Canvas, Spring/Summer 2026

Periodical Supplement to Cleveland Jewish News, June 12, 2026

NORTHEAST OHIO | arts | music | performance

Spring/Summer 2026

Join us at the Maltz Museum for an unforgettable night of music, movement, and connection under the summer sky at:

A SPECTRUM OF COLOR. A FUSION OF SOUND.

A C E L E B R AT I O N O F CO M M U N I T Y. KALEIDOSCOPE is an evening inspired by the power of creativity, community, and connection. Enjoy the electrifying sounds of Apostle Jones, dance the night away to a summer soundtrack spun by a live DJ, and immerse yourself in an atmosphere where music, art, and people come together in unexpected ways.

Your ticket also includes admission to Icons in Ink: The Jewish Comics Experience, an acclaimed exhibition exploring the artists and visionaries who helped shape some of the most enduring characters in popular culture.

Celebrate the colors, sounds, and stories that bring us together.

AG ES 18+

$20 GENERAL ADMISSION | $10 MEMBERS

2929 Richmond Road | Beachwood, OH 44122

maltzmuseum.org

CLEVELAND ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION

2026 SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS “PETER IS BACK” Presented by BorderLight Theatre Festival

CIAC Night is Thursday, July 9 at 6 pm. Additional performances on July 10 & 11.

CIAC PRESENTS: WHAT MAKES ISRAELI ART ISRAELI? with James Snyder

Monday, August 3 at 6 - 7:30 pm Jewish Federation of Cleveland Few individuals have as extensive experience with Israeli art as James Snyder. As past director of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and current director of the Jewish Museum in New York City, James has interacted with Israeli art and artists for nearly three decades.

Created by Amir Yatziv, “Peter is Back” is a live show featuring an AI monkey inspired by Kafka. In a real-time dialogue, Peter reflects on becoming human. Each performance changes live, blurring the line between script and improvisation, control and unpredictability.

Staged reading: “WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE WORLD?!” A play by Gur Koren, translated by Alon Pdut Presented by Dobama Theatre

CIAC Night is Wednesday, August 12 at 7:30 pm. Additional performances on August 13, 14, & 15.

Dobama Theatre will present the “Texas Adaptation” of this Israeli comedy. This translation is uniquely fascinating in that it demonstrates the Israeli playwright’s/ adapter’s perspective on American culture and highlights the universality of family dynamics.

To learn more, scan this code.

THESE EVENTS, AND MORE, ARE PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

Roe Green, Honorary Producer a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland

For updates join the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection Facebook group or visit jewishcleveland.org/israelarts.

Roe Green Foundation

INSIDE

Periodical Supplement to Cleveland Jewish News, June 12, 2026

NORTHEAST OHIO | arts | music | performance

6 Editor’s Note

Rebecca Meiser highlights the summer arts scene

8 On Deck

Upcoming openings and current events from around Northeast Ohio

10 Genius Loci and the Pathos of Places Opens July 24 at the Morgan Conservatory

14 The Art of Showing Up

22 Behind the Garden Gate

At Cavotta’s Garden Center, gardening, live music and community come together in one of Cleveland’s most unexpected summer destinations

24 Creative Suggestions for Summer

Artists, educators, curators and cultural leaders across Northeast Ohio share what they’re making, watching and not missing this season

How Tanya Kaiser Found Community — and Helped Build It — Through Cleveland’s Arts Scene

27 Curator Corner

18 Where the Drinks Tell Stories

28 Events Calendar

At The Writer’s Room, cocktails begin with moods, memories and unlikely ingredients

Spring/Summer 2026

Pauline Shirt (Nimikiiquay) by Kent Monkman

Spring, summer and fall arts events around town

30 Listings

Local listings for museums, galleries and more

On the cover

Inspired by the reflections of light on Lake Erie, artist Hilary Gent explores the interplay of water, color and atmosphere in her work. In Last Light (2026), a 36-inch-by-36inch latex-on-canvas painting, she translates fleeting moments of light on water into an abstract meditation on perception, inviting viewers to consider how illumination can transform both landscape and experience. The work is featured in Managing the Darkness, on view at HEDGE Gallery from June 17 through July 25, 2026. Photo courtesy of the artist.

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1901 Ford Dr. | University Circle | 216-231-8900 4 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

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m

Explore & Discover Inspiring Art & Stories!

REclaimed:thetheartartofofrecology recology REclaimed:

Reclaimed presents a fascinating survey of 33 artists with thought-

provokingpresents artworksa fascinating in a varietysurvey of media San thoughtFrancisco’s waste Reclaimed of 33through artists with provoking artworks in a variety of media through San Francisco’ waste of management service, Recology. This exhibit highlights the singenuity management service, Recology.

This exhibit highlights the ingenuity of the human spirit — and a call to action to protect our planet through the human Organized spirit — andbya call to protect through creativity. and toin action partnership withour theplanet Bedford Gallery, CA. creativity. Organized by and in partnership with the Bedford Gallery, CA. Also On View ...

OnOnView ViewThrough ThroughJuly July26, 26,2026 2026

Good GoodTimes Times

The Artistic The Artistic journey of Ernie barnes The Artistic journey of Ernie barnes The Artisticjourney journeyof ofErnie Ernie barnes barnes

Image: Pandora’s Box,

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Net Worth: Ben Lambert Ceramics 2005.Neon, Andrew Junge.13 ¾ x toolbox, Net Worth: Ben Lambert Ceramics 19toolbox, ¼ x 1113 ½¾ in.x On the Threshold of the Great Lakes: Geo Rutherford Neon, 19 ¼ x 11 ½ in.

On the Threshold of the Great Lakes: Geo Rutherford Earth, Fire, Water: The Elements of Watercolor & Ceramics Earth, Fire, Water: The Elements of Watercolor & Ceramics

CelebratingArtArtofofSports, Sports,Music Music & Black Culture Celebrating & Black Culture

OnOnView ViewAug Aug18 18--Nov Nov1,1,2026 2026 Former NFLNFL player Ernie Former player ErnieBarnes Barnes (1938–2009) createdsome someofof (1938–2009) created century’ s mosticonic iconic the the 20th20th century’ s most images of African American images of African American known dance life.life.

BestBest known forforhishisdance scene painting, The Sugar Shack, scene painting, The Sugar Shack, In partnership with ... featured on the 1970s hit sitcom, In partnership with ... featured on the 1970s hit sitcom, Ernie Barnes Ernie Good Times, this original exhibit offers a survey of FamilyBarnes Trust Good Times, this original exhibit offers a survey of Family Trust his inspiring paintings across sports, music, and his inspiring paintings across sports, music, and Black culture ... emphasizing joy, resilience, and achievement!

