CIA
LINK
Have you seen the news? Or even just the headlines?
Higher education continues to face overwhelming uncertainty. Far and wide—including at CIA—that uncertainty has led to confusion, anxiety, exhaustion and (in many cases) distraction from fulfilling the core functions of our roles. Across all levels of the College, we’ve spent considerable time and energy—with guidance from various associations and networks—navigating implications of proposed (and changing) legislation and the new “culture wars” against higher education. And while preparation is important, it’s equally important that we not get caught up in speculation or lose sight of our strategic imperatives, especially those that remain within our control.
Like during the COVID pandemic, we at CIA continue to consider some of the “C’s” of care, culture, community and compliance as we navigate the dynamic landscape facing colleges and universities across America. Regardless of political affiliation—and even if there may be no defined answers—we’re continuing to make space for dialogue, as such discourse can be helpful to our students and community.
Following the “north star” that is our 2020–2027 Strategic Plan, we also remain laser focused on our value proposition, in future-proofing our curriculum, in reinvesting in initiatives to support student retention, and in amplifying our visibility and relevance. CIA is a force—leading regional innovation, contributing to the creative economy and uplifting collective humanity—and it makes me so proud to spread these messages far and wide every chance I get.
With this in mind, it makes me even more excited to see strategic investments such as our Interactive Media Lab come to life. It’s also gratifying to witness student success initiatives such as MOSAIC increasingly yield dividends. You can read more about the IML and MOSAIC in this issue of Link.
Another uplifting example of CIA’s impact is Love is Resistance, an exhibition of work by students, faculty and alumni on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Transformer Station. The show is an incredible demonstration of the next level of CIA’s longstanding partnership with the museum. By activating Transformer Station’s galleries with work from the CIA community, both institutions are reaching new audiences by expanding access, reach and relevance to a broader community.
It’s a win-win situation, and I’m grateful for every win CIA earns during these uncertain times. Whether you’re an alum, friend, donor or all of the above, I hope you’ll join me in supporting the future of CIA. Our efforts within the College and out in the community make clear the essential value of higher education.
Spring 2025 Vol. 28, Issue 2
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 © 2025
Cleveland Institute of Art
Kathryn J. Heidemann President + CEO
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: From left, Rachel Yurkovich ’14, Steven Mastroianni ’88 and Chey Sprinkle ’21 stand in front of the XR Studio screen at CIA’s Interactive Media Lab, which is scheduled to open this spring in the Cleveland Foundation’s MidTown Collaboration Center.
2025 Spring Show, Runway Show showcase creative year at CIA
Compiled by Michael C. Butz
Meet and talk with CIA students and see their work by attending the 2025 Spring Show. The campus-wide event showcases the best work from all of CIA’s majors. An opening reception will be held from 6 to 8pm Tuesday, April 22.
While you’re at Spring Show, don’t miss the Runway Show. This year’s theme is Rebellion + Revolution. Think ’90s punk as a new generation of artists explore using their creativity for social and political change. The Runway Show will start at 7pm in the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Atrium.
Mark your calendars for Alumni Exhibition
The 2025 Alumni Exhibition is just around the corner! Submissions will be accepted from Monday, March 24 through Sunday, May 4. There will be no fee to submit and all mediums are welcome. All alumni are encouraged to apply, and selected artists will receive an honorarium for participating. Keep an eye on your email for additional details about submitting work. The 2025 Alumni Exhibition will be on view from June 20 to August 8 in Reinberger Gallery.
Love is Resistance up through April 6
Love Is Resistance, an exhibition that centers love as a radical form of resistance and an expression of community support, remains on view through April 6 at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Transformer Station. Developed by CIA faculty and gallery staff in partnership with CMA, Love is Resistance features artwork by more than 40 CIA students, alumni and faculty.
Those artists connected their work to objects from CMA’s collection that engage with resistance and love from an art historical perspective. Through mining the lessons of art history and applying present-day perspectives, they created work that responds to the present moment, creating transformative visions that resist systems of oppression rooted in hate, fear, division and injustice.
The exhibition’s opening night celebration included musical performances. One of the bands, Private Prisons, includes Mike Meier ’10 (drums) and Zak Smoker ’11 (lead guitar).
Gibson serves as 2025 Inclusion Scholar Philadelphia-based multidisciplinary artist Mark Thomas Gibson presented “Time After Time” as CIA’s 2025 Curlee Raven Holton Inclusion Scholar. During the artist talk, Gibson discussed art history and his relationship to selected works. He also shared insight about his own bodies of work and the political/historical events that took place as they were created, from earlier in his career to present day. This included work featured in Possibility for Repair, a group exhibition that was on view through February 9 in Reinberger Gallery.
“Time After Time” marks the second annual event for CIA’s Curlee Raven Holton Inclusion Scholar Program, which provides established and emerging artists from traditionally marginalized groups opportunities to engage with students in professional development and networking at CIA. Curlee Raven Holton ’89 earned his BFA in Drawing and Printmaking.
In Memoriam
Howard Payne ’56 studied Industrial Design and passed away November 22, 2024. Karen Babic ’77, who studied Enamel, died January 13. Paulette Krieger ’73 majored in Printmaking and passed away January 25. Lois Ann Leonardi ’80 died January 7 and majored in Printmaking. Michael Tradowsky ’94 studied Sculpture and passed away January 8. Shane Reeder ’95 died October 29, 2024 and majored in Industrial Design.
The 2024 Runway Show, Faux Pas, drew a large and enthusiastic audience.
Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.
Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19
Student, alums showcase work at Miami Art Week’s Prizm Art Fair
By Kennedi Combs
While most Cleveland Institute of Art students worked on their end-of-semester projects and studied for exams in early December, Theadis Reagins ’26 was packing his bags for Miami Art Week.
Reagins was one of eight Northeast Ohio artists—a group that also included four CIA alumni—selected to participate in the prestigious Prizm Art Fair as part of a City of Cleveland-led initiative to showcase the city’s exceptional artistic talent. The Painting and Printmaking major recognized this opportunity as an invaluable jumpstart to his career.
“To have my work shown at Prizm Art Fair and a part of Miami Art Week meant a great deal, especially introducing myself as an artist on a global stage and showing I have a place in the larger art world,” Reagins says. “It gave me a
chance to get out of my bubble and experience the other side of pursuing a stable studio practice. It comes with a set of new eyes and new expectations that will follow me into other opportunities.”
A cornerstone in the global contemporary art world and a cultural fête, Miami Art Week gives emerging and established artists the opportunity to collaborate, exhibit and promote artwork to collectors, dignitaries and art lovers at little to no cost.
Prizm Art Fair, an exhibition within Miami Art Week, is dedicated to African American and Diasporan artists and offers a safe space to showcase cultural narratives, identity, social justice and the global Black experience.
“I am proud to be a part of such a great lineage of artists showing at Prizm and
learning about its history and mission,” Reagins says. “I was inspired by the possibilities of how I can expand my practice further by absorbing some of the best work I’ve ever seen.”
Two of Reagins’ works were handselected by Prizm Art Fair founder and curator Mikhaile Solomon in response to the 2024 theme “Architecture of Liberation.” The two works are linocut prints on paper and highlight faith and knowledge of history as a catalyst for social improvement.
Solomon, who visited Cleveland in early 2024 to meet with artists and tour their studios, selected 20 works from eight local artists. The other artists included CIA alumni Mark Howard ’86, David Buttram ’89, Charmaine Spencer ’05 and Amber N. Ford ’16. Lawrence Baker, Antwoine Washington and Lauren Pearce rounded out the group.
Six of the eight Cleveland artists selected to participate in the Prizm Art Fair were able to attend during Miami Art Week. They were, from left, Lauren Pearce, Theadis Reagins ’26, Amber N. Ford ’16, Charmaine Spencer ’05, Antwoine Washington and Mark Howard ’86. Photo by Rod Deal.
“It was great to travel with them and reconnect with those I’ve already known and others for the first time,” Reagins says. “We all brought our own personalities, our own histories as artists and our collective experiences as human beings—and that’s how we bonded. It was natural. I’ve learned from them and they’ve provided valuable insight on where art leads you and the places you can go by honing your gift.”
Reagins was able to showcase his work in person thanks to a CIA scholarship. The College offers 11 traveling scholarships for both current and graduating students and was able to use one of those stipends to fund Reagins’ trip to Miami.
While Buttram couldn’t travel to Miami, he was honored to have his two paintings, “The Old Stone Church” and “Hebrews 10:25,” included in the fair. The two works were a part of his “Inner City” series and revolved around religion and worship, both integral parts of life in inner-city Cleveland.
“It was monumental. It meant a lot to me to be selected among so many talented artists,” says Buttram, a member of CIA’s Board of Directors. “It is always an honor to exhibit works on a global scale and beyond one’s own home area.”
Spencer shared how the Prizm Art Fair was more than just an exhibition—it was a pivotal moment in her artistic career.
She showcased two works, “Earth” and “New Growth,” which were the only two sculptures chosen from the Clevelandbased artists. Being among a global community of creatives offered her a fresh perspective not just on her own work, but on the art world as a whole.
“I learned a lot about how galleries represent their artists, what kind of materials they provide and how they position themselves within the art market,” Spencer says. “It really made me think about how I want to be represented moving forward. Whether it’s a group exhibition like Prizm or a different gallery, I now have a better sense of what aligns with my vision.”
The event also was a space for connection for the CIA alumni and Reagins, allowing them to form an unexpected but seamless bond.
“We clicked immediately,” Spencer says. “It was inspiring to see their work alongside mine and to realize that, despite differences in style and experience, we were all representing Cleveland in such a vibrant way.”
The artists’ experiences at Miami Art Week and the Prizm Art Fair have already sparked new goals, inspiring them to return to their studios energized with ideas to refine and pursue. Now, with this milestone under their belt, they’re ready to embrace the next challenge—whatever it might be.
As Spencer put it, “This was just the beginning.”
Theadis Reagins ’26, top, and Charmaine Spencer ’05 were two of five CIA artists who participated in the Prizm Art Fair during Miami Art Week. Photos by Rod Deal.
MOSAIC inspires CIA students to step into leadership roles
By Kennedi Combs
As a first-generation college student, Emmy Corsaro felt anxious about financial aid and college life when she enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2022.
“Since my dad never went to college, he didn’t really know how to help me,” Corsaro says.
“My mom had gone to community college for a little bit, but never graduated or anything, so she didn’t really know how any of this worked either. So it was hard applying for FAFSA and going through all those steps to prepare for college.”
Mia Carter had her own fears. As a Black and gay student enrolling at a majority-white institution, she was afraid she would be judged before people at CIA got to know her.
“I’ve never been one to put myself out there, so to be a part of this program that allowed me to slowly acclimate and not let me get too overwhelmed was so helpful,” Carter says. “I also struggle with asking for help, so to be assigned a person to
help and mentor me if I had any questions or problems definitely made a difference. Just thinking ‘Oh, they’re not going to judge me if I ask a stupid question’ really impacted my experience.”
