerie Mayén ’05 and contestant Alexander Pope at work on Project Runway All Stars. Courtesy of Lifetime.
“It helped give me credibility and leeway,” she says. “It led to people knowing who I was. When I was first on Etsy, I had clients in Kansas City, New York, Ireland and Kuwait, but not a single client in Cleveland. Afterward, I was definitely more visible.”
Sarah Kabot
Bravo TV’s Work of Art: The Next Great Artist lasted only two seasons, but that was long enough to provide Kabot with a chance to wander well outside her comfort zone. The New York-based show challenged competitors to quickly make artwork to be judged by critics, curators and other artists. Challenges included making good art using a piece of “bad” art, creating work from car parts, and making work to first sell on the street and hang in a gallery.
Kabot applied after a friend recommended her to the producers.
The audition required a trip to Chicago, artwork in hand. Kabot doesn’t vividly recall being nervous, but says, “I’m sure I was. Anything that’s new and different is a little nerve-wracking.”
Her father was ill at the time, too. He lived in Michigan, and Kabot found it challenging to commit to a project that took her away from easy access to him. But she had his blessing. “I said, ‘I have this opportunity. It’s very weird and scary.’ And he said, ‘Well, you should have an adventure.’ I think that was a good lesson.”
Kabot has a strong natural tendency to be reliable and consistent, which usually means planning well. The pace of the show was at odds with that. “But it made me lean in a little
bit to being more adventurous and taking new kinds of risks in my work, and to some extent, in my life. That was my big takeaway, that I could do a big, weird thing that doesn’t seem to align with all the other things I know about my personality.”
The entire second season of Work of Art can be viewed on YouTube, so—SPOILER ALERT—skip the next two paragraphs if you want to watch and be surprised.
Kabot finished sixth and was sent home after what the judges deemed to be a lackluster response to the street-artto-gallery-art competition. “I knew that I was not in the right winning headspace anymore when I started to become more interested in my colleagues and having conversations with them about art and this weird thing that we were doing.”
Still, she says, “It was a great adventure. I surprised myself by doing it, and I am proud I took a risk.”
Quade
Making glass art in a traditional hot shop bears little resemblance to making glass art in response to a challenge on a reality TV show competition. Glass artist Quade (she has mostly dropped her first name, Leana) discovered that as a contestant on Netflix’s Blown Away, where competitors respond to glassblowing prompts of increasing difficulty. Quade likens it to trying to cook in someone else’s kitchen.
“They want a gourmet meal, but they only give you hot dogs and potatoes,” she says.
Difficulties aside, Quade was able to make work she was proud of, if not exactly the kind of work she makes on her own.
One of Drawing professor Sarah Kabot’s most successful pieces on Work of Art was a pair of seat covers from a Fiat that she presented side by side, alluding to car rides she used to take with her father, who had passed away by the time the show was filmed. Courtesy of Bravo TV.
Her favorite piece was a big red truck she made in response to a prompt to make work inspired by what the artists wanted to be when they were kids.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to be,” says Quade. “I liked sports. I got dirty. And I just remember taking this assessment test in school. It told me I was going to be a truck driver. So I ended up using that as the story. And that was the piece that I was very proud of.”
Season 4 of Blown Away is available for streaming on Netflix. If you want to watch and be surprised to see how well Quade competed—SPOILER ALERT—skip the next two paragraphs.
Quade stayed in the competition through the fifth episode, in which the challenge was to create a “sweet treat.”
“They didn’t want gum drops and they didn’t want suckers,” she says. “So I made some crazy bubble wand with sugar bubbles and it worked. (But) when I got booted, they were like, oh, it’s too busy. When I look back, what I regret doing is fulfilling the assignment instead of creating work that I knew how to make.”
Josette Galiano
Galiano earned her BFA in Industrial Design at CIA and a master’s from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. These days, she leads research for retail branches of JP Morgan Chase and creates large-scale cut paper installations in her design business, Florette by Josette.
When she heard about the casting call for Wrap Battle, it sounded like it had been conceived with her in mind. “I thought, you know what, you’ve been training for this your whole life, busting out projects under the gun two minutes before they’re due, staying up for days,” says Galiano. “You’ve got creativity-under-pressure. This is all you’ve ever done.”
Contestants were challenged in at least three ways: Solve a gift-wrapping predicament, such as wrapping a backyard grill; do it fast; make it pretty.
The show aired in November 2019, and Galiano had a blast at watch parties with friends and colleagues. She also found it interesting to see how her experiences had been edited.
Quade—a 2003 alum who started to drop her first name, Leana, when she studied with CIA professor Brent Kee Young—says the competitive spirit has always been a part of glassmaking. “At CIA, there were three of us in my class year, and we were always fighting for attention from Brent.” Courtesy of Netflix.
“They painted some people to seem really nice and you’re like, no, they were not nice, cut the sappy music!” she says with a laugh. “They were a bully on that show!”
The experience was lots of fun, she says, and also grueling.
“We were cooped up in L.A. in a random hotel complex for 30 days,” she says. “We weren’t allowed to talk to any of our opponents offset. They had our phones. It was so strange. By the end of it, you started to think, what’s real?”
Wrap Battle is no longer easy to access online, so there’s no spoiler here. Galiano placed fourth out of nine and she competed on all six episodes. A moment after the judges told her she was going home, she walked off set only to hear that all the contestants would participate in the final challenge.
“So I just walked back on,” she says. “We decorated a car.”
Mark Rubelowsky
Thermite is a mixture of metal powder and metal oxide that can be used in metal forging. So Rubelowsky, Southard and Baylis named their Forged in Fire team the “Ther Mighties” to honor the craft of forging—which none of them had a whole lot of experience in.
Before the show, Rubelowsky says, he’d forged one knife in a class. Baylis and Southard weren’t much better prepared, but the three had a great time on set at a 4-H farm in New York— thinking through the engineering and crafting of weapons. The show is now viewable on the History Channel app, so to be surprised—SPOILER ALERT—stop reading here.
In the second of three challenges, three remaining teams competed to design and build their own battering rams with metal tips strong enough to blast through a heavy wooden door as quickly as possible—and they were timed. The team with the slowest time was to be sent home.
The Ther Mighties broke through in 13 seconds, tying with another team for second place, so the judges critiqued the designs and opted to send the Ther Mighties packing. It was a disappointment, Rubelowsky admits, especially since the final challenge was the ballista—”basically, a giant crossbow,” he explains. “We would have killed that.”
And they still might. “We’re currently building a ballista,” he says. The team will be featured on another Forged in Fire episode, date to be determined. Stay tuned.
From left, Freeland Southard ’05, Mark Rubelowsky ’19 and Eli Baylis sketch while competing on Forged in Fire. Courtesy of the History channel.
Josette “Gigi” Galiano works on a creative package during one of the Wrap Battle challenges. Submitted.
ANNUAL REPORT 2023–24
CIA builds for future amid higher ed challenges
As we reflect on the 2023–24 fiscal year, we’re so grateful for the support of our longtime and new supporters, partners, friends and community members.
And this support means so much to us now, more than ever. CIA—and the higher education sector as a whole—has been faring with considerable challenges as we face demographic and sociological shifts, an increased regulatory environment, seismic repercussions of a botched FAFSA rollout, and declining public trust in the value of higher education. Combined, these factors have led to growth in the “non-consumption” market of students not going to college at all.
Last academic year, many colleges— including some of our neighbors in Northeast Ohio as well as fellow art and design colleges across the country—also faced considerable budget deficits, programmatic and employee cuts, and even mergers and closures.
At CIA, through the efforts of the Board of Directors and Cabinet, we’ve been working hard to learn from the difficult circumstances faced by other schools. We’ve also been responsibly and proactively engaging in “preventive care” alongside innovation investments to ensure our long-term institutional health and relevance.
For example, this past year we engaged in the next phase of our digital transformation efforts, cost-containment planning, Interactive Media Lab operationalization and academic planning, and other forwardmoving strategic initiatives to ensure we remain mission-focused, future-facing and fiscally responsible.
On that note, CIA’s retention investments are paying off. Last academic year, we saw a record-low attrition rate of 2.1 percent from Fall 2023 semester to Spring 2024 semester. Financial barriers aren’t the only impediment to student success, and we’re thrilled to see the positive outcomes of our MOSAIC (Multicultural Orientation Series for Artists in College) program, Jane B. Nord Center for Teaching + Learning, Career Center, and other systemic student success initiatives.
Another key development of our work last year involved transitioning from the “silent” to the “quiet” phase of CIA’s Transformation Campaign, a $35 million comprehensive campaign— “comprehensive” in that it includes a combination of endowment, capital and operating support—that focuses on five mission-defining impact areas. And as the 2023–24 Annual Report goes to press, we have exceeded 75 percent of our
The Cleveland Institute of Art wishes to thank the taxpayers of Cuyahoga County, who through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture provided $525,290 in support of public programs at CIA, which include our Continuing Education and Community Outreach programs, the Cinematheque and Reinberger Gallery.
goal (more than $27 million so far) and are starting to get “loud” as we enter the Transformation Campaign’s public phase.
We thank you again for your continued support, and we invite you to join us in CIA’s continued transformation as well as in spreading the good word of our College far and wide.
Kathryn J. Heidemann President + CEO
Cynthia Prior Gascoigne Chair, Board of Directors
Community Impact Report
CIA’s Community Impact Report contextualizes just how big a difference the College makes in the community. To read the 2023–24 Community Impact Report—which shares details of CIA’s community make-up, economic impact and community partnerships from the last academic year—visit cia.edu/impact.
Cover artwork: Janoi Daley ’24 who earned her BFA in Painting, works in her studio during her senior year at CIA.
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
Prior Gascoigne
Heidemann
2023–24 Financial Summary
Like many small colleges, CIA’s primary source of income is tuition and fees. At CIA, we recognize the significant financial investment for education made by students and families. Concentrated efforts are made to keep tuition increases below national averages while providing
Revenue
the highest quality education in a state-of-the-art environment. However, we continue to see requests for more and more aid.
Total enrollment for Fall 2023 semester was 566 students, which included 153 new and transfer students.