Black culture ... emphasizing joy, resilience, and achievement!

Images (clockwise left to right): The artist at work in his studio. Photograph © Ernie Barnes

Family Trust. Slam the The Storm, 1979.

Acrylicinonhis canvas, 48 Photograph ⅜ x 24 ⅝ in. © AirErnie Guitar, 1999.

Images (clockwise leftBefore to right): artist at work studio.

Barnes paper,Before 37 ⅞ xthe 25 Storm, ⅝ in. Saxophone Gesso, 1994. Acrylic 26 1999. x 40 in.

FamilyAcrylic Trust.onSlam 1979. Acrylic on canvas, 48 ⅜and x 24gesso ⅝ in.on Airpaper, Guitar, artworks of the Ernie Barnes Estate, Ortuzar and Andrew Kreps AcrylicAllon paper, Ernie 37 ⅞Barnes. x 25 ⅝ Courtesy in. Saxophone Gesso, 1994.

Acrylic and gesso on paper, 26Gallery, x 40 in.

New York.

Photos: Dario Lasagni.

All artworks Ernie Barnes. Courtesy of the Ernie Barnes Estate, Ortuzar and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York. Photos: Dario Lasagni.

Plan PlanYour YourVisit Visitatat

CantonArt.org CantonArt.org

1001 Market Avenue North | Canton, OH 44702

1001 Market Avenue North | Canton, OH 44702

Exhibition, programming, marketing & operating support provided in part by ...

Exhibition, programming, marketing & operating support provided in part by ...

53rd Annual Christkindl Markt — Nov 13 - 14 Fine ArtsMarkt & Fine—Crafts 53Ard Premier Annual Juried Christkindl Nov 13Show - 14 A Premier Juried Fine Arts & Fine Crafts Show CANVAS_June_2026_Ad.indd 1

The Anthony J. and Susan E. Paparella Family Foundation

The Anthony J. and Susan E. Paparella Family Foundation

The Hoover Foundation The

Hoover Foundation 6/1/26 11:10 AM

Editor’s Note The Art of Summer

S

ummer has a way of pulling us outside ourselves.

Not just outdoors — though that too — but outside the routines that insulate us from surprise. Outside the same paths, the same tables, the same galleries we already know by heart. Summer, more than any other season, asks us to wander.

This issue is our invitation to do exactly that.

We asked painters, muralists, curators, choreographers and cultural leaders across Northeast Ohio to share what they’re making, watching and refusing to miss this summer. Their answers surprised us, moved us and reminded us how much is quietly thriving in this region, often just a few blocks from where we already are.

You’ll find a hidden garden bar tucked between the city streets of Cleveland’s East Side, where goats graze, local bands play under string lights, and heirloom tomatoes once sparked something that outlasted any festival.

You’ll step upstairs into a candlelit speakeasy above a Tremont cocktail bar, where a mixologist translates your mood — or a memory, or a skyscraper — into something you’ve never tasted before.

And you’ll meet a woman who arrived in this city knowing no one, coldemailed her way into a community, and has spent the years since weaving artists, scientists and students into something none of them could have built alone.

What runs through all of it is something I’ve come to think of as the particular alchemy of Northeast Ohio summers: the way the season seems to lower the threshold between stranger and neighbor, between spectator and participant, between the art on the wall and the life you’re actually living.

Lisa Quine is pushing back against

the sterile perfection of AI with murals that look unmistakably human, painterly, warm, made by hand. Davon Brantley is spending his summer sitting with time itself, asking what it means to truly be present with what we create.

Nora Willauer is building a performance lab where students are finally allowed to fail beautifully. And Tanya Kaiser, curator, sculptor, connector, is busy crystallizing childhood artifacts in sugar water and asking what we preserve, and what quietly corrodes, as we grow.

I’ll admit: every summer I tell myself I’m going to slow down, and every summer the city has other ideas. The art walks, the garden concerts, the openings, the rooftops, the experimental shows in unexpected rooms — Cleveland in summer is not a city that lets you rest.

This issue is your guide to not resting, beautifully.

Go see something you wouldn’t normally see. Wander into a gallery that’s new to you. Follow a band somewhere you’ve never been. Order something off a menu that sounds like a riddle. Say hello to the goats.

And whatever you make of this season — make it yours.

Warmly,

Editor Rebecca Meiser editor@canvascle.com Creative Director Stephen Valentine

President, Publisher & CEO Kevin S. Adelstein Vice President of Sales Adam Mandell Editor, Cleveland Jewish News Bob Jacob CFO Tracy Singer Custom Publishing Manager Paul Bram Sales & Marketing Manager Andy Isaacs Events Manager Gina Lloyd Events Coordinator Sam Spiegle Digital Marketing Manager Courtney Byrnes Columbus Bureau Chief Becky Raspe Operations Manager Abby Royer Editorial Casey Couch, Jimmy Oswald, Martha Sorohan Advertising Marilyn Evans, Adam Jacob, Nell V. Kirman, Sherry Tilson, Danielle Enger Senior Designer Jessica Simon Designers Hannah McConihe, Ricki Urban Digital Content Producers Stephanie Holmes, Daniel Newman Business & Circulation Alisa Guseynov, Amanda LaLonde

Rebecca (Becky) Meiser Editor

Becky is also the Director of Volunteers, Community and Program Development at National Council of Jewish Women/ Cleveland.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, @CanvasCLE. Sign up for Canvas’ free e-newsletter at canvascle.com/signup.

6 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

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Upcoming openings and current exhibits from around Northeast Ohio Staff Report

LEGACY VILLAGE 35th Annual Art in the Village with Craft Marketplace | June 6–7 Celebrate 35 years of one of Northeast Ohio’s signature outdoor art festivals as more than 100 juried artists transform Legacy Village into an open-air gallery featuring paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewelry, glasswork and mixed media. Alongside the fine art showcase, visitors can browse a craft marketplace filled with handmade soaps, candles, artisan goods and specialty foods while enjoying restaurants, live entertainment and family-friendly activities throughout the weekend. artfestival.com

North Royalton artist Don Reed will be among the exhibitors at the 35th annual Art in the Village with Craft Marketplace at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst on June 6 and 7. Reed is known for his landscape paintings, including Autumn Afternoon (oil on canvas), shown here. Photo courtesy of Art in the Village WOLFS GALLERY William Sommer: Visionary Modernist | Through Aug. 15 Discover the vivid, groundbreaking work of William Sommer, one of America’s most influential modernist painters and a defining figure in Cleveland’s artistic history.