The program to which Carter refers is CIA’s Multicultural Orientation Series for Artists In College (MOSAIC) program. MOSAIC is designed to support historically underrepresented students—such as BIPOC, LGBTQIA and first-generation students—by providing a more personalized orientation as they transition from high school to CIA. And, as Carter mentioned, a key component of MOSAIC is that each participant is partnered with a second-, third- or fourth-year student who serves as a mentor throughout the academic year.
MOSAIC is now in its third year, and by most any metric, it can be considered a success. Perhaps most rewarding is the degree to which students invest themselves in the program. Corsaro and Carter, both first-year mentees, benefitted from
MOSAIC mentors for 2024–25—including Emmy Corsaro, second from left, and Mia Carter, right—gather for a photo during the fall pre-orientation program. Photo by Kendra Drake ’25.
and cared so deeply about the program that they were inspired to become MOSAIC mentors.
“Having the opportunity to be both a mentee and a mentor, I’m just highly grateful and thankful for it because it has opened a lot more doors than I could possibly have opened myself,” Carter says. “My communication skills, community skills and empathy have grown because of the MOSAIC program.”
Program beginnings
During a January 2020 meeting of CIA’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Awareness (IDEA) Council, three students expressed concerns that many BIPOC, LGBTQIA and first-generation students felt unprepared, isolated and under-supported when they started at CIA.
Staff and faculty members dedicated the next two years to brainstorming solutions, planning programs and finding creative ways to obtain funds that would establish MOSAIC. The program officially started in August 2022 as the Nunes Scholars pre-orientation program.
MOSAIC is aimed at creating a more intimate and tailored experience for students, helping them build connections and understand campus resources. CIA reaches out to incoming students who might be a good fit for the program and encourages them to participate. Those who take advantage benefit from early move-in and a two-day pre-orientation program—all before other first-year students begin their college-wide orientation.
Each MOSAIC cohort is given an up-close-and-personal look at CIA. Participants attend a dinner to learn about CIA student groups, such as Black Scholars and Artists and the Latinx Heritage and Appreciation Club, and hear directly from student leaders about the importance of community and support. They also engage with CIA faculty and staff during networking events that help them learn more about the College and its community.
Charise Reid, Vice President of Human Resources and Support Services + Chief Inclusion and Equity Officer, has helped lead MOSAIC since its inception.
“The whole point of MOSAIC is to create community for these students so they can feel like they know where to go when
MOSAIC support grows
Not only is MOSAIC growing, but so is the support it gets from the philanthropic community. The 2024–25 program received funding from The John Huntington Fund for Education, The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation, The George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation and Harry K. and Emma R. Fox Charitable Foundation. Their support meant more first-year CIA students—and student mentors—could participate this year and that those mentors could receive more in-depth training for their roles.
issues happen,” Reid says. “Because inevitably, when you go to a college like CIA, as a student of color, it can be overwhelming. These students need a place to ask the questions that they might be afraid to ask anywhere else.”
MOSAIC’s impact
One of IDEA Council’s goals was to structure MOSAIC around closing the socio-economic gap that many first-generation and under-represented students face at CIA.
“MOSAIC is intended to remove barriers for students, and one of the barriers we often saw was the first-year art supply kit that you need,” Reid says.
During those initial program planning meetings, Reid recalled Animation Associate Professor Lincoln Adams ’98 sharing how he couldn’t afford the first-year kit as a CIA student and had to muddle through the academic year. His lack of supplies deeply affected his work and overall experience as a first-year student.
With this experience in mind, the IDEA Council provided the first cohort of MOSAIC students with $250 first-year kits that include art supplies and materials.
After receiving positive feedback from the first two MOSAIC cohorts, first-year kits were provided for all CIA students, and the budget for the kits was redistributed as a scholarship for MOSAIC students.
Initiatives like that help students begin their journey at CIA with greater clarity and focus, leading to stronger academic outcomes. Most recently, students in the 2024–25 MOSAIC cohort averaged an impressive 3.4 GPA during their first semester.
Looking ahead
As MOSAIC evolves, the program plans to expand its recruitment process to bring a wider range of diverse students into the fold and equip them with the support, tools and resources they need to start on the right track at CIA.
Corsaro and Carter—Sculpture + Expanded Media and Painting majors, respectively— agree that focusing on fellowship and engagement throughout the year is imperative to the program’s continued success.
“I remember how nervous I was coming in and it feels nice to be able to relieve some of those anxieties for other people,” Corsaro says of her role as a MOSAIC mentor. “They come to me with problems they’re having, or questions, or fears that they have, whatever. And every time that happens, it’s nice to be able to be that person to alleviate that stress from them.”
Reid believes MOSAIC has played a crucial role in fostering a sense of place at CIA.
“The ultimate goal is to really build community for these students and help them understand that CIA is their school,” Reid says. “It’s a place for them.”
Interactive Media Lab offers new and creative ways of learning
By Karen Sandstrom ’12
Industrial Design professor of practice Jason Tilk ’03 paints a vivid picture of one of the highlights of the Cleveland Institute of Art’s new Interactive Media Lab (IML). The facility’s virtual production stage uses extended reality (XR) technology to record real-world objects and people against digital backgrounds with sophistication far beyond the green screen.
“Imagine a movie studio, and you can bring in props or vehicles or whatever is in the content you want to create, but the studio has a digital backdrop and a digital floor,” Tilk says. “We will be able to create virtual environments that link up to the camera and interact as if the camera is looking into it. It could be the salt flats, and there could be a concept
vehicle there, or it could be a completely imagined space for something that the Sculpture + Expanded Media department and video students put together.”