The following is a breakdown of CIA’s operating revenue sources:
60.4% Tuition and Fees, Net of Financial Aid 20.6% Auxiliary Enterprises 15.1% Government and Current Year Restricted Grants and Endowment Support 3.9% Annual Fund Contributions
Expenses
The following is a breakdown of CIA’s operating expenses:
Total 28.2% Instructional Programs
Institutional Support
Auxiliary Enterprises
Student Services
Academic Support
Endowment
At June 30, 2024, the market value of endowment assets was $37.6 million, composed of $11 million of funds held in trust and $26.6 million of CIA-managed investments.
Endowment support includes distributions from endowment funds held in trust and distributions from the CIA-managed portfolio. A majority of the endowment distributions are used for need- and merit-based financial aid awarded to students.
The endowment continued to experience positive growth during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. The one-year weightedaverage return on the combined endowment portfolio was 10.8 percent, net of fees. The overall asset allocation of the CIA-managed portfolio at June 30, 2024
Honor Roll of Donors
The Cleveland Institute of Art is grateful to the individuals, corporations, foundations and organizations that contributed to the College’s success in 2023–24. Through generous gifts to the Annual Fund, scholarship support, programmatic initiatives, gifts in kind and planned gifts, these alumni and friends demonstrated their dedication to our mission to cultivate creative leaders who inspire people, strengthen communities, and contribute to a thriving and sustainable economy through an innovative education in art and design.
We are especially appreciative of The Charles E. Burchfield Society members who gave $1,500 or more to the Annual Fund or other current use designations.
To these special donors and all those who contributed to CIA during the 2023–24 fiscal year, we extend our most sincere gratitude.
Visionaries $20,000+
Josephine and A. Chace Anderson
Fran and Jules Belkin
Amy Bendall and Scott Collingwood
William Busta and Joan Tomkins
Kathryn and Frederick Clarke / Clarke Family Charitable Foundation
Cleveland Art Association (carta)
Cleveland Foundation
The Helen C. Cole* Charitable Trust
Ruth Swetland Eppig and Michael Eppig
Chann Fowler-Spellman and Edward Spellman
Cynthia Prior Gascoigne and Jim Gascoigne
General Motors Corporation
Lisa Triggs Greene and Matthew Greene
Erica Hartman-Horvitz and Richard Horvitz / RDM Foundation
The Hearst Foundations
Kathryn Heidemann and Jonathan Golli
The John Huntington Fund for Education
The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation
Lynda and Don Insul
Gary R. Johnson and Brenda K. Ashley
The Leonard Krieger Fund of the Cleveland Foundation
The G.R. Lincoln Family Foundation
Nicole and James. D. “Deej” Lincoln
The Lozick Family Foundation
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation
Betsi and Warren Morris
Creighton B. Murch and Janice A. Smith / The Murch Foundation
John P. Murphy Foundation
The Eric & Jane Nord Family Fund
Jane B. Nord ’76
Laura Ospanik ’80 and Stephen P. Robbins
Kim and Paul Pesses
Meisel & Pesses Family Foundation
Anne and Michael Port
Caroline Brewer Goff Prentiss Fund of the Cleveland Foundation
The Goldie Reid Trust
Alicia T. Rozenbom
John and Sally Schulze / The Reading 1 Foundation
Janet Rosel Smith and Mark Smith
Carey and Scott Spencer
Janet and Kristofer Spreen
Betsy and Fred Stueber
Leaders $10,000+
Marianne and Christian Bernadotte
The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation
Grosvie and Charles Cooley
August L. Fluker and Jennifer E. Coleman
Ford Motor Company
Margaret Fulton-Mueller
Howard Groedel
Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.
Malvina and Jose ’81 Longoria
Madeleine Parker/The Arthur L. Parker Foundation
Robert and Christiane Siewert
Cathy Wain Stamler and Jonathan Stamler
Stellantis
Pacesetters $5,000+
Anne Conway Juster and Joseph Juster
Becky Dunn
The Harry K. & Emma R. Fox Charitable Foundation
From left, Photography majors Owen Carter ’26, Ben Teckmyer ’26, Tashanti Newbold ’26 and Lane Gifford ’26 work with faculty member Lauren Juratovac in the photo studio. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
William O. and Gertrude L. Frohring Foundation
Harriet Goldberg / Victor & Harriet Goldberg
Family Foundation
Graffiti HeArt
The Hankins Foundation
Leland James
The Walter E. & Jean C. Kalberer Foundation
Kelly and William Masters
Clay Mock
John Mueller and Ann Zoller
Kyla Epstein Schneider and Mitchell Schneider
Joseph B. O’Sickey ’40* Trust
Cynthia and Michael Resch
Laura Roulet and Rafael Hernandez / RouletHernandez Family
RPM International, Inc.
Mr. and Mrs. Neil L. Thompson
UB Greensfelder
Benefactors $3,000+
Anonymous
Brenda and Marshall Brown
Kimberly ’17 and George Chapman
Cowan Pottery Museum Associates
Christopher Gentner ’89
The Laub Foundation
Judith ’90 and S. Sterling McMillan III
Malou and Fred Monago
James Moore
Frances and Frank Porter, Jr.
Jill and Scott ’91 Richardson
Judith Salomon and Jerry Weiss
Greg S. Shaw Ph.D.
Meg and R. Thomas Stanton
S.K. Wellman Foundation
Members $1,500+
Dene Miller Alden ’67
Lisa and Chad Arfons
Jane and Wink Baldwin
Marilyn and Larry Blaustein
Clearstead
Cleveland Arts Prize
Consulate of Mexico
Diane P. Daniels ’84
Cindy and Tom Flynn
The Jean, Harry and Brenda Fuchs Family Foundation
Kevin J. Geiger ’89
Judith Gerson / Judith Gerson Charitable Trust
Dr. Jesse Grant
Linda Hirshberg
Richard Hollington, Jr.
Andrea and Mark Kohoot
Svetlana Loshakov
Matthew and Kate McKenna
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Roy Minoff and June Scharf
David and Inez Myers Foundation
Oswald Companies
Jocelyn Ruf
Jerry Smith
Laura and Charles Stack / Longview Foundation
Bonnie and John Tortelli
Kim and Greg Watts
Al and Gary Zvosec
Friends $500+
Anonymous
Leslye Discont Arian ’76 and Keith Arian
Robert Arko ’82 and Aura Oslapas ’80
Laura Bauschard
William Brouillard and Jessica Winiarski
Denise and David ’89 Buttram
Elana Cohen
James Cowan
Chandra and Manohar Daga
Ann and David ’67 Deming / Deming Art, LLC
Giant Eagle, Inc.
Goodman Real Estate Services Group LLC
Beth Gauthier Gresh
Pat and William Hanavan
Chris Howse and Lisa Bottoms
Mary Ann Katzenmeyer
Nancy and Joseph Keithley / Joseph P. and Nancy F. Keithley Foundation
Ursula Korneitchouk
Judi and Steve Kovach
Barbara and George Kres Beach
Victor C. Laughlin, M.D. Memorial Foundation Trust
Kate Macek and Ian Hill
Stephen Macek
Angela McDonald-Fisher
Mary McLeod ’59
Marlene and Rob Mishler
Casey Monda
Rita Montlack and Howard Freedman
Amy and Mark ’93 Nichols
Grafton and Effie Nunes
Anne and Nick Ogan
Sarah Ott-Hansen
Gwenn Pokorny / Pokorny Family Foundation
Norine and John ’71 Prim
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred M. Rankin, Jr.
Audrey and Albert Ratner
Charise Reid
Rick and Alita Rogers / Richard and Alita Rogers Family Foundation
H. Savery Fitz-Gerald Rorimer ’70 and Louis Rorimer
Jordi ’23 and David Rowe
Betty and David Schneider / Betty T. and David M. Schneider Foundation
Meredith Seikel
Lynne and James Shlonsky
Karen Skunta ’74 and Brent English
Yvette Sobky Shaffer
Skip Sroka ’77 and John Kammeier
Mackenzie Stubbins
Judy Takács ’86 and Scott Pendergast
Corey Thrush ’99 and Daniel Cuffaro ’91
Bonnie ’79 and Benjamin ’78 Upton
Amy and Neil Viny
Dr. Daniel T. Weidenthal, M.D.
Mr. and Mrs. Dickson Whitney, Jr.
Marjorie Williams
Beverly Zisla Welber* and Michael Welber
Sustaining $250+
Joann and Thomas Adler
Nancy and Robert Bostwick
Tuni and Lee Chilcote, Jr.
Gertrude and Homer Chisholm
William E. and Mary F. Conway Fund of the Cleveland Foundation
Robert Cwiok ’73
Maggie Denk-Leigh and Matthew Leigh
Jane Forbes ’75
Mrs. Barbara Y. Galvin
Margaret and James ’68 Hackstedde
Cynthia and Charles ’71 Herndon
Jean McClintock Hoffman ’67 and Richard Hoffman
Sarah Jane ’59 and Roger Ingraham
Henry Kleinhenz
Linda and Jack Lissauer
Don Margoni
Joan Cornett McConnell ’52* and Paul McConnell
Mr. William T. Moore, III ’84
Nancy Neville
Karen Sandstrom ’12 and Carlo Wolff
Wendy Collin Sorin ’93 and Steven Sorin
Renee Trznadel
Elaine Urban ’57
Meredith and Michael Weil
Trudy and Steven Wiesenberger
Supporting $100+
P. Thomas Austin
Donna and Herb ’69 Babcock
Cynthia Bassett
Marcie Bergman and Alan Rauss
Kim Billings-Diehl ’81
Jennifer Biskind ’81
Julia and Charlie Bolton
Barbara Brayack
Keith ’68 and Gloria Brightbill
Robert S. Bruch
Marilyn ’56 and Robert Buttriss
William Carlson
Michael Costanzo
Jane and Bob Daroff
James DeRosa
Paul and Janis DiCorleto
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Fabens
Margaret Fischer ’69
Ann and Marc Freimuth
Carl Gaertner
Diane and Lawrence ’75 Garber
Anthony J. Greco ’60
Astrida Paeglis Greco ’61
Drawing major Jazzee Rozier ’25 works on a project in CIA’s Printmaking studio. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
Glass major Annie O’Brien ’25 works in CIA’s Hot Shop.
Mel Grunau
Michael Gutzwiller ’83
Laura Hamilton
Jeanne Shuttleworth and Michael Hearn ’85
Lee Heinen
Sally Hobson
John Hrehov ’81
Drs. Suber and Cindy Huang / 121 Innovative Ideas Inc.