Drawing from the collection of noted art historian and former Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Martin Lerner, this major retrospective explores Sommer’s bold use of color, rural landscapes and avant-garde sensibilities that helped shape early American modernism. wolfsgallery.com Train on High Bridge showcases William Sommer’s distinctive modernist style. The painting is included in William Sommer: Visionary Modernist, on view through Aug. 15, 2026. Some works are for sale. Photo courtesy of Wolf’s Gallery

BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER America at 250 | July 3 Celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with The Cleveland Orchestra in an inspiring evening honoring the richness of American music. Featuring Copland’s Lincoln Portrait and Gershwin’s An American in Paris, the concert blends orchestral favorites, spirituals and patriotic works before concluding with a fireworks display following the performance. clevelandorchestra.com The Cleveland Orchestra’s America at 250 concert celebrates the music of iconic American composers. Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Orchestra / Kevin Libal

8 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

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MALTZ MUSEUM Icons in Ink: The Jewish Comics Experience | Through Aug. 23 Explore the evolution of comics and graphic storytelling through original artwork, rare archives and interactive displays in this traveling exhibition from the Center for Jewish History. Spanning classic newspaper strips to contemporary graphic novels, the exhibition examines how comics have shaped conversations around identity, culture, heroism and social change over the last century. maltzmuseum.org

The Jewish Comics Experience highlights the artists, stories and cultural impact behind a century of comics. Photo courtesy of the Center for Jewish History

Above from left: Study II for The Dream Unfolds (1996).

Saxophone Gesso (1994), both by Ernie Barnes. Courtesy of the Ernie Barnes Estate, Ortuzar and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York. Photos by Dario Lasagni.

@CanvasCLE

CANTON MUSEUM OF ART Good Times: The Artistic Journey of Ernie Barnes | Aug. 18 – Nov. 1 Explore the vibrant and influential work of former NFL player turned celebrated artist Ernie Barnes in this original exhibition surveying his iconic portrayals of African American life, sports, music and culture. Best known for The Sugar Shack — famously featured in the opening credits of the television series Good Times — Barnes’ dynamic paintings capture movement, joy, resilience and community through his distinctive expressive style. cantonart.org

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 9

GENIUS LOCI AND THE PATHOS OF PLACES OPENS JULY 24 AT THE MORGAN CONSERVATORY

By Carlo Wolff

P

lace can be a location or a state of mind, familiar or strange — or both — capable of unlocking longburied memories that evoke experience while resisting explanation. That’s the animating idea behind Genius Loci and the Pathos of Places, an ambitious new exhibition opening July 24 at the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland.

The exhibition features the work of 16 contemporary, print-based artists from the United States, Canada and Poland whose practices “critically engage the concept of place through varied material, conceptual and research-driven approaches,” according to curators Arron Levi Foster and Erik Waterkotte.

Foster is an assistant professor of art at Kent State University; Waterkotte is an associate professor of art at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The show runs through Aug. 28.

This is the second iteration of the exhibition — the first

was presented at the Mid America Print Council conference in Kansas City in 2024 — and the works carry the accumulated weight of that ambition. Among the images are objects evoking highway signs stripped of destinations and distances; a tree bark simulacrum with an uncanny, striated glow; a strange bonelike fragment from an imagined animal; a ghostly photograph of a massive silo embedded within a medieval-looking armature; corklike fabrications pierced with nails; and “dikes” of plastic water bottles floating across a blasted beach. Highly decorated yet distorted, those dikes are oddly mesmerizing.

The effect is cumulative: layers of meaning, subconscious associations and emotional residue surfacing simultaneously in both artwork and viewer.

Some works reference specific locations that prompted artists to mine memory only to transform it into something dreamlike.

Top: Kirsten Furlong, Reverence #2 (2026), digital print, 60” x 110”. Courtesy of the Morgan Conservatory. Bottom: Arron Levi Foster, Du Und Ich (2025), alternative process photography on post-consumer waste. Dimensions variable.

Courtesy of the Morgan Conservatory

10 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

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GOOD TIMES The Artistic Journey of Ernie Barnes Coming August 18 - November 1, 2026 “Throughout my five seasons in the NFL, I remained at the deepest level of my being an artist.”

- Ernie Barnes The Canton Museum of Art is proud to present Good Times: The Artistic Journey of Ernie Barnes in collaboration with the Ernie Barnes Estate and Ortuzar, New York. Well known in both the sports and visual arts worlds, Ernie Barnes (1938 - 2009) was celebrated early in his career by New York City art critics, who in 1965 referred to him as “the most expressive painter of sports since George Bellows.” He was the first American professional athlete to become a noted painter, recognized for his unique style of movement, elongation, and energy portrayed in his art. His works are shown, collected and respected internationally.

In pop culture Barnes’ artwork appears on album covers, television, and movies, especially his iconic dance hall scene, The Sugar Shack (1976). “Music, dancing, and art were an integral part of my identity throughout my life,” Barnes said.

This new original exhibition, featuring impressive loans from galleries and private collections around the country, will be presented at the time of the 50th anniversary of The Sugar Shack painting — the artwork adapted for Marvin Gaye’s 1976 Album, I Want You, and Barnes’s work featured on the successful 1970s television show by Norman Lear, Good Times.

Born in Durham, North Carolina, during the Jim Crow years, Barnes created some of the twentieth century’s most iconic images of African American life. Known for his unique “neo-mannerist” approach of elongated figures, he captured observations of life growing up in North Carolina; playing professional football in the NFL (1959–1964): Baltimore Colts (‘59 - ‘60), Titans of New York (‘60), San Diego Chargers (‘60 - 62), and Denver Broncos (‘63 - ‘64), where he was called “Big Rembrandt” by teammates; and his later life in Los Angeles.

Good Times includes his paintings of entertainment and music, but also highlights how Barnes, the official artist of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, extensively represented athletes and sports – such as boxing, tennis, basketball, and gymnastics, including works commissioned for the NBA, Carolina Panthers, LA Lakers, and many more.

His decades chronicling athletes was honored twice, in 1984 and again in 2004, when he was selected as Sport Artist of the Year by the American Sport Art Museum and Archives.

In his 1995 autobiography, From Pads to Palette, Barnes also documented his life as professional athlete turned artist.