In the XR Studio, students, alumni, industry and community members will be able to record scenes using the kind of leading-edge technology some feature film artists now use. “It’s a way to basically digitally create any environment right in MidTown,” says Tilk, referring to the district within Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood that’s home to the IML.
The XR Studio is a key feature of the IML, a technologyforward learning and presentation space that a host of CIA alumni have helped bring to fruition. Animator
From left, Rachel Yurkovich ’14, Steven Mastroianni ’88 and Chey Sprinkle ’21 enjoy a digital sunset in front of the XR Studio screen in CIA’s Interactive Media Lab. Yurkovich is the IML’s Associate Director of Technology, and Sprinkle is the IML’s Operations Manager. Mastroianni is CIA’s Media Services Manager.
and entertainment producer Kevin Geiger ’89 helped conceptualize the IML in 2019. Dan Cuffaro ’91, associate professor of Industrial Design, worked with game designer Jared Bendis ’04 to draft the IML’s original business plans. Cuffaro remains instrumental in its planning and implementation.
The $13 million project is located in a 14,300-square-foot space at East 66th Street and Euclid Avenue in the MidTown Collaboration Center—a shared facility for cross-pollination by those in sectors including art, software, business and health care.
While the IML is an important new asset for Animation, Game Design and Life Sciences Illustration students, it has applicability for every major, including the fine arts. And it is expected to provide a career-building advantage in an ever more digital world, says Rachel Yurkovich ’14, the IML’s associate director of technology.
“It’s such a great opportunity for up-and-coming students to keep up with all of the new technology that is rapidly coming out and new tools to accomplish whatever vision they have,” Yurkovich says.
Spaces and features
The XR Studio represents the biggest investment and the largest physical space at the IML, Yurkovich says. Its 36-foot LED wall and 26-foot inlaid LED floor are connected to create seamless virtual environments.
“Settings that are made to look real in a game engine can be used as backgrounds in your video,” she says. “It knows the
location of the camera in that game room setting, so it gives you the right perspective.”
Grip gear, cameras, tripods—equipment that would be needed on a film set—can be borrowed by CIA students or rented by non-students.
In the Digital Capture Studio, photogrammetry allows physical objects to be made into digital images by 3D scanners. Motion-capture suits can be worn to allow movements to be recorded and digitized.
In the Rapid Prototype Lab, rapid 3D printers, laser cutters, a computer numerical control (CNC) mill and soldering equipment will be available so users can quickly make physical models from their designs before they move to final production.
The IML’s Arcade contains two solo playrooms for singleperson virtual reality (VR) experiences or game playing “so you don’t have to worry about bumping into anything,” Yurkovich says. “One of these rooms has a high-end VR headset called Varjo. It’s so crisp that it looks like you’re looking at the real world. People use it for interior design and other kinds of design.”
A multipurpose screening room designed for showing and editing 3D videos has tiered seating and haptic chairs that create tactile feedback for use with VR.
“There’s an editing station with surround sound where you can edit and color-correct the video you captured, probably in the XR studio,” Yurkovich says. “We have all the monitors and keyboards and things to make that workflow fast.
Left: Rachel Yurkovich ’14 shows CIA Board member Jose Longoria ’81 a Varjo XR-4 headset, which has the highest resolution mixed-reality displays ever made.
Photo by The Dark Room Co./McKinley Wiley. Right: Brandon Miller ’10 installed Fluid In Motion at the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum in Canton. Submitted.
“And this space is set up so you can do shared VR experiences, with multiple headsets,” she adds. “For a class or a group, everyone can try the same thing and give a critique or do whatever is needed to test it out.”
In the Interactive Media Gallery, a wall of glass can be switched from clear to frosted to display a projected image.
“The gallery is also a multi-use space,” Yurkovich says. “You can have it empty for AR/VR experiences or have a full exhibit set-up with a focus on that new technology.”
Overall, the facility holds potential not just for artists working in traditional time-based media, but also for those working in fine-arts realms. Yurkovich—who earned her BFA in Painting and Sculpture + Expanded Media—emphasizes that CIA students in every major have freedom to explore a variety of media, and they do.
“Painting majors can create videos or performance art, and SEM majors can create drawings or digital art,” she says.
That freedom allows for extending traditional boundaries. Painting or Drawing majors, for example, might use the IML to animate parts of an artwork in AR. “This has been done in other exhibits,” Yurkovich says.
They can create digital installations—pieces that can be seen only through a headset or phone with AR. They can make drawings or drafts in 3D space with VR headsets. They can 3D-scan a painting to allow it to be seen by someone who can’t see it in person. And the XR studio can be used for making an experimental film or for performance art.
“It isn’t predictable what our creative students will come up with,” Yurkovich says. “But with access to these additional tools, I’m excited to see the interpretations that a variety of majors will take.”
Unlimited potential
CIA alumnus Brandon Miller ’10 has a feel for the potential of the IML. His company, Third Reality Media, offers digital interactive services including 3D and XR content creation and audiovisual installation. Like Yurkovich, Miller worked in AV at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Metroparks. He has seen AV technology change rapidly and open up pathways for better visitor experiences.
Today, his business’s target audience is nonprofits, museums and nature centers. For a new exhibit at the McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in Canton, Ohio, he recently designed, programmed and installed an interactive projection, called Fluid in Motion, which lets visitors explore fluid dynamics.
It’s the type of project that smaller cultural institutions can’t typically do in-house, but art students armed with hightech equipment and know-how could help bridge the gap.
“One thing I really hope that comes out of the IML is students working more with local organizations to heighten their digital interactive footprint and to raise the bar on what’s expected,” Miller says.
He also hopes CIA students will take full advantage of the opportunity they have to explore and experiment with equipment and software typically available only in a high-end studio.