Sabrina A. Inkley
Laurie Hutchinson Jacobs ’86 and Les Jacobs
Mark ’62 and Patricia ’62 Kelly
Terri Kline
Dianne Kotrlik-Thompson ’67 and Tom Thompson
Athene and Chuck ’72 Kovacic
Ronald H. Krasney MD
Charlene and Don ’72 Krejci
Lisa Kurzner and Larry Bloomenkrantz
Lynne Lofton ’97
James Malley
Matthew J. Maloney
Gloria J. Mark, PhD ’78
Sheila Markowitz
Kanda McKee
Thomas L. Mills ’78 and Susan Werner ’80
Richard Miltner ’82
John Moore
Brian and Cynthia Murphy
Carol and Larry ’74 Nagode
Jeff Nasca ’88
Vaka Pereyma ’77
Dawn Brockman Petrill ’95 and Steve Petrill
Jan Rapp ’77
Michael Roby ’68
Eileen and Sam Roth / Art Source Cleveland
Dr. James and Betsy Sampliner
Jimmy Schlemmer
Brant Schuller ’90
William Schumann
Richard J. Skerl, Jr. ’90
Elizabeth and Frederick Specht
Denise ’06 and William Stewart
Jeff Stewart and Diane Knoblauch
Paul Stewart ’52
Dianne Stiver-Lang ’86 and Roy Lang
Jack Stone II ’72 and Susan Stone ’72
Sue Wall
Harriet Warm and Richard Blum*
Sarah Weiner
Katherine and Neil Wensink
Cybele Elloian Williams
Allen Zimmerman
Cindy and Jim Zins
Support Through CSU
In recognition of the mutually beneficial educational relationship between Cleveland State University (CSU) and the Cleveland Institute of Art—as evidenced through academic support, student and faculty advancement and enrichment, as well as various discounts—CSU disbursed funds to CIA that the State of Ohio had previously appropriated to the university for capital construction at the College. These funds were used toward renovation of CIA’s Joseph McCullough Center for the Visual Arts and construction of the new George Gund building.
Organizational Matching Gifts
Eaton Charitable Fund
Frederick S. Upton Foundation / Berrien Community Foundation
Glenmede Trust Company
Keybank Foundation
Lubrizol Foundation
Parker Hannifin Corporation
PNC Foundation
Rockwell Automation
Gifts in Kind
Brittany Batchelder ’19
Bright Ideas Shops, LLC
Joan and Jeffrey Doyne
Elizabeth Englehart
Thomas Frontini ’90
Henkel Corporation
Lauretta Jones ’75
Reserve Millwork
Judith Stroup
Greg Watts
In Honor Of
Charlotte Brittain
Sheila Markowitz
Christine and Richard Donahue
Kathleen Luschek
John C. Ewing
Anonymous
Dr. Louise Acheson and Mr. Kenneth J. Vinciquerra
Thomas Barnard III
Anne Batzell and Henry Boom
James Baxter
Fran and Jules Belkin
David Berenson
Sherri Bergman
Roger Blatnick
Sarah Buck
Bonnie and Michael Cole
Teri Dew
Deborah Glosserman
Timothy Goddard
Karsten Goldman
Deborah Goldstein
Kathleen Harkin-Newsome and James Newsome
Kathryn Karipides
Denise Kipfstuhl
Shawna Kirk and Michael Wendt
Stephanie Klem
Dorothy Klemm
Helene Kovesdi
Stephen Macek
Anne Meissner ’89
William S. Osher
Louis Parrott, Jr.
Kim Ann Pfau and Paul Barans
Betty Schaal and Rusty Culp
Myron Stern
Linda Tobin and Stephen Pepper
Beth and Scott Wachter
Monica, Edward and Linden Wagner
David W. Wittkowsky and James S. Anderson
Robert Hawkes
Sherri Bergman
Kathryn Heidemann
Sally and Donald Messinger
Painting and Printmaking major Jamie Brinker ’25 works in CIA’s Printmaking studio. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
From left, Drawing majors Kaylee Ryan ’25 and Julissa Bruno ’25 work on a project for the Role of the Artist as Producer course. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
Linda Jakob
Stephen Barrett
Mary Beth and Kurt Karakul
Laura Hamilton
Amy Viny and the CIA Advisory Council
Lisa Kurzner and Larry Bloomenkrantz
In Memory Of
Susan Armbrecht
Laura Paglin
Harriet Moore Ballard
Cynthia Bassett
William E. and Mary F. Conway Fund of the Cleveland Foundation
Becky Dunn
Holly Magowan
Trudy and Steve Wiesenberger
William Brittain
Sheila Markowitz
Jayne Brooks
Jodi and Scott Schumann
Lyle C. Deavers
Helene Kovesdi
Armine Diamond
Terri Kline
Dr. James and Betsy Sampliner
Peter Elloian
Ann Burke
Cybele Elloian Williams
Andrew Hanzel
Barbara Brayack
Jeff Stewart and Diane Knoblauch
Sally Hollington
Richard Hollington, Jr.
Joan Horvitz
Svetlana Loshakov
Dennis Kaufman
Stephanie and Andrew Doben
Sue Kaufman
Elsie Kamis Kres
Barbara and George Kres Beach
Sharon Lynn Kumin
Robin Kumin
Nancy Mann
Sally Hudak and Jerry Mann
Hilda N. Mattlin
Ann and Marc Freimuth
Jon Steiger
Ralph and Rachael Stewart
Ronita Weinstein
Cindy and Jim Zins
John Paul Miller ’40
Dene Miller Alden ’67
Richard Miltner ’82
Virginia B. Moore
James Moore
Caroline Oberndorf
Anonymous
Kanda McKee
Trudy and Steve Wiesenberger
Anthony Paluckas
Jon and Sarah Letsky
Jim and Judy Pugsley
Leland James
Max Rosenblum
Jodi and Scott M. Schumann
Viktor Schreckengost ’29
Keith ’68 and Gloria Brightbill
Michael Schwartz
Anonymous
John Sulak
Marilyn ’56 and Robert Buttriss
Frances P. Taft
Dene Miller Alden ’67
George Temethy
Roger Temethy
Judith Weidenthal
Dr. Daniel T. Weidenthal, M.D.
Samuel Weiner
Sarah Weiner
Dean Conrad West Sr.
John West
Industrial Design major Kai Edwards ’24, left, discusses his work with Lisa Triggs Greene and CIA Board member Matthew Greene during the 2024 Spring Design Show.
Scholarship and Endowment Honor Roll
Erwin Angala ’00 Scholarship in Industrial Design
Tim Becrofts
Hillary Brady
Katie Genaw
Brian Hlynosky
Ross Kotkowski
Natalie Mead
Jung Sun Park and Thomas W. Kelley ’00
Mark Wierszewski
Kenneth F. Bates Scholarship for Excellence in Enameling
Carol and Benham Bates
Norita Wyse Berman Memorial Award for Excellence in Painting
Jodi and Scott Schumann
Belkin Scholarship
Francine & Jules Belkin Philanthropic Fund
Cleveland Art Association (carta) Scholarship
Cleveland Art Association (carta)
Cleveland Art Association IMO Horrace Potter (1898) Memorial Scholarship
Cleveland Art Association (carta)
Cleveland Arts Prize IHO John Paul
Scholarship in the Visual Arts
Cleveland Arts Prize
Center for Teaching and Learning Endowment Fund
Fran and Jules Belkin
Laura Ospanik ’80 and Stephen Robbins
Ethel “Boots” ’74 and Thomas Clark Memorial Scholarship
Jackson and Lois Mowry
George Clements Memorial Scholarship for Travel Abroad
Holly Magowan
R. Guy Cowan Scholarship for Excellence in Ceramics
Cowan Pottery Museum Associates
Ruth Swetland Eppig and the SearsSwetland Family Foundation Fund for Student Success
Ruth Swetland Eppig and Michael Eppig
Anthony W. Eterovich Memorial Scholarship Fund
Karen Eterovich-Maguire and John Maguire
Audrey ’48 and Harvey Feinberg Scholarship
Gwendolyne and Steven Feinberg
William Clay Ford Automotive Design Scholarship
Ford Motor Company
William O. Frohring Graphic Design Award
The William O. and Gertrude Lewis Frohring Foundation
Brenda Fuchs Scholarship for Painting
The Jean, Harry and Brenda Fuchs Family Foundation
Fund For Our Future
Caroline* and Edward Oberndorf
Hearst Scholarship
The Hearst Foundations
The John Huntington Fund for Education Scholarship
The John Huntington Fund for Education
The Gallery Group Scholarship
The Gallery Group, Inc.
Myrtle Waintrup Givelber ’31 Prize for Female Artists
Anonymous
George Gund III Endowment for Cinematheque General Operating Expenses
Charles R. Honton
Miller ’40
Industrial Design major Owen Gray ’25, who’s studying Transportation Design, applies sandy primer to his clay model. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
Hanna-Feldstein Scholarship Fund
Susan Hanna*
Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME) Becas
Consulate of Mexico in Detroit
John Jackson ’77 Memorial Scholarship
Helen Zakin
Robert Jergens ’60 Scholarship for Excellence in Foundation Design and Craft
Robert Jergens ’60*
Frances V. Kaufman Scholarship Fund
Stephanie Doben
Sue Kaufman
Larry Havre Kline Prize for Excellence in Photography
James N. Kline
Sheryl and Judson Kline
Jonathan and Chris Kline
Klinger-Prendergast Scholarship for NonTraditional Students
Nora Prendergast and Bryan Klinger ’93
Sharon Lynn Kumin Scholarship for Excellence in Interior Design
Robin M. Kumin
Herbert F. Leisy Family Endowed Fund
Herbert Leisy, Jr.*
Lozick Industrial Design Scholarship
The Lozick Family Foundation
Mandel Leadership Scholarship
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation
Eleanor Bonnie McCoy Scholarship
Louisa Bonnie ’81 and Gregory Scarich
Meisel-Pesses Family Foundation Scholarship
Kim and Paul Pesses
Meisel & Pesses Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Meisel and Pesses Family Scholarship
Meisel & Pesses Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland
Warren & Betsi Morris Scholarship
Warren and Betsi Morris
Joseph B. ’40 and Algesa O’Sickey Scholarship
Joseph B. O’Sickey ’40* Trust
Ospanik Scholarship
Laura Ospanik ’80 and Stephen P. Robbins
Caroline Brewer Goff Prentiss Scholarship
Caroline Brewer Goff Prentiss Fund of the Cleveland Foundation
Jordi and David Rowe Family Grant
Jordi ’23 and David Rowe
The Jordi Rowe Painting Grant
Jordi ’23 and David Rowe
Alicia Rozenbom Scholarship
Alicia Rozenbom
Professor Emerita Barbara Stanczak ’90 Scholarship Fund
Christopher Stanczak / Stanczak Foundation
Julian Stanczak ’54 Scholarship
Christopher Stanczak / Stanczack Foundation
Daniel H. Straffon Memorial Scholarship
Cynthia and Peter Straffon
Rochelle and Jonathan Straffon
Priscilla Thompson Memorial Scholarship
Mr. & Mrs. Neil L. Thompson
Mildred Williams Eynon Wooddell 1925 Scholarship
Lois and Derry Eynon
Eleanor A. and Jack D. Zipp Scholarship for Excellence in Glass
Amy and Thomas Zipp
Heritage Circle Honor Roll
Established in 1982, the Heritage Circle recognizes those individuals who make an investment in the future of the Cleveland Institute of Art through a bequest, gift annuity or other planned gift arrangement. These special gifts sustain the College’s reputation for excellence and enhance the quality of its artistic and academic programs.