Good Times celebrates his life and career and examines his place in African American and popular culture storytelling.

The artist at work in his studio. Photograph© Ernie Barnes Family Trust

Saxophone Gesso, 1994. Acrylic and gesso on paper, 26 x 40 in.

Plan Your Visit at: CantonArt.org All artworks Ernie Barnes. Courtesy of the Ernie Barnes Estate, Ortuzar and Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York.

Photos: Dario Lasagni.

Study II for The Dream Unfolds, 1996. Graphite and acrylic on paper, 27 x 21 in. Canton Museum of Art Collection | Purchase, 2026.6.© Ernie Barnes Estate.

Clockwise from Above: Genius Loci: The Pathos of Places features the work of 16 contemporary artists examining the emotional and psychological dimensions of place. The exhibition runs July 24–Aug. 28 at the Morgan Conservatory. Courtesy of the Morgan Conservatory.

Yvette Spradlin and Lenore Thomas, Speak to Me Shadow (2025), a mixed-media diptych incorporating archival inkjet print, screenprint, acrylic, digital transfer, rust and sewing. 21” x 29”. Courtesy of the Morgan Conservatory Kirsten Furlong, Reverence #2 (2026), digital print, 60” x 110”. Courtesy of the Morgan Conservatory.

Erik Waterkotte and Arron Foster installing “Genius Loci: the Pathos of Places. Photo courtesy of the curators.

Though much of the exhibition leans abstract and conceptual, it never feels cold. The works remain rooted in the sensuality of their materials and the vitality that undergirds their creation.

In an email interview, Waterkotte says he hopes the exhibition “inspires viewers to consider how they are moved and affected by certain places, and how memory, experience and emotion become tied to a location’s distinct atmosphere or spirit.” Genius loci, or “the spirit of a place,” refers both to “the tangible qualities that define a location and the personal, often emotional ways individuals engage with and remember it.”

Foster says the artists “use photography, drawing, journaling, mapping, collected objects, soil and other forms of documentation to investigate the traces and meanings attached to specific locations.”

“Some works are autobiographical and rooted in personal memory, while others are analytical, archival or researchbased,” Foster says. “Across all of them, however, there is a shared understanding that places are never neutral — they are shaped by history, culture, politics and lived experience.”

That idea forms the “Pathos of Place” referenced in the exhibition’s title: the capacity for art to reverberate emotionally and linger long after viewing.

The setting deepens that resonance. Housed inside a 15,000-square-foot former industrial building in Cleveland’s Midtown/Hough neighborhood, the Morgan Conservatory has served as the nation’s largest art center dedicated to papermaking since opening in 2008. Its soaring ceilings, expansive workspaces and raw walls make it an especially fitting setting for a show so invested in materiality, memory and process.

“I think some people feel very spiritually tapped into places,” says Nicole Donnelly, the Morgan’s executive director.

“Whether that’s a positive or negative experience of the place — whether that’s in the woods or inside a piece of architecture — it can give you an enormous emotional response.”

The exhibition includes work by Ioannis Anastasiou and Majda Dokudowicz; Joey Behrens; Susanna Crum; Vinicius Libardoni; Colin Lyons; Lisa Matthias; Malik J. Norman; Dawn Roe; Elizabeth Claire Rose; Nick Satinover and Small Bars; Ian J. Welch; and Josh Winkler.

The Morgan Conservatory is located at 1754 E. 47th St., Cleveland, and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

The opening reception will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. July 24.

12 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

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AUGUST 13

Night at the Cabaret

AUGUST 13: A Night at the Cabaret

SEPTEMBER 25-27

Path of Miracles

NOVEMBER 6 & 7 SEPTEMBER 25-27: Path of Miracles Victoria’s Requiem

APRIL 3 NOVEMBER Work & Song 6 & 7: Victoria’s Requiem MAY 7 & 8

MAY 7 & 8: Music of the Spheres

Music of the Spheres

Alice, manager

Loganberry Books Annex Gallery

13015 Larchmere Blvd  Shaker Heights, OH 44120 www.loganberrybooks.com gallery@logan.com  216.795.9800

On view 6/19-11/29/26

On Onview view 6/19-11/29/26 6/19-11/29/26

@CanvasCLE

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 13

The Art of

SHOWING UP How Tanya Kaiser Found Community — and Helped Build It — Through Cleveland’s Arts Scene

BY ELIZABETH WEINSTEIN

W

hen Tanya Kaiser arrived in Cleveland in November 2019, she didn’t know anyone. She’d moved from Long Island, New York, to start a job at Case Western Reserve University, but before she could fully get her bearings, COVID shut everything down.

Kaiser is an artist, curator and arts administrator, and she likes to stay busy. So in the quiet early days of the pandemic, she decided to find community the only way she knew how — through the local arts scene, which was still new to her.

Kaiser “I like to network, so I went online and started looking up Cleveland arts organizations,” she says. “I went through their board directories and started cold-emailing people, saying, ‘Hey, can we have a Zoom call?’ And because of the madness and surrealism of COVID, a lot of them said yes. So I was able to connect in a very authentic way during a very troubling time.” During each call, she asked for the names of other people she should meet, and her days became filled with conversations about art and community.

Those connections proved fruitful. She had long dreamed of opening her own gallery, and by late 2020 she’d left her day job, signed a lease on a Tremont storefront and launched Kaiser Gallery — a gallery space with a cocktail lounge that showcased contemporary international artists and hosted poetry open mic nights, artist talks and interdisciplinary programming. “It was magical,” she says of the community she built there over four years. When the gallery closed in 2024, that community didn’t disappear; it expanded in new directions.

Today, Kaiser runs Renaissance Box, a residency initiative that pairs artists with STEM professionals for three-month collaborative projects — past participants have investigated microplastics and explored augmented reality.

She also serves as assistant director of Summer on the Cuyahoga, which brings college students from around the country to Cleveland for paid internships with free housing.

The program offers around 40 events each summer — chamber music, breakdancing, brewery tours and even surf lessons on Lake Erie — all designed to make students fall in love with the city. This summer’s public capstone event, the Collegiate Career and Community Leader Mixer, takes place July 22 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland.

Kaiser also sits on the board of the Collective Arts Network (CAN) Journal — a quarterly magazine with independent reporting and commentary on art, artists, their exhibits and related issues — and serves as exhibitions chair for the Women’s Caucus for Art, where she is tasked with helping to bring the organization’s national conference to town in 2027.