“If you had to pay for time in a studio like that, you wouldn’t have time to play,” Miller says. “You would say, ‘OK, this is what the client wants—we’ve got to get it done.’ So I hope this is an environment that’s more conducive to play.”
Tilk foresees the IML as the beginning of a new era for his students.
“I’m looking forward to when our young transportation designers present completely in the XR studio,” he says. “It’s going to be a game changer. And really fun to work in.”
Top: Jason Tilk ’03 demonstrates a shared augmented reality (AR) experience in the Gravity Sketch app using Meta Quest 3 and Quest Pro being used by Joella Nagy ’26. Photo by The Dark Room Co./McKinley Wiley. Bottom: The Cleveland Foundation’s MidTown Collaboration Center will be home to CIA’s Interactive Media Lab, which is scheduled to open this spring.
Alum’s grants aid Painting majors
By Michael C. Butz
Jordi Rowe ’23 knows how to help people. Outside of her painting practice, she’s known as Dr. Jordi Rowe, a Cleveland Clinic anatomic pathologist who specializes in diagnosing breast cancer. As Rowe graduated from high school, her mother died of breast cancer—and it was her mother’s dying wish that she practice medicine. Today, Rowe saves lives. Literally.
As a CIA alum, Rowe isn’t helping people navigate life-ordeath situations, but she’s making a meaningful difference in the lives and practices of current Painting majors through two awards she established mere months after graduating. The awards are grants, not scholarships—which is noteworthy because while scholarships help pay down tuition, they don’t put money in students’ pockets for day-to-day needs. Rowe wanted to address the latter.
While still a student, she recognized that some of her classmates—who weren’t earning a salary through a career in medicine like her—had to make “really hard choices” with regard to purchasing art supplies or executing their BFA projects the way they envisioned.
“It’s hard to see your friends struggle like that,” Rowe says. “So, when I graduated, I wanted to make certain there was a way for me to give back to my community that didn’t just go to pay their tuition bills but that they could use to get painting supplies or explore new areas of painting that they wouldn’t otherwise have the money for. You know, like a little bit of flexible income.”
As a result, she established The Jordi Rowe Painting Grant, which awards $1,000 to a senior Painting major for excellence in painting, and The Jordi and David Rowe Family Grant, which awards $250 to a junior Painting major for excellence in painting. For both, Painting faculty members select a recipient who’s in good academic standing.
Also important to Rowe is that her grants recognize artistic achievement. Since she paid her way through college, Rowe never completed a FAFSA—which meant she wasn’t eligible for scholarships from CIA. But, she didn’t realize that until her senior year. Instead, she thought scholarships were awarded on the quality of one’s work.
“I didn’t necessarily want [scholarships] for the money, but it always looks good on an artist’s CV if you win an award or
How you can support CIA
To set up a CIA scholarship or explore creative ways to support students, contact Rachel Zinram, Director of Alumni Relations + Scholarships, at rmzinram@cia.edu.
honor,” Rowe says. “So, I decided I wanted awards that could go to students that have nothing to do with financial aid and would be dispersed on merit by the Painting faculty. That was important to me.”
The community Rowe built at CIA also inspired her to give back. She worked hard at integrating, not only with her peers in Painting but throughout CIA. She even kept her medical career a secret from classmates and faculty for years in an effort to earn their respect as a fellow artist.
“It was really important for me to find my place in that community,” Rowe says. “And, when I got to CIA, it was very welcoming. I thought, this is great. This is where I want to be. And I quickly realized that I had a lot to give, not only in critiques, but I have the means with which to support others.”
Rowe’s grants are the first of their kind at CIA. They represent a creative solution that she worked to achieve with Rachel Zinram, CIA Director of Alumni Relations + Scholarships.
“It was a path no one had forged before, and Rachel and I forged that path together,” Rowe says. “I’m superappreciative of how much effort and time she has put in because look who’s benefited. We have four students so far who’ve benefited and it didn’t take that long to get rolling. It’s as easy as writing a check.”
Jordi Rowe ’23 stands in front of work completed in her studio, a space she shares with fellow CIA alum Maeve Billings ’21. Rowe and Billings have a two-person exhibition scheduled to open June 27. Submitted.
NOTES
Compiled by Rachel Zinram
Carl Gaertner 1924* was featured in Carl Gaertner: The Spirit of Place at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, West Virginia.
Anthony Eterovich ’38* had work in the Cleveland Artists Foundation 40th Anniversary Exhibition, Comparisons and Contrasts, at ARTneo in Cleveland.
Frank Marchione ’48* was featured in an article discussing his stained-glass work around Stark County in Ohio.
Kenneth M. Davis ’64 had his autobiography, An Artist’s Search for Identity: Artistic, Religious and Political, accepted by the Library of Congress for inclusion in its permanent collection.
Charlotte Lees ’65, Fern Haught ’18, Alex Heard ’20, Max McMillen ’21, Del Davis ’22 , Frank Hadzima ’23, Caro Volny ’23, Janoi Daley ’24, Danielle Larson ’24 and Tumnus Rex ’24 were featured in the 1st Annual ActLoCLE Online Juried Exhibition, co-curated and juried by Jordi Rowe ’23.
Ron Testa ’65 had work in the Annual Member Showcase at Praxis Photo Arts Center in Minneapolis.
Joan Klatil Creamer ’66 has two paintings, featuring “hidden” concepts of automobiles she worked on as an exterior designer in the late ’60s, on display in the Technical Center at General Motors in Warren, Michigan. Creamer also delivered a talk about creating the Batmobile at the East Greenwich Art Club’s monthly meeting in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
David Deming ’67 designed a bronze statue of Rep. Tom Craddick and his wife, Nadine, on view at the Midland International Air and Space Port in Midland, Texas.