*deceased
Anonymous
Carol Adams ’70
Richard M. and Dene Miller Alden ’67
Jean E. Appleby and David Edelstein
Fran and Jules Belkin
Peter Paedra Bramhall ’70
Gary Bukovnik ’71
William Busta
Caroline “Drew” Davenport ’89
Mark A. Dreger
George* and Becky Dunn
Merle Edelman ’52
James P. Grigg
Margaret Ann Gudbranson
Patricia Ward Heinke ’55
Jeanetta Ho ’96
Etole ’56 and Julian* Kahan
Gloria and David Kahan
Hek Kleinberg
Ray Kowalski ’57
Joseph P. Naujokas
Laura Ospanik ’80 and Stephen Robbins
Rich Petruska
Steven Albert Ramsey ’83
Thomas Roese ’71
Debra and Warren Rosman
Jerry Smith
Joy Praznik Sweeney ’58
Charles S. Tramontana ’64
Jennifer L. Tucker ’88
Sue Wall
Georgianne Grande Wanous ’66
Cydney Weingart ’73
Marilyn J. White ’79
Trudy and Steven R. Wiesenberger
Anna* and Emma ’48 Yarlekovich
Steven A. Zilber
Heritage Circle Memorial Roll
Anonymous
Judith A. Abrams
Jane H. Alexander ’48
Elaine E. and Robert M. Anderson ’48
Paul K. Apkarian
Ernest W. Bako ’48
Jack J. Benvenuto ’66
Charles Lang Bergengren
Donald P. Bins ’66
Ruth Gedeon Boza ’44
Clara Rust Bringham
Helen E. Brown
Barbara K. Buddenhagen
Rudolph E. Bundas ’33
From left, Graphic Design majors Matison Griffie ’25 and Zoe Peenstra ’26 participate in a hands-on workshop led by visiting instructor Jacinda Walker of design xplorr.
Barbara Smith Carlson ’51
Elizabeth N. Chamberlain
Mary M. Chatman
Helen C. Cole
John W. Cox Trust
Ruth M. Danis ’35 Trust
Barry Lewis Duncan ’45
Ruth Richards Dunn ’34
Edris Eckhardt ’31
Elizabeth Whitney Evans
Jane Iglauer Fallon ’36
Helen Louise Fitz-Gerald ’70
Phoebe Flory
Maxeen ’76 and John A. Flower
Ted Frost ’88
Brenda K. Fuchs ’62
Ellen Garms
Marjorie Godin
Sybil J. Gould ’31
Dorothy Turobinski Grauer
Elaine Harris Green
Susan Hanna and Marvin Feldstein
Jean Combes Hines ’46
Gertrude Hornung
Michael S. Horvath and Martha A. Horvath ’54
Joan Yellen Horvitz
Laura A. Hugus
Clark Hungerford
Jane E. Hunter
Frank H. Hurley
Robert J. Jergens ’60
Elizabeth Clisby Jones ’31
Dr. Louis D. Kacalieff
Florence K. Kelley
E. Jane Kime ’31
Irene Kissel ’27
Ruth G. Klein ’34
Fredrick S. Lamb
Carolyn Lampl
Frances Wise Lang
Muriel H. Lehr ’29
Herbert F. Leisy
Norma M. Levy ’35
Theresa Smotzer Lind ’35
Norman H. Lonz ’47
Dolores L. Luckay ’36
Zella Eckels Marggraf ’44 Trust
Malcolm McBride
Joan Cornett McConnell ’52
William M. McVey ’28
Francis J. Meyers ’51
Mary Moon
Dr. and Mrs. Rocco L. Motto
J. Otto Nausbaum Trust
Florine E. Nicodemus ’25
Dorothe L. Niebes ’37
Caroline G. Oberndorf
Joseph Oros, Jr. ’39
Algesa O’Sickey
Joseph B. O’Sickey ’40
Silvia Balslew Page Trust
Irma A. Pauli
The Pearce Project
Miriam Peck ’33
Helen Greene Perry
Caroline S. Potter
Louise B. Price ’40
Nancy R. Ranney
Matilda H. Rovtar Trust
Ernest F. Ruppe ’46
Arthur H. Sahagian ’47
Charles L. Sallee, Jr. ’38
Stuart B. Schaffner in memory of Dorothy K. Schaffner
Hazel Haynes Schmitkons ’61
Viktor Schreckengost ’29
Laura V. Shapero
Glenn M. ’13 and Elsa V. Shaw
Kim Sherwin
Edith Smith
Marion H. Spiller in memory of William R. Spiller
Herbert H. Starkey ’48
Rolf and Maria Stoll
Frank E. Taplin, Jr.
Lockwood Thompson
Carol H. Tildes ’29
Frances R. Trawick ’33
Mary Louise Vail
Clare R. Walker
Mary L. Ward ’31
William E. Ward ’47
Annette R. Watson ’29
Helen P. White
Herbert A. White in memory of Margaret Fox White ’28
Jack White ’66
Margaret Fox White ’28
Pauline E. Woodin ’52
Odette and Paul Wurzburger
Emily M. Yeandle ’30
Frederick H. Yehl ’47
Michael Clay Zahratka ’64
Peter A. Zorn, Jr. ’65
Top: Eli Voitkofsky ’25, an Animation major, describes a ceramic cup she made using CIA’s wood kiln.
Above: Painting major Tristen Kovacs ’24 works on a piece in his CIA studio.
Cinematheque Honor Roll of Donors
Leaders $10,000+
Anonymous
Brian Kay
Janet Rosel Smith and Mark Smith
Members $1,500+
Sarah J. Buck
Albert Leonetti and Ruth Anna Carlson
Nance Hikes
John Kaminski
Cynthia and Michael Resch
Friends $500+
Anonymous
James Bates
Mark Cole
Margaret and Peter Dobbins
David Goldberg
Maureen and Frank Greicius
Karen and Curt Henkle
Kathryn Karipides
Mary Eileen Kilbane and John Myers
Frederick Lautzenheiser
Barbara C. Megery
Alexander Payne
Michael Richter
Michael Ruffing
Betty Schaal and Rusty Culp
Astri Seidenfeld
Janet and John Telaroli
Sharon Yarnell
Steven A. Zilber / Zilber Family Foundation
Sustaining $250+
Anonymous
Dr. Louise Acheson and Mr. Kenneth J. Vinciquerra
Laura Avery
David C. Barnett
Anne Batzell and Henry Boom
Fran and Jules Belkin
Lynn and Jeff Callahan
William W. Currie
Barbara Davis
Don DiFrancesco
Robert Fairchild
Ursula Korneitchouk
Leslie Lahr and Jeff Zinsmayer
Stephen Macek
Paul Mason
Frederick McGuire
Linda L. Meixner Ph.D.
Lexi and Ian Mercer
Laura Paglin
William Peterson
Kim Ann Pfau and Paul Barans
Jo Ellen and Michael Rogoff
Jan Roller and David Abbott
Joseph Sarasa
Diane Schwartz
Martha Scott
James Simler
Beth and Dean Slejko
Judy Takács ’86
Martha and Edward Towns
Monica and Edward Wagner
David W. Wittkowsky and James S. Anderson
Supporting $100+
Amie Albert ’69
Edward Alix
Ms. Marian E. Andrade
Sherri Appleton
Michael Armin
Stephen Barrett
John Bartolozzi
Suzanne Bellini
Sherri Bergman
Roger Blatnick
Laura Bozell
Mike Caldwell ’91
Patricia and George Chan
Kim Christopher
Paula Coakley
Charla Coatoam
Barbara Ewing Cockroft
Mary Ann Conn-Brody
Anita and Thomas Cook
Laura and Daniel Dempsey
Fred Dillon
John Dyer
Harry Edwards
Morris Everett / The Last Moving Picture Co.
Penni and David Ewing
Steven Fitch
Diane Fitzpatrick
Nancy Fleming and Ted Takacs
Jana Sward Friess
Eugene C. Gartland, Jr.
Gayle Gathercole
Debbi Glosserman
Karsten and Jonathan Goldman
Deborah Goldstein
Melodie Grable and Thomas Coffey
Tom and Kirsten Hagesfeld
Kathleen Harkin-Newsome and James Newsome
Robert Hawkes
John and Susan Hersch
James Hicks
Sharon and Scott Holbrook
Annie Holden
Kenneth Horsburgh
Sally Hudak and Jerry Mann
David Huffman
Gale and James Jacobsohn
Sue and W. B. Joseph
Renu Khosla
Denise Kipfstuhl
Shawna Kirk and Michael Wendt
Stephanie Klem
Evan Komito and Jewel Moulthrop
Nathan Kossover
Helene Kovesdi
James Krukones
Jeff LaRosa
Billie Lawless
Seamus Leahy
Jill and James Levin
Stephen Lorton
Karen Lee Marano and Dr. Francesco Melfi
Tony Marini
Francoise Massardier-Kenney
Eileen McCaffrey
Kelly McCrone
Joyce McIntosh
Diana and Dan Medalie
Claudia Metz and Tom Woodworth
Jan Milic
Thomas Miller
Stephen Myers
Belleruth Naparstek
Debi Nemec
Kim Neuendorf
Nancy Newman and Frank Giaimo
Edward Nolan
Bill and Patty Osher
Angela Oster ’05 and Thomas Stevick ’82
Cathy and Eric Paetz
Linda Park
Louis Parrott, Jr.