14 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

Tanya Kaiser's Veil of Silence examines themes of identity, silence and control. Courtesy of the artist.

Kaiser pitched Cleveland for 2027, making the case that the city has a long history of women building their own arts spaces when none existed. In 1912, for example, a group of 25 women founded what became known as the Women’s Art Club of Cleveland in response to limited opportunities for women in existing arts institutions. BAYarts, founded in 1948 by Bay Village women to support arts and culture on Cleveland’s west side, carries that thread forward.

To Kaiser, Cleveland already had the infrastructure and spirit the organization was looking for. It was an easy sell.

“Cleveland is overdue,” she says. “There’s a lot of talent here.”

In addition to her work in community programming, Kaiser is devoted to her own art practice. She studied sculpture at Mount St. Joseph University, in Cincinnati, and later at Stony Brook University, where she earned her MFA, and has a studio with a kiln in her Rocky River home, where she works in sculpture, installation and mixed media.

“In my own art I investigate a lot about censorship, systems of control and the experience of being a woman,” she says.

As someone who grew up Puerto Rican and Catholic, she uses art to critique how politics and religion are used as excuses to police bodies and rights.

CanvasCLE.com

“If they see you, they’re going to think of you for opportunities.

If they don’t see you, they’re not thinking of you.”

Part of Tanya Kaiser's "Crystallized Innocence" series, First Communion uses sugar crystals to transform a childhood heirloom into a fragile yet hardened reflection on innocence and loss. Courtesy of the artist.

Offering the finest programming in independent and foreign films.

cinematheque.cia.edu

Her current series, “Crystallized Innocence,” involves submerging childhood artifacts in sugar water. The crystallizing sugar is corrosive, preserving and destroying these relics at the same time. “Whenever I do it, I feel very mournful,” she says, “as if I’m mourning a part of my childhood or my own children’s childhood.” Her first communion gown, handmade by her mother and now completely encased in crystal, will be among the works on view in an upcoming show in July (see sidebar below for details).

“What I love about the Cleveland art scene is that it’s accessible, it’s welcoming and there are a lot of opportunities,” she says. “I think artists get really comfortable in their silos, and it’s okay to break out — go to new spaces, introduce yourself, really just put yourself out there. If someone doesn’t like your work, then it just wasn’t for them. The best way is just to get out there. If they see you, they’re going to think of you for opportunities. If they don’t see you, they’re not thinking of you.”

Tanya Kaiser’s Cleveland Summer Recommendations • Sculpture Center | sculpturecenter.org • Walk All Over Waterloo | waterlooarts.org • SPACES Gallery | spacescle.org • 934 Gallery, Columbus: Editor’s note: The trip down I-71 is worth it to see Kaiser’s “Crystallized Innocence” series on view as part of a group show that runs from July 10 through Aug. 1.

934gallery.org Find Kaiser online:

@CanvasCLE

: tanyakaiser.com |

: @resiakt

info@framedgallery.net 216-832-5101 15813 Waterloo Road Cleveland, OH 44110

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 15

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g n i k a t h t a e r B s t s i t Ar e u q s e r u t Pic e c n e i r e p Ex

1

Elegant Artfest Preview Party A special Preview Night Party is held on the evening before each of the two Artfest weekend General Shows. This party includes your first chance to view and buy the works on display, a wine and craa beer tasting, passed hors d'oeuvres, catered-style buuet, fun live music, and a chance to mingle with other Artfest patrons. Don't miss your first chance to explore this exceptional show and enjoy a summer date night or friends night out.

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for use on craft beer or fine wine

ALL YOU CAN EAT

buffet-style featuring apps, dinner, and dessert

LIVE MUSIC

to keep the party lively

JUNE 28 & JULY 3

6:00PM - 9:00PM

Boston Mills 52

ND

ANNUAL

Artfest

D A NATIONA LLY RECOGNIZE CR AF T FESTIVA L E JURIED FINE ART & FIN Discover one of the region’s premier summer traditions at the Boston Mills Artfest, featuring 300 artists across two unique weekends, all set within the scenic beauty of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Meet and connect directly with artists traveling from 34 states across the country, hear the stories behind their work, and experience an incredible range of creativity within the 18 mediums represented.

Whether you're an art collector or just looking for a day outdoors, Artfest ooers an unforgettable summer art experience.

300 ARTISTS

from 34 states

LIVE MUSIC

performances across the weekends

Explore the Boston Mills Artfest June 26-28 &

CRAFT BEER & WINE

July 3-5

NESTLED IN

Boston Mills Ski Resort

as you explore

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

PLAN YOUR ARTFEST WEEKEND

View artists, get details, & plan your visit at

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Peninsula, Ohio

Where the DRINKS Tell

STORIES At The Writer’s Room, cocktails begin with moods, memories and unlikely ingredients.

BY REBECCA MEISER

18 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

Opposite page: Inventive cocktails and personalized creations are at the heart of The Writer's Room, a members-only cocktail club tucked above Cloak & Dagger in Tremont. Above: Hidden above Cloak & Dagger, The Writer's Room feels more like a friend's living room than a traditional bar.

(All photos courtesy of The Writer's Room)

T

o enter The Writer’s Room, guests climb a dimly lit staircase that opens into what feels less like a bar and more like someone’s impeccably curated living room: plush couches, bookshelves, leather ottomans and softly glowing lamps. That’s because it actually was a living room once — before it was transformed into a members-only cocktail club and speakeasy tucked above Cloak & Dagger in Tremont.

“It’s like you’re just walking into your friend’s house that has a really rad bar,” says server David Sheets. The owners really want to dissolve that line between customer and server.

“It’s more like hanging out.”

“I’m an adult,” he adds with a laugh. “I don’t want to be tripping over other people’s feet and fighting for a drink.”

The Writer’s Room was born from the team behind Cloak & Dagger, Tremont’s acclaimed cocktail destination known for its literary aesthetic and boundary-pushing drinks. After the upstairs tenant vacated the building, the owners saw an opportunity to create something even more personal: a controlled, community-focused cocktail experience built around conversation, creativity and customization.

The concept officially launched with friends-and-family service in August 2024 and has quietly grown through referrals and word of mouth.

Unlike traditional speakeasies that lean into exclusivity for exclusivity’s sake, The Writer’s Room aims for something softer and more communal.

“A lot of membership clubs feel like the richest-of-therich kind of thing,” says Mitch Didion, co-owner and head mixologist. “We wanted to make something more accessible to the everyday person — if you’re really into cocktails, then it’ll

@CanvasCLE

be worth it for you.”