Kenneth Smith ’70 had a solo show, Open Studio Portraits, at BAYarts in Bay Village, Ohio.
Paedra Bramhall ’70 had 18 glass pieces featured in Illuminated Worlds at Art at the Kent in Calais, Vermont.
Kestutis Kizevicius ’75*, Mike Lombardy ’15, Connor Goodwin ’20, Maeve Billings ’21, Nick Birnie ’21 and Tatiana Hornung ’21 were featured in a group show, A Conversation Across Time, at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland. This exhibition highlights a collaborative printmaking project led by CIA faculty member Maggie Denk-Leigh, supported by Kelly Pontoni ’19, pairing CIA students with Kizevicius’ work.
Leslye Discont Arian ’76 had work in Crossing Thresholds at Article Gallery in Cleveland. She also had a solo show, Moving Vehicle: “Drive By” Landscape Series, at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
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.
Pam Pastoric ’77, Jose Quinones ’77, Joe Stavec ’80, William Moore ’84, Judy Takács ’86, Sean Mabin ’93, Jill Eisert ’08, Maeve Billings ’21, Violet Maimbourg ’21 and Sam Schneider ’21 were featured in the 53rd Annual Juried Art Exhibition at Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Babs Reingold ’78 had drawings and poems in the 2024 Fall/Winter issue of The Evergreen Review
Caroline Burton ’80 had a solo show, The Back of the Moon, in the Clara M. Eagle Gallery at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.
Mary Urbas ’80 is a co-juror for the 2025 Annual Juried Exhibition on view March 14 through April 5 at BAYarts in Bay Village, Ohio.
David Verba ’80 and Eric TuckMacalla ’86 had an artist talk at Understory in Cleveland.
Loretta Eby ’81 had an article in The Enthusiast magazine, Volume 11.
John Hrehov ’81 had work in the 2025 Midwest Regional and Dwellings in the
Anthony Eterovich ’38*
Artlink Contemporary Art Gallery at the Auer Center for Arts & Culture in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hrehov also had a solo show at Purdue University Fort Wayne’s Visual Arts Gallery in Fort Wayne.
Patrick Baran ’83 celebrated the 40th anniversary of his patent for the interlocking mechanism of the Panosh Place Voltron toy. Baran also participated as a panelist, along with Leigh Brooklyn ’11, Zharia Rhan ’21, Sam Schneider ’21 and Layla Harris ’24, for a Professional Practices course at the Cleveland Institute of Art.
Adriana Russo-Caso ’83 gave a talk about her project, Birdsong, at the Akron Art Museum in Akron, Ohio.
William Moore ’84 had work in Art Show at Door 2 Art Studio in Hudson, Ohio and in Skyward and the 17th International Juried Solo Exhibition with Exhibizone online. He was featured in Issue 40 of Spotlight magazine and the 2025 Winter/Spring edition of Observica magazine. Finally, his work was reviewed by the Circle Foundation for the Arts based in Lyon, France.
Susan Collett ’86 had work in the Gyeonggi Ceramics Biennale 2024 at the Gyeonggi Museum of Contemporary Ceramic Art in Korea. She gave a video interview and studio visit with the Museum of Ceramic Art–New York.
Mark Howard ’86, David Buttram ’89, Charmaine Spencer ’05 and Amber N. Ford ’16 represented the City of Cleveland at the Prizm Art Fair during Miami Art Week.
Mark Howard ’86, Sarah Curry ’01, Katy Richards ’11 and Nikki Woods ’12 were featured in New Year New Work at HEDGE Gallery in Cleveland.
Judy Takács ’86 had her piece “Calypso Says So Long O” featured in Ekphrastacy at Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Eric Tuck-Macalla ’86 had a solo show, Mutual Aid, at Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio.
Karen Beckwith ’87, Yuko Kimura ’94, Amy Casey ’99 and Kelly Pontoni ’19
had work in Print Wave: 2024 Tainan International Print Exhibition at Tainan Art Museum in Tainan, Taiwan. Beckwith was also the artist-in-residence at Texture Printmaking Studio in Tainan. Beckwith had a solo show, Remnants, at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland.
Rita Grendze ’87 had work in Disruptive Ecologies at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee. Grendze also had work in Healers and Dreamers at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, Indiana.
Hadley Conner ’88 had work in Frontier or Wasteland at BAYarts in Bay Village, Ohio.
Earl O. James ’88 had a solo show, Pathways and Passages, at Akron Soul Train in Akron, Ohio.
Steve Mastroianni ’88 and Sean Mabin ’93 had work in The Snow Show at Pinwheel Gallery in Cleveland.
Deborah Pinter ’88, Yuko Kimura ’94 and Layla Harris ’24 were featured in a group show, Continuing Conversations: From Woodblock to Inkjet, at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland.
Beth Halasz ’89 was featured in an article about her work in the 2024 Geauga Soil and Water Conservation District rain barrel yard art campaign.
Curlee Raven Holton ’89, Dexter Davis ’90, Lori Kella ’97, Timothy Callaghan ’99 and Valerie Grossman ’12 were featured in Great Expectations at William Busta Projects in Cleveland. Holton also had a solo show, Finding a Voice Through Printmaking, at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in Hyattsville, Maryland.
Greg Martin ’89 had a solo show, Dust, at SHED Projects in Cleveland.
Paul Yanko ’91 had a solo show, Primary Structures, at the Burroughs-Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Sean Mabin ’93 and Thomas Smith ’23 had work in Flora at White Rabbit Galleries in Barberton, Ohio.