Lisa Pasquale
Karel Paukert
Noriko Paukert
Rita Pencis
Costa Petridis
John Reilly
Rebecca and Phillip Roberts
Cindy and Jonathan Rogen
Debra and Warren Rosman
Brian Schriefer
Mary Ann and Gregory Schwartz
Lee Scullin
John Skrtic
Margaret Sondey and William Hines
Cynthia Steinberger
Myron and Helene* Stern
Alice and Albert Stratton
Susan Strauss and Christopher Wozniak
Frank Tarasco
Roger Temethy
Christine and Jesse Theis
John Tortelli
Sharon Waite
G. P. and J. H. Warren
Heather Ways and Gerald Sgro
John Ewing, center, was joined on stage by Cinematheque staff during his retirement celebration. From left are ticket seller Steve Fitch, assistant director Genevieve Schwartz, and projectionists Les Vince and Mike Glazer.
Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation
Ford Motor Company
Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.
The Murch Foundation
Stellantis
The Harry K. & Emma R. Fox Charitable Foundation
William O. and Gertrude L. Frohring Foundation
Graffiti HeArt
The Hankins Foundation
RPM International, Inc.
UB Greensfelder
Clearstead
Cleveland Arts Prize
Consulate of Mexico
Cowan Pottery Museum Associates
The Jean, Harry and Brenda Fuchs Family Foundation
The Gallery Group, Inc.
The Laub Foundation
Medical Mutual of Ohio
David and Inez Myers Foundation
Oswald Companies
S.K. Wellman Foundation
The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation
2023–24 Board of Directors
Officers
as of 9/27/2023
Cynthia Prior Gascoigne Board Chair
Francine Belkin Vice Chair
Ruth Swetland Eppig Vice Chair
Michael Schwartz, PhD Vice Chair
Mark K. Smith Vice Chair
Janet A. Spreen Vice Chair
Howard M. Groedel
Secretary
John Tortelli Treasurer and Assistant Secretary
Kathryn Heidemann President + CEO
Board Members
as of 9/27/2023
≠ National Director
Josephine Anderson
Amy Bendall
Marianne Bernadotte
William Busta
David Buttram ’89
Grosvie Cooley
Ruth Swetland Eppig
August L. Fluker, Jr., AIA LEED AP
Margaret Fulton-Mueller
Cynthia Prior Gascoigne
Matthew L. Greene
Howard M. Groedel
Heather Holmes Dillard
Curlee Raven Holton ’89 ≠
Christopher Howse
James D. Lincoln
William N. Masters
Angela McDonald-Fisher
John Mueller
Laura F. Ospanik ’80
Paul D. Pesses
Michael H. Port
Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, FCCM
Mark Reigelman II ’06 ≠
Kyla Epstein Schneider
Greg S. Shaw, PhD
Lynne Shlonsky
Robert M. Siewert, CFA
Mark K. Smith
Carey L. Spencer
Janet A. Spreen
Cathy Wain Stamler
Martin Tarr
Advisory Board Members
as of 9/27/2023
Co-Chairs
Kim Chapman ’17
William N. Masters
Kim Chapman ’17
Elana Cohen
Chann Fowler-Spellman
Erica Hartman-Horvitz
Bryan M. Klinger ’93
Svetlana M. Loshakov, CFA
Kelly Masters
Casey Monda
Warren L. Morris
Madeleine Parker
Stamy Paul
Barbara D. Richter, PhD
Eileen Roth
Karen A. Skunta ’74
Elizabeth F. Stueber
Laurence Talley, CPA, CIA
Amy R. Viny
Susan Wadden ’99
Katherine Esshaki Wensink
Marjorie L. Williams
Directors Emeriti
Francine Belkin
Donald Insul
Gary R. Johnson
Jennie S. Jones
Clay Mock
Creighton B. Murch
John R. Nottingham ’72
Michael Schwartz, PhD (passed away 1/2/2024)
John W. Spirk ’92
Lois J. Sussen ’92
Joy E. Sweeney ’58
Rollin H. White III (passed away 5/28/2024)
Cabinet Members
Kathryn Heidemann President + CEO
Jesse Grant (until May 31, 2024)
Associate Vice President, Student Affairs + Dean of Students
Matthew McKenna
Associate Vice President, Information Systems + Technology
Malou Monago
Vice President, Institutional Advancement + External Relations
Seth Nagelberg
President, Faculty Senate
Charise Reid
Vice President, Human Resources and Support
Services + Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer
Jimmy Schlemmer
Chair, Staff Council
Yvette Sobky Shaffer
Vice President, Enrollment Management + Marketing
John Tortelli
Vice President, Business Affairs + Chief Financial Officer
Greg Watts
Vice President, Academic Affairs + Dean of Faculty
Directors of Public Programming
John Ewing (until 6/30/2024) Cinematheque
Bilgesu Sisman (after 6/17/2024) Cinematheque
Valerie Temple
Continuing Education + Community Outreach
Nikki Woods ’12 Reinberger Gallery
Thank You and Welcome
During the 2023–24 fiscal year, Jesse Grant, PhD, left the Cleveland Institute of Art in May 2024. John Ewing retired as the Director of Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque after 40 years. CIA welcomed Heather Holmes Dillard, Christopher Howse and Angela McDonald-Fisher to the Board of Directors. Warren L. Morris, Elizabeth F. Stueber and Amy Viny moved from the Board of Directors to the Advisory Council. Connie Ozan, Scott E. Richardson ’91, John Schulze, Steven Standley and Tracey F. Weaver left the Board of Directors in July 2023. Frederick W. Clarke, Richard A. Desich, Jr. and Kim Kyle Nordstrom left the Board of Directors in September 2023. CIA welcomed Elana Cohen to the Advisory Council in September 2023. Rene Polin, Jr. ’94 and Marsha B. Everett ’81 left the Advisory Council in September 2023, and Eileen Roth left the Advisory Council in December 2023.
Michael Schwartz, PhD was elected Director Emeritus in September 2024. Sadly, he passed away in January 2024. He served on the CIA’s Board of Directors from 2009 to 2023 and as Board chair from 2012 to 2015 and earned the CIA Award for Excellence—the College’s highest honor—in 2015. He made extensive contributions to CIA, and we greatly benefited from his extensive knowledge of higher education, commitment to our mission, endless wit and humor, and meaningful friendship and mentorship. He will be remembered for his devotion to students and higher education.
Rollin H. White III passed away in May 2024. White served in a leadership position with CIA since 1967. He will be remembered for his many contributions to the College.
Daly Horton ’24, who majored in Life Sciences Illustration, works on her BFA project during her senior year. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
Giving supports arts journey
By Kennedi Combs
Mary Beth Clough ’91 started to give to the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1994, just a few years after graduating with a BFA in Medical Illustration. After 30 years as a successful medical illustrator writing, editing and animating more than 1,000 health education scripts, Clough still makes it a priority to consistently give back to the college that helped shape her career.
Originally a Pre-Med student at John Carroll University, Clough found herself searching for an artistic outlet. Her dedication to find an intersection between art and science led her to CIA, where she learned how to use writing, research and art to make medical terminology and concepts more accessible.
“I wanted to continue helping people,” she says. “As a doctor, I would have helped people but I can still help people by teaching them about their bodies. Whether I’m teaching a doctor, a patient, an investor, a scientist or whoever, I feel like I’m still helping people learn. It’s just that perfect blend of science, art and education.”
Today, Clough is a Senior Medical Editor at Nucleus Medical Media in Kennesaw, Georgia, a medical animation company with a mission to improve health literacy for patients as well as pharmaceutical, biotechnology and education markets.
Her philanthropy over the years has been motivated by several factors.
“I want to support my field of medical illustration in terms of creating future excellent professionals and I like to support the school as a whole, which gave me a great foundation for this field,” Clough says. “And finally, supporting the arts in general. The arts always need support, so whatever I can do to help, I’d like to do.”
As a student, Clough was able to find internship and networking opportunities through CIA’s long-standing connections with Cleveland-based businesses. Her minor in Photography helped her get an internship with a plastic surgeon taking pictures of patients pre- and post-op. Later in college, she earned an internship as a medical illustrator at Mt. Sinai Hospital. She credits both of these opportunities as foundational
building blocks for her career and believes they wouldn’t have been possible without the support and education CIA provided.
Clough also credits a lot of her success to her deep understanding of visual storytelling, proper execution and foundational, artistic values—all of which she says were instilled in her by CIA professors.
“It was challenging, but in a good way,” she says. “It made me think and pushed me. That’s another reason why I like to support CIA—because those instructors made a big impact on me and I know that in order to attract good instructors, you have to be able to pay them.”
Clough encourages her fellow alumni to support CIA for up-and-coming artists and designers.
“If you’ve had a productive career and you had a good experience at CIA, then it’s important to consider giving back to CIA to help future generations of professionals get the same kind of experience that we had.”
Mary Beth Clough ’91 earned her BFA in Medical Illustration and today is Senior Medical Editor at Nucleus Medical Media in Kennesaw, Georgia. Submitted.
NOTES
Compiled by Rachel Zinram
Albert Parella ’32* was featured in Albert Parella: Rediscovering an Iconic Youngstown Artist at the Tyler History Center in Youngstown, Ohio.
Sascha Brastoff ’40* had a solo exhibition, California King, at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York.
Julian Stanczak ’54* was featured in Electric Op at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum in Buffalo, New York.
Richard Newman ’60 had his piece, “Up the Down Staircase,” in Alternative Visions at the Mainely Gallery and Studio in Belfast, Maine.
Rebecca Kaler ’64 had work in Temporal Tracks at Context Fine Art in Cleveland.
Ron Testa ’65 had work in 6x6, hosted by the Rochester Contemporary Art Center in Rochester, New York. He was featured in Photo Shoot 2024 and Vision: Color Photography at Black Box Gallery in Portland, Oregon. He also had work in Still-Life at PRAXIS Photo Arts Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. He had work in the 88th National Midyear Show at Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.
Chuck Tramontana ’65 was awarded the Juror’s Choice award for his work, “Atlantis VI,” in the annual Artist Member Exhibition at the Attleboro Arts Museum in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
David Deming ’67 designed a statue of Superman that will be installed in downtown Cleveland upon completion of the $2.5 million campaign for the project.