And the cocktails are very much the draw.

There is technically a menu, though even that feels more like a creative prompt than a set order. One guest scans the offerings and jokes, “These are all drinks?” — a fair question considering titles and flavor combinations that sound more like a dinner menu than bar staples — with options like Mom’s Spaghetti (a savory martini featuring Ketel One, Dolin Rouge, sundried tomato, basil, oregano and caramelized onions) and Stavro’s Greek Salad (involving gin, feta, herbs and a “house greek dressing.”)

For first-timers, the experience often begins with a conversation rather than an order. If you don’t want to order off the menu, guests can offer moods, memories or abstract ideas; Didion translates them into cocktails. Mention “celebratory” and “writer’s block,” and moments later a strawberry-rhubarb gin-and-prosecco concoction might appear in a champagne coupe, garnished with a skewer of strawberries like a tiny edible sword. Another guest requests something inspired by a skyscraper and hot air balloon and receives a bourbon-forward Manhattan variation with balsamic notes served in elegant long-stemmed glassware.

That level of personalization extends well beyond the menu. Didion says he often shops with members in mind, grabbing unusual produce or ingredients because a certain regular would appreciate them. Guests also text ahead through the club’s messaging system to tell him who they’re bringing in or what flavors they love.

“I’ll get something and immediately think, ‘Oh, John would love this,’” he says. “Or someone will text and say, ‘My aunt’s

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 19

“There’s no off-limits ingredient for a cocktail. Drinks are just flavors like food are.”

- Mitch Didion

At The Writer's Room, cocktails often begin with a mood, memory or story rather than an order.

Cocktails here draw inspiration from everything from Greek salad to spaghetti and Mexican street food.

From its website, thewritersroomcle.com: Two tiers of membership are available.

Membership is limited and not guaranteed.

20 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

coming in and she’s obsessed with watermelon.’ So suddenly I’m building a watermelon cocktail just for that night.”

Didion describes the process less like bartending and more like improvisational storytelling.

“I pride myself on trying to stack the bar with anything that anyone could need,” he says. “I have insane amounts of flowers and dried garnish and fresh fruits. I’m hitting up Asian markets for weird ingredients. I have this arsenal that can evoke any emotion or vibe you can throw at me.”

Requests have included cocktails inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, sunny dog walks and even ‘a salty sea creature.’

One particularly ambitious cocktail, called ‘Taqueria,’ attempts to translate the flavors of a Mexican appetizer into drink form. Another riffs on tom yum soup. A third — ‘tajun candy meets mango sticky rice’ — combines mezcal, tequila, mango, chamoy and a sweet corn ice cube that changes the drink’s flavor as it melts.

“There’s no off-limits ingredient for a cocktail,” Didion says. “Drinks are just flavors like food are.”

The Writer’s Room currently has roughly 120 members — teachers, doctors, lawyers, creatives — drawn together less by background than by a shared appetite for the experience itself.

“There’s such a different array of people and age brackets and backgrounds,” Didion says. “But the unifying thing is that they think the experience is worth it.”

Over time, the space has become something even its founders didn’t fully anticipate — a genuine social community.

Trivia nights are hosted by members themselves. Friendships spill outside the bar into other neighborhoods and nights out.

Regulars know one another by name.

“It became less about just the cocktails,” Didion says. “You see two people that the world would never have put in the same room, and now they’re texting and hanging out outside the bar. That’s become one of the coolest parts of it.”

The name reflects all of it. Cloak & Dagger already carried a literary feel — “like a retired author’s den,” Didion describes it — and The Writer’s Room became an extension of that: both the literal image of writers gathering in a room and the television-style writers’ room where people throw out ideas and see what sticks. In many ways, that’s exactly what the space has become: part cocktail laboratory, part salon, part house party.

In a city where so much nightlife revolves around crowded bars and loud weekends, that combination turns out to be something people were quietly looking for.

“I want people to leave happier than they walked in,” Didion says. “I want people to think about this place as a third place, somewhere comfortable, somewhere they can just exist and have a really good experience.”

CanvasCLE.com

ANNA KELBERG KIM

Arts, Media & Entertainment Attorney For Artists, Galleries, Filmmakers, Musicians, and Creative organizations • Agreements & Negotiation • Rights & Licensing • Creative Ventures in Music & Media • Media & Content Counsel • Arts & Cultural Initiatives Anna Kelberg Kim | Attorney at Law LinkedIn: Anna Kelberg Kim akelberglaw@gmail.com

216-287-9678 | kelberglaw.com

WILLIAM SOMMER Retrospective

Celebrating one of America’s finest Modernists On View Through August 15th

Train on High Bridge, c. 1916-1919, Oil on board, 24 x 32 inches

@CanvasCLE

www.wolfsgallery.com 23645 Mercantile Road, Cleveland 44122 info@wolfsgallery.com | 216-721-6945

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 21

Behind

the Garden Gate

BY CASEY COUCH

Top right: One of two goats soaks in the sun at Cavotta’s. Top left: The front entrance of Cavotta’s Garden Center houses an array of potted plants, hanging baskets and a gift shop. Bottom: Whites, blues, purples and yellows flood the front of Cavotta’s Garden Center in East Cleveland.

Canvas photos / Casey Couch

22 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

Among the florals available for purchase at Cavotta’s are a variety of roses.

Canvas photo / Casey Couch

At Cavotta’s Garden Center, gardening, live music and community come together in one of Cleveland’s most unexpected summer destinations.

H

oney bees collect pollen from overflowing planters.

Rows and rows of flowers sway quietly in the breeze.

The only sound is that of the striped, buzzing insects, interrupted only by the occasional bird chirp or gust of wind, lulling the chimes to sing.

Guests sip wine beneath a string of lights, couples stroll through the greenhouse, and a few curious visitors stop to pet the goats and say hello to the birds hidden above the garden’s distracting array of colors.

It’s enough to make the average customer forget that they aren’t on a rural, peaceful farm, but rather tucked in between the busy city streets on Cleveland’s East Side.

But for Angela Cavotta, third-generation owner of Cavotta’s Garden Center and Garden Bar, blending gardening, music and community together was never just about the business — it was a place her family has called home for generations.

“We all grew up here,” she says. “I didn’t live here my whole life, but I’m back here now.”

Located at 19603 Nottingham Road in Cleveland, Cavotta’s Garden Center will celebrate 100 years in business next year, a milestone Cavotta says few family-owned businesses ever reach.