Richard Shrewsbury ’93 was the judge for the West Virginia Watercolor Society’s 2024 All-Members Exhibit, Anything Goes, at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, West Virginia.
Yuko Kimura ’94 and Layla Harris ’24 were featured in From Woodblock to Inkjet at Baldwin Wallace University’s Fawick Gallery in Berea, Ohio.
Billy Nainiger ’00 had work in a two-person show, Refresh, Restart, Resume, at E11even 2 Gallery in Cleveland.
Kiara Pelissier ’00 had their piece, “Dreams Don’t Lie,” installed at the Museum of Sleep in Bon Air, Virginia.
Louisa Sanders ’02 designed the 2024 annual medal, “The Collector’s Garden,” for the Medal Collectors of America.
Aaron Sechrist ’02 performed a stand up routine at Bombs Away! Comedy in Cincinnati.
Alison O’Daniel ’03 had work with Commonwealth and Council at Art Basel in Miami.
Rit Premnath ’03 had a solo show, mould the wing to match the photograph, at Asia Art Archive in America in Brooklyn, New York.
Vinald Francis ’05 discussed his medical illustration career in an interview with NPR Marketplace.
Natalie Lanese ’05 curated and had work in Field of View at the Screw Factory in Lakewood, Ohio. The show also featured work by Nicole Carroll ’23, Jordi Rowe ’23, Alex Vlasov ’23 and DeAnne Smith ’24
Valerie Mayén ’05 was featured in the January 2025 edition of Smart Business Magazine.
Adrienne Borkowski ’07 had work on display at the Sewickley Public Library in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.
Nicholas Moenich ’08 curated Parklife, at Suffolk County Community College’s Sagtikos Art Gallery in Brentwood, New York.
ALUMNI
NOTES
Emily Moores ’08 had a solo show, When Quiet is Noisy, at Sinclair College’s Burnell R. Roberts Triangle Gallery in Dayton, Ohio.
Lauren Chaikin ’09, Katiey Pastva ’22 , Noah David Sample ’22 , Shannon Henley ’23, Hayven Johnson ’23, Amanda Rose ’23, Emily Zhang ’23, Sam Watson ’24 and Rey Yaniga ’24 created posters over the last two seasons for the Cleveland Guardians’ minor league affiliate, the Lake County Captains, in Eastlake, Ohio.
Jordan Perme ’09 had their piece, “Lil’ Bessie,” included in Small Wonders at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia.
Rachel Allen ’10 started as the curator of modern and contemporary art at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane, Washington.
Sequoia Bostick ’14 was the committee team lead and hosted a workshop for Genghis Con in Cleveland.
Emily Hromi ’14 had work featured in apARTments at Oculus World Trade Center in New York City.
Jenn Baugher ’15 finished working on the Tesla Model Y as the Senior Vehicle Designer for the Tesla team in Hawthorne, California.
Claire Marks ’15 had work in Ink & Inspiration in the Summa Health Gallery in Akron, Ohio.
Justin Woody ’15 (aka Onya Nurve) is competing on the 17th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race on MTV. New episodes air every Friday at 8pm ET through April.
Amber N. Ford ’16 had work in Mood Swing at The Sculpture Center in Cleveland.
Chen Peng ’16 had a solo show, Soft Anchors, at University of Mount Union’s Sally Otto Gallery in Alliance, Ohio.
Kim Chapman ’17 has a solo show, Eighty-Six Reasons for Asylum
Admission, on view in Central Michigan University’s Baber Room Gallery in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Davon Brantley ’18 hosted a reflective art workshop, An Act of Remembrance, at Akron Soul Train in Akron, Ohio.
Megan Dardis ’18 had a solo show, Free to Feel, at Extraordinaire Photos Gallery in Cleveland.
Fern Haught ’18 was a featured author at Books by the Banks in Cincinnati, Ohio. They took part in the Graphic Novels panel to speak about their debut graphic novel, The Baker and the Bard.
Ryan Cermak ’20 led two workshops, Intro to Western Papermaking and Intro to Marbling, at Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland.
Alex Heard ’20 was selected for the Artist Residency Program during April at Akron Soul Train in Akron, Ohio.
Riley Rist ’21 was one of two artists from the U.S. selected for the XIII Biennal Internacional de Ceràmica at Sala Portal del Pardo in El Vendrell, Spain. Rist also had his MA thesis exhibition, Wavering Masculinities, in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Conkling Gallery in Mankato, Minnesota.
Betty Rozakis ’21 had work in Sketching Athens at Eos Gallery in Athens, Greece.
Deborah Silver ’21 had work in a group show, Around the World with 80 Textile Artists, at Musée des métiers d’arts du Québec (MUMAQ) in Montreal.
Leo Covault ’22 had a two person show, The Harpist in the Paper Garden, at Waterloo Arts in Cleveland.
Liana Gonzalez ’22 curated a second volume of their 2021 Creativity Works project, Love, Sex, & the Body, featuring Alex Heard ’20, Nova Stewart ’20, Sebastian Schenz ’22 , Oliver Chapman ’23, El Arvizu ’24, Daly Horton ’24 and Nat Lenington ’24, at Hildebrandt Artist Collective in Cleveland.
Danni Razo ’22 , Ryan Skedel ’22 , Braydon Cheek ’23 and Lily Hupp ’24 opened Stryker Studios in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Sebastian Schenz ’22 had a piece featured at Rotten Peach Studios in Kent, Ohio.
Oliver Chapman ’23 had a solo show, Enjoy The Process of Becoming, at The Rhizome House in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Frank Hadzima ’23 was featured in Emerged at Heights Arts in Cleveland.