David Rankin ’67 did a live watercolor demonstration at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Paedra Bramhall ’70 had 18 glass pieces featured in Illuminated Worlds at Art at the Kent in Calais, Vermont.
Kim Zarney ’71, Julianne Edberg ’76, Marilyn Farinacci ’81,* Susan Squires ’83, Judy Takács ’86, Eric TuckMacalla ’86, Judith Brandon ’87 and Kim Chapman ’17 had work in the 2024 NewNow exhibition at Cuyahoga Community College’s Gallery East in Highland Hills, Ohio. The exhibition was curated with assistance from Meg Lubey ’22.
Joe Workosky ’72 won the 2024 Lantz Hoffman Broadcast Media Award at the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association’s Excellence in Craft awards banquet in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Leslye Discont Arian ’76, Kristen Cliffel ’90, Lori Kella ’97, Susan Danko ’98 and Joseph Minek ’11 were featured in Water in the BK Smith Gallery at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio.
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.
James Esber ’84
Pamela Pastoric ’77, Joey Catanzarite ’84, Michael Pomerantz ’87, Brian Jasinski ’99, Sarah Krisher ’02, Angela Oster ’05, Lucy Williams ’13, Lucy Bailey ’19 and Kaitey Pastva ’22 participated in the 2024 Lakewood Arts Festival.
Barbara Klar ’78 released a book, You’re So Talented, available on Amazon.
Sally Lytle ’78 had a solo show, My Perceptions, at Market Street Art Spot in Minerva, Ohio.
Babs Reingold ’78 was featured in a three-person show, Open Air, at Wild Space Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Chris Boehlefeld ’79, Joe Stavec ’80, Susan Squires ’83, Judy Takács ’86, Bruno Casiano ’96, Mike Meier ’10, Leigh Brooklyn ’11 and Nikki Woods ’12 were part of the final accepted entries for the 2024 Paul & Norma Tikkanen Painting Prize. Paul Tikkanen is a 1949 CIA graduate.
Kathryn Frund ’79 was featured in a four-person show, Detritus, in Widener Gallery at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
David Lee Csicsko ’80 had a solo show, Mr. Fancy Pants: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Icons, at the Epiphany Center for the Arts in Chicago.
David Verba ’80 and Eric TuckMacalla ’86 had a two-person show, Haven, at UNDERSTORY in Cleveland. Verba also had work on display at the Trudy Wiesenberger Gallery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland.
John Hrehov ’81 was featured in Endangered Species: Environmental Ethics at Crestwood Gallery in Roanoke, Indiana.
John Ashenfelter ’83 was featured in a four-person show, Art Teachers of Maidstone Grammar School, at Maidstone Museum in Maidstone, Kent, England.
Patrick Baran ’83 is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his patent for the interlocking mechanism of the Panosh Place Voltron toy.
Guy Vincent ’83 released Dualismo, a visionary concept album.
Lucia De Marinis ’84 had work in the Downtown Instructor’s Exhibition at the Ottawa School of Art in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
James Esber ’84 was featured in Other Beings at Bill Arning Exhibitions in Kinderhook, New York. He also had individual and collaborative work in
Three-Sided Coin at Catskill Art Space in Livingston Manor, New York.
Britta Franz ’84 had an acrylic painting, “The Last Frontier,” in the 2024 May Show at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio.
William Moore ’84 was featured in Issue 29 of Observica magazine and Issues 37 and 39 of Spotlight magazine. He was selected for Artavita’s 67th Arts Magazine Contest and will have two sculptures in Issue 16 of World Wide Art Magazine. He had work in online exhibitions via Biafarin-Gallerium: Elysium, Fire, Tranquillum, Inspirations and Believe. He was featured in Boundless via Exhibizone online and had work in Masters of Art 21st Century in September and Important World Artists, Volume 6 through World Wide Art Books. He did a virtual interview as a
ALUMNI
William Moore ’84
NOTES
featured artist with Exhibizone-Biafarin and had his piece, “Avian Dancer,” in the 18th annual HWD Juried Sculpture Exhibition in the Kettering Health Art Gallery at Rosewood Arts Center in Kettering, Ohio.
Stanka Kordic ’85 won an honorable mention in MiniARTures at WG Gallery in Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Judy Takács ’86 was featured in NUDE at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati and had work in the Allied Artists of America 111th Annual Exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio. She was featured in Expanding Horizons: American Women Artists Juried Exhibition at the Loveland Museum in Loveland, Colorado and in the 22nd Annual Kaleidoscope Show at Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio. She had her piece, “1 John 4:11, Love is Love,” featured in a national show, Art of the Heartland, at Mena Art Gallery in Mena, Arkansas.
Eric Tuck-Macalla ’86 had work in Mirrored Perspectives: The Art of Reflection at UNDERSTORY in Cleveland.
Karen Beckwith ’87 and Lauralee Hutson ’01 were featured in The Beauty and Influence of Appalachia at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland.
Rita Grendze ’87 had work in the Women’s Group Show at Water Street Studios in Batavia, Illinois.
Mike Mikula ’87 won First Place at Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass’s 2024 Glass Art Festival in Neenah, Wisconsin.
Rob Muller ’87, Nicole Carroll ’23 and Shannon Henley ’23 participated in IngenuityFest 2024 in Cleveland.
Linda Zolten Wood ’87 had a residency at Lakeside Chautauqua at the C. Kirk Rhein, Jr. Center for the Living Arts in Lakeside Marblehead, Ohio.
Earl O. James ’88 was the artist-inresidence at Akron Soul Train for September. He hosted a virtual studio tour on Akron Soul Train’s Facebook Live.
Steven Mastroianni ’88 was featured in a three-person show, Emerging Artist Exhibition, at Roy G Biv Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. He had a solo show, Diagrams for Inner Space, at Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio. He also had his piece, “Eclipsogram Series: Corona Ray,” featured in Issue 45 of The Hand Magazine.
David Buttram ’89 had a solo show, Places and Spaces, at the East Ave Market and Gallery in Akron, Ohio.
Susan Donovan Lowe ’89 had a solo show, Blue and Beyond, at the Malvina J. Freedson Gallery at Winton Place in Lakewood, Ohio.
Greg Martin ’89 was featured in a two-person show, Shifts, at BAYarts in Bay Village, Ohio.
Curlee Raven Holton ’89 had a solo exhibition—Earth, Air, Fire, and Water at William Busta Projects in Cleveland.
Sam Schneider ’21
Kristen Cliffel ’90, Bruno Casiano ’96, Amy Casey ’99, Leigh Brooklyn ’11, Sam Schneider ’21 and Crystal Miller ’23 were featured in Proximity of Fate Triennial Exhibition, at the Mansfield Art Center in Mansfield, Ohio.
Susan Gallagher ’91 had an artist talk at Gallery 202 in Cleveland.
Wendy Collin Sorin ’93 was featured in Under the Surface at Margaret Lane Gallery in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
Sean Mabin ’93 curated Nothing But Flowers, featuring Lisa Edwards ’87, Steve Calhoun ’89, Laura D’Alessandro ’93 and Ron Kretsch ’97 at Prama Artspace and Gallery in Parma, Ohio.
Natasha Sweeten ’93 curated The Bigger Picture at Platform Project Space in Brooklyn, New York. She also had work in a two-person exhibition at Satchel Projects in New York City.
Bob Bruch ’94 had work featured in the October 2024 issue of Ceramics Monthly magazine. He also had work in the 14th Annual Workhouse Clay International at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, 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. He is also the founder of AERI, a Seattle-based industrial design and product innovations consultancy.
Yuko Kimura ’94 had work at the Empire State Rare Book and Fine Print Fair in New York City. She was also featured in A Breath of Fresh Air at the Verne Collection in Cleveland.
Amy Kreiger ’94 and Angela Oster ’05 exhibited in Finding Joy: A Watercolor Art Exhibition Celebrating Life’s Vibrancy at E11EVEN 2 Gallery in Cleveland.
Ross Richmond ’94 did a live hot shop demonstration during Refract in Seattle.
Kevin Snipes ’94 was this year’s juror for Visions in Clay in Horton Art Gallery at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California.
Dawn Tekler ’94 served as one of three jurors for the 48th Annual Fairmount Art Exhibition, at the Fairmount Center in Russell Township, Ohio. She had work in a two-person art show in the Yellow Door Gallery at The Red Twig floral design studio in Hudson, Ohio.
Bruno Casiano ’96, Ariel Vergez ’05, Alicia Vasquez ’11 and Orlando Caraballo ’18 were featured in La Promesa, at City Hall in Cleveland.
Susan Danko ’98 had work in Climate in the Coburn Art Gallery at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio.
Libby Black ’99 had work in Reshaping the Narrative: California Perspectives, at Mills College Art Museum in Oakland, California. She was also featured in She’s a Knockout: Sport, Gender, and the Body in Contemporary Art at the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
Nicole Hanusek ’00 curated the Smack Happy Art Show, available to view online.
Billy Naininger ’00 had a solo show, KARICTERZ TOO: The Knew Batch, at E11EVEN 2 Gallery in Cleveland.
Sarah Curry ’01 had a solo show, Common Threads, at HEDGE Gallery in Cleveland.
Sarah Krisher ’02 exhibited at A Fair in the Park at Mellon Park in Pittsburgh.
Jenniffer Omaitz ’02 was featured in Digitalism at Context Fine Art in Cleveland. She was also featured in Structural Gestures at Space Gallery in Denver.
Jason Milburn ’03 had a solo exhibition, Dual Civilizations, at KINK Contemporary in Cleveland. He was also featured with Amber Esner ’13 and Chen Peng ’16 in Various Small Fires at Worthington Yards’ YARDS Project in Cleveland.
Kris Petrenko ’03 won Best in Show in Creative Gents IV at Creative Space Avon in Avon, Ohio.
Tony Bowden ’04 had an art installation, “Over The Rainbow: Somewhere is Here,” at Richmond Cultural Centre in Vancouver, Canada.
ALUMNI
Riley Rist ’21
NOTES
Valerie Mayén ’05 was featured in An evening with Valerie Mayén at the Cuyahoga County Public Library Parma-Snow Branch in Parma, Ohio.
Ariel Vergez ’05 was awarded a grant from Cleveland’s Transformative Arts Fund for his project, Murals to Uplift the Human Spirit, in the city’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood.