Founded by her grandparents, Felix and Angela Cavotta, the garden center has remained rooted in family tradition for nearly a century. After her father Francis took over the business in 1971, later joined by her brother, Cavotta stepped in to help continue the family legacy in 2008. History is written on the walls — longtime customers who once shopped alongside her father still return each spring, some of them for more than 40 or 50 years running.

“It’s impressive because of the history,” she says, adding that her father lived there his whole life.

But while the history remains constant, Cavotta found that once she took over the business, she needed to find creative ways to evolve in an era dominated by large chain retailers. One of those ideas eventually blossomed into what is now Cavotta’s Garden Bar — a seasonal outdoor bar and entertainment space that has become one of Cleveland’s most unique warm-weather destinations, and its best-kept secret.

The idea traces back, improbably, to heirloom tomatoes.

Known for carrying more than 150 varieties, Cavotta developed a passion for growing them years ago and channeled that into an annual festival that kept getting bigger.

“I grew a lot of heirloom tomatoes, and I used to host a tomato festival,” she says. “My first tomato festival was called Cavotta’s Heirloom Tomato Tasting, and we had about 90 people. We sold tickets for it, and a chef from a restaurant on 185th made the appetizers for it — then it just got bigger. By the fourth year, we had about 400 people.”

Local chefs would bustle about, cooking fresh dishes from Cavotta’s tomatoes. Musicians strummed guitars, couples toasted in the sunshine, and Cavotta made good use of a newly acquired beer and wine license. Then 2020 arrived.

“Then Covid (COVID-19) happened, and no more tomato festival, just our bar,” Cavotta says. “And it worked out great!”

Today, the Garden Bar draws crowds from across Northeast Ohio — open Fridays through Sundays from May through October, it operates as a full-service, 21-and-over bar nestled directly inside the garden center, where local bands perform under the pavilion while guests enjoy pizza, sandwiches, salads and charcuterie surrounded by flowers and greenery. Many visitors, Cavotta says, had never heard of the garden center before following a band there for a show.

“The bar brings in so many people who otherwise never would’ve come here, because they follow the different bands,” she tells Canvas. “People come in from all around, all of the suburbs, and it’s really great.”

The Garden Bar has also helped sustain the business during a difficult period for independent garden centers.

The back patio, tucked away from the busy city streets behind a wall of florals, houses Cavotta’s Garden Bar. Canvas photo / Casey Couch “It’s been a great addition because the business is difficult,” she says. “There’s so much competition with all of the big box stores, so having the bar has really helped.”

Beyond the bar, the space hosts private parties, bridal showers and baby showers — occasions that practically arrange themselves when surrounded by that much color and bloom.

Then there are the animals. Goats wander the property. Birds call down from above. Cavotta remembers pigs being housed there when she was a child, and the menagerie today feels less like a novelty than a continuation of what the place has always been.

“People love it because it’s unique, it’s in the city, and they love the goats and chickens,” she says.

That balance between old and new has become central to Cavotta’s identity. Some visitors come searching for the perfect hanging basket. Others arrive solely for the music.

“They come for the music, but they end up buying plants too.

A lot of people have no idea this was even here.”

That’s exactly the point. Nearly 100 years in, Cavotta’s is still full of surprises — and still, somehow, a secret worth keeping.

"People love it because it's unique, it’s in the city, and they love the goats and chickens." @CanvasCLE

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 23

CREATIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR SUMMER Artists, educators, curators and cultural leaders across Northeast Ohio share what they’re making, watching and not missing this season.

Compiled by Rebecca Meiser

LISA QUINE

Muralist, Illustrator & Designer · Owner, Lisa Quine Inc. Cleveland-based muralist and designer with more than 150 murals across 14 states and two countries. Clients include Amazon, Meta, Progressive, the Cleveland Guardians, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Penguin Random House, among many others.

Most looking forward to this summer: Being outside with my kids and dogs as much as possible — hikes, new playgrounds, all of it.

Underrated local creative force: Stina Aleah and Kelle Schwab — both local artists and muralists. I’ve learned so much from them and they’ve truly helped me grow. Follow their careers; they are outstanding artists.

Don’t miss this summer: Harlow’s Pizza in Lakewood and the Club Room at Fidelity Hotel. Personal favorites anytime I’m in or around town.

Paying attention to creativity: Anything pushing back against AI-generated artwork. For my upcoming projects, I’m using a more painterly style so everything looks more hand-done and human. I think that’s why whimsical, handcrafted aesthetics are on the rise right now.

NADIAH RIVERA FELLAH

Curator of Contemporary Art · Cleveland Museum of Art Since joining the CMA in 2019, Fellah has curated exhibitions including Rose B. Simpson: Strata (2024), Picturing the Border (2024), and a Firelei Báez exhibition for FRONT International (2022). She specializes in Latin American, Latinx and global contemporary art.

24 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

Most looking forward to this summer: Lake Effect: Artists from Cleveland Now — a juried exhibition of Clevelandarea artists opening at the Transformer Station on July 9.

Underrated local creative venue or space: The LatinUs Theater Company at Pivot Center.

Don’t miss this summer: The CMA’s “City Stages” lineup this summer is particularly strong and exciting.

Paying attention to creativity: How contemporary artists are reclaiming local histories, craft traditions and Indigenous knowledge while staying attuned to global conversations around migration, labor and identity.

HILARY GENT

Owner & Gallery Director, HEDGE Gallery · Artist Cleveland artist creating oil and latex paintings inspired

by Lake Erie and the urban landscape. One of the first visionaries at 78th Street Studios, where she curates exhibitions and represents 12 regional artists.

Most looking forward to this summer: Celebrating 78th Street Studios’ 25th Anniversary on July 11th, and being outdoors with my family, mainly on the lake.

Underrated local creative venue or space: I have to be biased: if you’ve never been to 78th Street Studios, come for a Third Friday Art Walk or a stroll during weekly open hours. I’d also recommend Vessel City, Praxis and SPACES.

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Don’t miss this summer: I’m hosting an exhibition of my most recent paintings at HEDGE Gallery alongside artist Ed Raffel — opening Friday, June 19, and running through July 25, 2026.

Paying attention to creativity: What local art college graduates are producing, especially for their BFA thesis exhibitions.

NORA WILLAUER, D.M.A.

Founder, Cellist & Teacher · Willauer Cello Studios Freelance cellist and music educator based in Cleveland and Midcoast Maine. She leads Willauer Cello Studios and Resonance Cello Coaching, with 2025–26 highlights including a debut at the Buffalo Chamber Music Society and a multi-city tour with her self-produced show Strings Attached.