Crystal Miller ’23 has a mural, “Until the Time Comes, We Bloom,” on display in collaboration with LAND studio on Public Square in Cleveland. She had a solo show, Adornment, in Youngstown State University’s Judith Rae Solomon Gallery in Youngstown, Ohio.
Jordi Rowe ’23 was interviewed by Alex Vlasov ’23 with Studio Nights magazine.
Jules Ahern ’24 was the featured artist at Kaiser Studios in Cleveland.
Wes Cunningham ’24 tabled at Winterland in Cleveland.
Janoi Daley ’24 was in Summit Artspace’s 4th Annual BIPOC+ Solo Exhibition, co-juried by Amber N. Ford ’16, to showcase her paintings in a solo show, New Chapter, on view April 11 through June 14 in the Horizon Gallery at Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio.
Janoi Daley ’24 and James Negron ’24 were two of the five “Who’s Next” 2024 artists in Canvas magazine. Daley’s work is also featured on the cover of the Winter 2024 edition of Canvas
James Negron ’24 received an Honorable Mention for his performance video, ”How to Be Me,” included in the group exhibition, FRESH: Soft Offerings, at Summit Artspace in Akron, Ohio.
Conor Bracken (Liberal Arts) will publish his translation of francophone Haitian poet Jean D’Amérique’s Workshop of Silence with Vanderbilt University Press. Poems, stories and translations appear— or will soon—in the Cincinnati Review, the Cleveland Review of Books, Coma and On the Seawall. He is serving as a judge for this year’s National Translation Award in Poetry for the American Literary Translators’ Association.
William Brouillard (Emeritus) had his piece, “Machine Age Church Beniter–Stoup #3,” featured in Ceramics Monthly magazine. He, along with faculty member Andrea LeBlond ’95, had work in the 20th Annual Ceramic Invitational at River
Gallery in Rocky River, Ohio. He also has work in A Fine Line at the Sandusky Cultural Center in Sandusky, Ohio.
Colby Chamberlain (Liberal Arts) participated in the panel discussion “Writing Art History After Occupy” at Printed Matter in New York City and chaired the session “Institutional Fatigue in the Twenty-First Century” at the College Art Association annual conference.
Nicole Condon-Shih (Foundation) exhibited Bio-ships, an AR installation exploring lichen as cosmic pioneers, at Phone Gallery in Cleveland’s Waterloo Arts District. Combining glowing engravings, lichen-laden vinyl rocks and augmented reality, the work envisioned these resilient organisms seeding new worlds.
Lane Cooper (Painting) curated PROOF | Analog at River House Arts in Toledo. The group show included work by CIA faculty emeritus Petra Soesemann ’77, faculty member Mike Meier ’10, Katy Richards ’11, Frank Hadzima ’23, Derek Walker ’23, Mason Kovacs ’24, Tristen Kovacs ’24 and Ben Mataloni ’24.
Maggie Denk-Leigh (Printmaking) exhibited in Flora at White Rabbit Galleries in Barberton, Ohio; Continuing Conversations: From Woodblock to Inkjet at Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland; and Ink & Inspiration at the Summa Health Gallery in Akron, Ohio.
Elizabeth Hoag (Liberal Arts) had an article—“Hearing What They Don’t Say”: Cultivating New Perspectives through Teaching and Learning Anthropology at a College of Art and Design”—published in the open-access peer-reviewed Teaching and Learning Anthropology Journal Volume 7 Issue 2 (2024). She also co-authored a book chapter—“Kids in the Trenches: Women as Mothers and Professionals in Archaeology”—in the edited volume Mothering and Archaeology: Past and Present Perspectives from Routledge Press.
Benjamin Johnson (Craft + Design) exhibited in the Biennial Alumni Show at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
Katie Melnick (Graphic Design) had her studio, Fizz Creative, featured in DIELINE magazine for design work the studio did for Mugsy. Fizz Creative also had a feature story on cleveland.com.
Linda Post (Photography) had a solo show, Untitled (Waterloo), at Waterloo Arts in Cleveland.
Zach Savich (Liberal Arts) received a fellowship in Creative Writing from the National Endowment for the Arts. He published new poetry in Chicago Review and The Hopkins Review
Zachary Smoker ’11 (Fabrication Studios) gave an artist talk, “Anyone Can Make Art, Not Everyone Can Buy It,” and conducted studio visits with undergrad and graduate students at the Kent State University School of Art in Kent, Ohio.
Brent Kee Young (Emeritus) had work included in American Masters in Glass at the Imagine Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida; Out of the Vault: Art History 101 at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington; and Winter Show at the Greenhill Art Center in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Rachel Yurkovich ’14 (Information Technology) was featured in the Artist, Mother, Proud & Serious VOL II publication. She was also selected as the Photo Poet to be featured in the Spring 2025 CAN Journal showing video stills from her “Foreign Bodies” series.
FACULTY+STAFF
Compiled by Michael C. Butz
Rachel Yurkovich ’14
Conor Bracken
The 2025 Student Independent Exhibition is on view in Reinberger Gallery through April 6. During the opening reception in February, SIE 79 committee members (and one of the jurors) took a moment to celebrate. From left are Matison Griffie ’25, design co-chair; James Schaffer ’25, social media co-chair, Theadis Reagins ’26, SIE 79 committee co-chair; Sid Rogers ’26, design co-chair; Milo Spencer ’27, social media co-chair; SIE 79 juror Nate Cotterman ’07; and Lane Grigson ’26, SIE 79 committee co-chair. Photo by Leah Trznadel ’19.