Slate Grove ’06 was featured in a two-person show, Narrative Reflections, at the Museum of Ancient Glass in Zadar, Croatia.
Mark Reigelman ’06 designed Right Turn Only, a 20-foot spiral installed in the Las Vegas Trail Roundabout in Fort Worth, Texas.
Nate Cotterman ’07 and Antonia Camponella ’10 had a grand opening for their store, Nate Cotterman Glass, at City Goods in Cleveland. Cotterman was also the featured artist of the month at River Gallery in Rocky River, Ohio.
Ashley Gerst ’07 was named a recipient of the 2024 Rockland Arts Alive grant through ArtsWestchester in White Plains, New York. She also animated, produced and directed a short film Number 5 Jobs, a counting animation featured in Episode 29 “Brave Bessie by Brave Gabrielle,” as part of Sesame Street, Season 54.
Steevie Brown ’08 made the list of 2024 Notable Women in Manufacturing in Twin Cities Business Magazine. She was also promoted to Director of Product Marketing at Faribault Mill in Faribault, Minnesota.
Cheryl Cochran ’08 had her print, “Summer Grass,” included in the Woodstock Monoprint Invitational Exhibition Auction at the Woodstock School of Art in Woodstock, New York.
Nicholas Moenich ’08 had work in Vagabond Shoes at McBride Contemporain in Montreal, Canada.
Emily Moores ’08 had a solo show, On the Edge of a Dream, at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. She exhibited for ArtPrize at ArtRat Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Joe Karlovec ’09 had a two-person show, Loose Joints, at Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, South Carolina.
Christopher Lees ’09 and Jordan Perme ’09 were featured in a group show, SPECTRUM 5, at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia.
Georgio Sabino III ’09 assisted in curating and designing History in Their Hands: Black Photographers in Cleveland, Ohio, 1968–Present on view
through August 31, 2025 in the new African American History Gallery at the Cleveland History Center in Cleveland.
Niki Smith ’09 co-edited and had work in Succulent: Trans-Inclusive Sapphic Comics, a 180-page anthology. They were also a panelist in Drawn OUT: The Impact of Queer Comics at the DAI Nürnberg in Nürnberg, Germany.
Rachel Allen ’10 was the curator of Joe Feddersen: Earth, Water, Sky, on view through January 5, 2025 at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington.
Jenniffer Omaitz ’02
Gabrielle Banzhaf ’10 and Crystal Miller ’23 were named awardees of the Satellite Fund 2024 through SPACES in Cleveland.
Brendan Barnes ’10, Brian Sarama ’10, Valerie Grossman ’12, Christopher Phillips ’14, Jeni Stovicek ’16, Kimberly Chapman ’17, Fox Nicely ’18, Alisa Reid ’19, Benjamin Gutberlet ’20, Riley Rist ’21, John Peterson ’23 and Paige Stine ’23 had work in the R. Guy Cowan Scholarship Recipient Exhibition at River Gallery in Rocky River, Ohio.
Antonia Campanella ’10 and Eleni DiMaio ’10 hosted a Surface and Image Transfer Workshop at Brick Ceramic + Design Studio in Cleveland.
Kara Hungate ’10 was featured in The Fall Show in the Nicholson B. White Gallery at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Laura Jurkiewicz ’10 performed in Strong and Amazing at the Sherburne County Fair in Elk River, Minnesota.
Leigh Brooklyn ’11 will have work in All We Cannot Forget, on view through January 3 at Riffe Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. She also did a live interview with Roger Miller’s Tuesday@7. She had work in the 38th Chelsea International Fine Art Competition at Agora Gallery in New York City.
Alicia Vasquez ’11
Ben Greene-Colonnes ’11 had work in the Robert Gardner Exhibition Gallery at the North Carolina Glass Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
Alicia Vasquez ’11 was selected to assist with a 750-foot mural to be created at the RTA Central Bus Service Facility in collaboration with LAND studio in Cleveland. She was also a vendor and face painter during the Hispanic Heritage Celebration at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
Nikki Woods ’12 had a solo exhibition, Conjuring Images, at HEDGE Gallery in Cleveland. She also curated a threeperson exhibition, Dream Gardens, featuring Katy Richards ’11 and Bianca Fields ’19, hosted within her show. She was a juror for Brown’s Town: Art Inspired by Ohio’s Football Heritage at the Massillon Museum’s Paul Brown Museum in Massillon, Ohio.
Clotilde Jiménez ’13 was one of six artists chosen to participate in the “Art Poster” initiative for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. He was interviewed by CNN and Forbes Mexico. He had his work showcased in a solo exhibition, The Long Run, at Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in Paris. He also had his first institutional show and opera, La Gruta (The Grotto), at Museo Jumex in Mexico City. Finally, he had his piece, “Woman in a Yellow Flower Hat,” featured in Frieze Seoul in Seoul, South Korea.
Sequoia Bostick ’14 was featured in Tender Roots at the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Peninsula, Ohio.
Loraine Lynn ’14 had a solo show, This Yarn Altered My Brain Chemistry, at Wolfe Gallery in Toledo, Ohio.
Rose Haserodt ’15 had a solo show, found in translation, at Shaheen Gallery in Beachwood, Ohio.
ALUMNI
NOTES
Annmarie Suglio ’15 began her role as an academic advisor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison, Wisconsin and was featured in From Fiber to Hand at the Textile Arts Center of Madison.
Emma Anderson ’16 began her role as an art instructor at BAYarts in Bay Village, Ohio.
Chen Peng ’16 had work included in the Putnam Collection at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Lauren Kubacki ’16 hosted a workshop, Shape Your Imagination: An Intro to 3D Modeling, at Future Ink Graphics in Cleveland.
Riley Arneson ’17 had work in CHROMA, also featuring Jordi Rowe ’23, at White Rabbit Galleries in Barberton, Ohio. Arneson also had a booth at the ManAfest Arts Festival in Mansfield, Ohio.
Kim Chapman ’17 had a solo exhibition, Through the Looking Glass, at Massillon Museum’s Studio M Gallery, in Ohio.
Ben Wretch ’17 had a solo exhibition, your garden gnome has no soul, at Maria Neil Art Project in Cleveland.
Davon Brantley ’18 curated the Juneteenth 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. Brantley also was in a three-person show, Elevate: Body & Mind, at the Firelands Association for the Visual Arts Gallery in Oberlin, Ohio.
Amirah Cunningham ’18 is the new Assistant Director of First Year Student Success at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Megan Dardis ’18 was a featured artist at The Treehouse in Cleveland.
Sam Butler ’19 and Alex Heard ’20 were named recipients of the Urgent Art Fund 2024 through SPACES in Cleveland.
Bianca Fields ’19 completed a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, Vermont.
Ethan Marks ’19 had work in Indignity at the Center for Civic Arts in Pittsburgh.
Kelly Pontoni ’19 curated Queer History, featuring Leo Covault ’22 , as well as Visual Vibration, both at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland in Cleveland. Visual Vibration included work by Mark Howard ’86 and was prepared by Karen Beckwith ’87. Pontoni also had work in Home is Where the Art Is: A Celebration of the Cleveland Heights Artistic Community at Feinberg Gallery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Mark Rubelowsky ’19 was featured in Forged in Fire: Knife or Death on History.
Lemma Shafik ’19 had a solo show, S.O.S. Sinking Beneath The Waves, at The CoLab in Lakewood, Ohio.
Alex Heard ’20 was the first maker-inresidence in the Heights Knowledge and Innovation Center at the Lee Road branch of Heights Libraries in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Cass Penegor ’20 was featured in the ROYGBIV Pride Palette Exhibition: Celebrating Diversity Through Color at Patina Arts Centre in Canton, Ohio, and they have a poem in Light Enters the Grove: Exploring Cuyahoga Valley National Park Through Poetry. They stage-managed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and were featured in the Night at the Museum Art Show: Artists Who Teach at the Akron Art Museum in Akron, Ohio.
Brandon Secrest ’20 was the artist-inresidence at Bread & Salt in San Diego. He had work on display in conjunction with the World Design Capital exhibition at City College San Diego.
Evyn Venkateswaran ’20 and Cass Penegor ’20 had work in the Queer Sh’bang Exhibition at the Hildebrandt Artist Collective in Cleveland.
Amanda Berry ’21 designed the Zoe character for Sesame Workshop’s “ABC” holiday song.
Liam Darby ’21 had a solo show, The Consumerist Forest, on view at August Shop in Madison, Wisconsin.
Destyni Green ’21 was named interim coordinator of the Orange Art Center in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
Sydney Kay ’21 was a Summer Denbo Fellow at the Pyramid Atlantic Center in Hyattsville, Maryland.
Riley Rist ’21 had work in the 7th annual PROUD+ exhibition at The Studio Door in San Diego. They were also featured in Wild Pink at Mad River Valley Arts in Waitsfield, Vermont. He also had a shared publication with CIA faculty member Elizabeth Hoag in the SAA Archaeological Record, Volume 24, Number 3, titled “Experiential Learning and High-Impact Practices.”
Sam Schneider ’21 had work in Descendants—also featuring Eric Tuck-Macalla ’86, Jordi Rowe ’23 and Janoi Daley ’24—at Kaiser Gallery in Cleveland. Schneider won an award from the Ohio Arts Council for her piece, “Bubble Gum,” during the Ohio State Fair at the Cox Fine Arts Center in Columbus. She had her piece, “I Never Thought I’d Get to Press Play,” in the Ohio Art League 2024 Fall Juried Exhibition at the Richard M. Ross Art Museum at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.
Ewuresi Archer ’22 had work in Dark Matter, also featuring Susan Danko ’98, at the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park gallery in Peninsula, Ohio.
Howe Fun Lye-Starks ’22 had a sculpture, “...see my joy marks...,” included in Invisibility: Existing on the Periphery hosted online by Woman Made Gallery.
Liana Gonzalez ’22 had a solo exhibition, FAERIES!!!, at The Fairfax Inn in Cleveland. They had work in 69 for 69, also featuring Sebastian Schenz ’22, at Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin, Illinois. Gonzalez curated and released the first edition of Love, Sex, & The Body, featuring Shan Nixon ’93, Ash Sark ’21, Amani Williams ’21, Pax Enstad ’22, Meg Lubey ’22, Sebastian Schenz ’22 and Alison Alsup ’23.
Liana Gonzalez ’22 and Thomas Smith ’23 had an exhibition, Forests of Thoughts: Elevation of the Ordinary, at Feinberg Gallery in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Alyssa Lizzini ’22 had work in the first annual University Hospitals Emerging Artists Exhibit in the Trudy Wiesenberger Gallery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.
Kaitey Pastva ’22 won an Honorable Mention Award at the Berea Arts Fest in Berea, Ohio.
Sebastian Schenz ’22 won second place for their piece “Don’t Look At My Browser History!!” in The Groundhog Show at TrueNorth Akron in Ohio. The show also featured Nova Stewart ’20
Alison Alsup ’23 had a solo exhibition, Ohio: Love for the Heart of it All, at Waterloo Arts Gallery in Cleveland.
Negron ’24
Crystal Miller ’23 was the July artist-inresidence and had a solo show, Queens & Shiny Things, at Akron Soul Train in Akron, Ohio.
Jordi Rowe ’23 is a juror for ActLoCLE’s first annual juried online exhibition on view virtually through December 31.
Paige Stine ’23 had work featured at Blue Sky Brews in Cleveland.
Alex Vlasov ’23 was featured in I’m a Pirate in the Kresge Art Gallery at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.
Emily Zhang ’23 exhibited during the Matsuricon convention in Columbus, Ohio.
Sofia Cina ’24 and Daly Horton ’24 showed their work in the salon at the 78th Annual Conference of the Association of Medical Illustrators in Rochester, New York.
Ke Gray ’24 was a featured artist in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s annual Chalk Festival in Cleveland.
Tamsyn Kuehnert ’24 had a solo exhibition, Searching for the Meander, at the Rocky River Nature Center in North Olmsted, Ohio.
James Negron ’24 was featured in Celebrando: 10th Annual Hispanic/ Latino Heritage Month Celebration through at the Julia De Burgos Cultural Art Center in Cleveland. They won The John Bramblitt Award for their work in In Touch: A Hands-On Exhibition, also featuring Rex Young ’24, at Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. They were also featured in Expectations of Growth at the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland.
ALUMNI
James
NOTES
Compiled by Michael C. Butz
Colby Chamberlain (Liberal Arts) delivered lectures on his recently published book, Fluxus Administration: George Maciunas and the Art of Paperwork (University of Chicago Press, 2024) at the Emily Harvey Foundation and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, both in New York City.
Nicole Condon-Shih (Foundation) chaired Bridging Boundaries: Fostering Interdisciplinary Creativity at the 2024 SECAC Conference in Atlanta, where she led groups of artists, educators and researchers to explore how integrative thinking can inspire curiosity about intersecting fields of knowledge and what theories and frameworks reveal meaningful connections.
Lane Cooper (Painting) was in a two-person show, The Postcards, at Pinwheel Gallery in Cleveland. The exhibition was a love letter to women and a celebration of female empowerment.
Maggie Denk-Leigh (Printmaking) had work selected for an invitational exhibition, From Woodblock to Inkjet, at Baldwin Wallace University’s Fawick Gallery in Berea, Ohio. She also served as a panelist and visiting artist for the EVAC Project and its corresponding exhibition at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Rachel Ferber (Foundation) was an artist-in-residence at the SUPPLY Victoria Creative Reuse Centre in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where she created an installation in The Vault Gallery using materials exclusively sourced from SUPPLY. She also has been exhibiting a work-in-progress, “gestures of resistance,” at OUTSIDE THE BOX, a shipping-container-turnedDIY-gallery in Akron, Ohio.
Allison Hall (Foundation, Continuing Education + Community Outreach) teamed with Sam R. Butler ’19 to co-found the independent publishing company BHB press, which was awarded an Urgent Art Fund grant, administered by SPACES and supported by residents of Cuyahoga County and Assembly for the Arts through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Their first publication, Embodied Resistance, will feature the work of 19 local artists and writers, and will premiere at Genghis Con Cleveland on December 1 at the Pivot Center. Hall had a solo exhibition, Alchemy Dreams, at BAYarts in Bay Village, Ohio and was part of a five-person show, Dark Matter, at Cuyahoga Valley National Park through the Museum of Creative Human Art. Also, she has artwork in Belonging: With or With/Out You through January 2025 at YARDS Project at Worthington Yards in Cleveland.
Kathryn Heidemann (Office of the President) was selected as a 2024 Smart 50 honoree in the Innovation category by Smart Business magazine.
Benjamin Johnson (Craft + Design) exhibited in the following juried exhibitions: Flash Point: Glass Symposium Exhibition at The Ohio State University in Columbus; the 100th Hoosier Salon Annual Exhibition at Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis; Craft Futures at Craft Alliance in St. Louis; Art From the Heartland at the Indianapolis Art Center in Indianapolis; the 78th Annual Ohio Exhibition at the Zanesville Museum of Art in Zanesville, Ohio (where he won the Award for Excellence in Glass); and New Now, juried by Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland (where he earned the 1st Runner Up award).
Benjamin Johnson
Amber Kempthorn (Drawing) was named CIA’s 2024–25 Bickford Visiting Artist Endowment Fund recipient and used her award to bring artist, design researcher and writer Sara Hendren to CIA. Hendren delivered an artist talk—Cyborgs, Misfits, and Makers: Art, Design, and the Future of the Human Body—in November. Kempthorn also was commissioned by Case Western Reserve University’s Putnam Collection to install large-scale murals in CWRU’s Student Residential Village.
Jimmy Kuehnle (Sculpture + Expanded Media) led Studio AI, an artificial intelligence workshop at the Cleveland Public Library held in collaboration with Cuyahoga Community College’s Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Youth Humanities Academy.
FACULTY+STAFF
Rachel Ferber
Ariel Willis
NOTES
Scott Lax (Liberal Arts) led a conversation with Marie Toledo, a Lake Erie Native American Council member, during CIA’s Lunch on Fridays lecture series. Lax and Toledo discussed a range of topics, including issues that affect the Native American community and the bigger picture of modern indigenous culture; Toledo’s work with the Cleveland Museum of Art on collaborations related to the Native American community; and the state of dance, art, music and politics regarding Native people in 2024.
Adam Lucas (Graphic Design) exhibited at the Detroit Art Book Fair and the Pittsburgh Art Book Fair, where he debuted new publications from his design and publishing studio, Specific Ideas, including: Human Nature, a book of photography by David Dini; a catalog of paintings by Jackson Ferber; and the
first edition of FREE Banned Books, a new ongoing publication series that takes a speculative view on the future of book bans.
Jill Milenski (Student Affairs) had two solo exhibitions: Colors of Europe: Oil Pastels at Article Gallery in Cleveland and Poetry & Landscapes at Kendal at Oberlin Gallery in Oberlin, Ohio.
Dinara Mirtalipova (Illustration) had a solo exhibition, Folktale: A Journey Through Illustrated Worlds, at Waterloo Arts in Cleveland. She also had work in the ICON12 Gallery Show at Chambers Gallery in Minneapolis, where she also served as keynote speaker for the ICON12 Illustration Conference, and her bird sculpture was accepted into the Akron Art Museum’s public Birdsong installation. Her illustrations for the children’s book Woven of the World
were accepted into The Original Art, exhibited at the Society of Illustrators in New York City. Her recent packaging design for FIKA cookies was presented at Tokyo Pack 2024, and her design and illustration is featured in A Boxful of Poetry. In addition, she served as keynote speaker during IDEA DAY at American Greetings Creative Studio and World Headquarters in Westlake, Ohio.
Seth Nagelberg (Craft + Design) was included in On the Grid at the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery in Columbus and The 78th Ohio Annual Exhibition at the Zanesville Art Museum in Zanesville, Ohio. He also received the Whitten Studio Award for Ceramics at the 79th Annual May Show at the Mansfield Art Center in Mansfield, Ohio.
Sarah Paul (Sculpture + Expanded Media) had a solo exhibition, The School of Fiber Chambers, at Akron Soul Train in Akron, Ohio, where she took part in an artist residency.
Dinara Mirtalipova
Allison Hall
Alyssa Perry (Liberal Arts) published a poetry collection, Oily Doily, and had poems published in journals Mercury Firs and Coma. In her role at Rescue Press, she served as editor for Daisy Atterbury’s hybrid prose-poetry book The Kármán Line.
Zach Savich (Liberal Arts) published new poems in the journal Antiphony and moderated a panel about Buffalo, Cleveland and creative writing at Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator Festival. He was named the 2024 Linkages Lecturer for the magazine Annulet
Anthony Scalmato ’07 (Animation) worked on animated vignettes and designs for The Jacquie Lawson 2024 Paris Advent Calendar. The digital calendar countdown to Christmas features games, daily activities and surprises which can be purchased in the app store.
Bilgesu Sisman (Cinematheque) co-organized Meet Me Where You Are (Or, How Not to Starve an Artist), a Generation Series project for Amplify Arts that asks how artists and arts workers in three different cities are making space, making a living and enacting more just modes of coexistence. The project will be exhibited at Generator Space in Omaha, Nebraska.
Alberto Veronica Lopez (Craft + Design) was selected to receive a 2024 Creative Impact Fund grant. He and other recipients receive $10,000 cash plus professional and business development opportunities, mentorship and networking opportunities, and memberships to Assembly for the Arts and the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE).
Ariel Wills (Foundation) was published in Repair: Sustainable Design Futures. This past spring, she earned her MFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, with a Certificate in Collegiate Teaching in Art + Design Education. She received the AAF Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts, to
participate in a workshop with Neta Weiner, Stav Marin and Samira Saraya at the International Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria. Her animations were selected for screening by Athens Animfest. Her work was commissioned for Founders & Inventors – Women Who Created Our World at Gather, RI, a women’s empowerment center, and The Dirt Palace, a feminist artist-run space, both in Providence, Rhode Island.
Brent Kee Young (Emeritus) had his piece, “Matrix Series: ‘Cascade…,’” added to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport’s permanent collection. He exhibited in Artist of Color at the Racine Art Museum in Racine, Wisconsin and published an online interview, “Refracting Brilliance: The Glass Artistry of Brent Kee Young,” via Our Narratives.
FACULTY+STAFF
Brent Kee Young
Cleveland Institute of Art alumni who had work in the 2024 Alumni Exhibition, Are We There Yet?, gathered for a group photo during the opening reception in Reinberger Gallery. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.