Most looking forward to this summer: Gardening in the sunshine.

My husband and I just bought a house with stunning gardens.

I know so little about caring for them, but I’m having a wonderful time learning from neighbors, researching and experimenting.

Underrated local creative venue or space: I recently walked into Visible Voice and was captivated by their stage. As a music teacher and performer, I’m always looking for fun new venues for myself and my students.

Don’t miss this summer: I’ve been impressed with the growth of Ascent Music, and their summer concert series looks especially fabulous this year — all concerts are free and open to the public.

Paying attention to creativity: My relationship with making mistakes and “failing.” The classical music industry is so competitive, and digital recording has made it seem like no one plays a note out of place. I see these high stakes manifest as tightness and control. My answer has been a new class called “Performance Lab” — a supportive space where students bring new pieces that are not fully polished, experience the heightened awareness of being on stage and receive targeted positive feedback. It feels safe to take risks and experiment — something so rare these days. It’s free and open to anyone: willauerstudios.com.

DAVON BRANTLEY

Fine Artist A Cleveland native with a BFA in Drawing from the Cleveland Institute of Art, Brantley has immersed himself in teaching, curating and mentoring emerging artists, consistently working to shape perceptions of art as a viable, sustainable career.

Most looking forward to this summer: Releasing more work from the final chapter of a three-part series I’ve been building for three years and the programming I’ll be leading at Waterloo Arts Gallery through my curated show, Blooming Tides, including workshops on ethical arts practices and community-led programming.

Underrated local creative venue or space: Maelstrom Collaborative Arts. What they’re doing for the performing and visual arts community has been amazing. I participated in their Bricolage program with McKenzie Merriman, and we created a performance piece integrating both of our practices.

I hope more people attend and support their space even more!

Don’t miss this summer: Blooming Tides, the group show I curated at Waterloo Arts Gallery. It features Black, AAPI and Latinx artists exploring the interconnections and influences of their cultures through various media, with community workshops following the opening.

Paying attention to creativity: Research and time. The time I’m creating in, the time I take for myself, even time sitting with what’s already been created.

Top Right: Hilary Gent’s August (2026) On view at HEDGE Gallery June 19 through July 25. Photo courtesy of Hilary Gent. Bottom Right: The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Transformer Station, site of Lake Effect: Artists from Cleveland Now in summer 2026. Photos courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art Bottom Left: Third Fridays bring 78th Street Studios to life each month. Photo courtesy of 78th Street Studios

@CanvasCLE

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 25

CHRISTINA LINDHOUT

Choreographer & Assistant Professor of Dance · Baldwin Wallace University Cleveland-based choreographer, director and dancer whose work has appeared at Playhouse Square, Cleveland Public Theatre and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, among others.

Her work focuses on making concert dance accessible — emphasizing that dance is for everyone.

Most looking forward to this summer: Training for my second marathon and spending long, beautiful mornings running along the lake.

Underrated local creative venue or space: Photo / Mike Zellefrow Cleveland’s local theater and dance scene is so vibrant. I’d encourage people to see one show they normally wouldn’t attend. Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama Theatre, Near West Theatre, Tremont’s Arts in August, Van Aken District and Cain Park are all great places to start.

Don’t miss this summer: Millie’s Cocktails in Waterloo. Just go — you won’t regret it.

Paying attention to creativity: I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “When Strangers become Angels.” There are a few books with this same title, and I’ve been really moved by the idea that, especially when times are really tough for the vast majority of people, we can each individually be an “angel” for someone when they need it.

JULIE GILLILAND

Vice President of Institutional Advancement · Beck Center for the Arts With a background spanning the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Playhouse Square, The Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Play House, Gilliland brings decades of arts marketing and development expertise to Beck Center.

Most looking forward to this summer: My best friend is flying in from Photo / Wetzler Texas for my birthday, and we’re Photography Studios spending the night at Beck Center’s production of Mean Girls — reminiscing about our Girl Scout days and all our adventures together.

Underrated local creative venue or space: Ryan Finley — an absolutely inspired local visual artist I was introduced to through Beck Center. Follow him at @artbyryanfinley and prepare to be impressed.

Don’t miss this summer: Beck Center’s summer camps. Watching kids put on a play and share their visual art — if I could bottle that magic, the world would be an even better place.

Paying attention to creativity: I should say AI and the intersection, or collision, with humans in creating all the forms of art. I know in my soul that humans need humans, and nothing will change that. We love expressing ourselves and are fascinated by watching one another. I’m interested in the marketing side of content creation and how brands are using influencers and how that (relationship) is changing.

Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

All headshots are courtesy of the artists, unless otherwise noted.

The Land,” a mural by Lisa Quine, celebrates Cleveland’s creativity and optimism. Photo Courtesy of Quine.

26 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

CanvasCLE.com

CURATOR CORNER Pauline Shirt (Nimikiiquay) by Kent Monkman

By Rebecca Meiser

K

ent Monkman’s Pauline Shirt (Nimikiiquay) places a Cree elder and knowledge keeper at center stage — a living carrier of culture, memory and resistance.

Dressed in vibrant magenta regalia trimmed with floral beadwork, Pauline Shirt holds a ceremonial drum while standing inside an ornate Europeanstyle theater, its gilded balconies and chandeliers glowing behind her.

The juxtaposition is deliberate: a woman who cofounded Canada’s first Indigenous-led school and spent decades Wendy Earle preserving Cree cultural traditions occupies a space historically associated with Western power and performance.

Painted in 2021 as part of Monkman’s wâsê-acâhkosak (Shining Stars) portrait series, the work honors Indigenous elders, advocates and culture bearers through intimate, dignified portrayals rooted in presence, perseverance and continuity.

In this one-on-one with Canvas, Akron Art Museum curator Wendy Earle shares insight into Monkman’s process and the impact of the work.

Can you tell us the background of the piece?

Kent Monkman creates large scale narrative paintings that explore the complexities of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences. In an effort to elevate Indigenous leadership and as a response to colonial monuments, Monkman created a series of portraits, “wâsê-acâhkosak (Shining Stars),” that honor Indigenous culture bearers, Land and Water Protectors, and advocates who work in cultural and political spheres. The tender, intimate, and respectful depictions of these figures speak to the relationships Monkman has forged and highlight the humility and perseverance of his subjects. Pauline Shirt (Nimikiiquay) was a knowledge keeper who taught so many young people about Cree culture.

What response does the piece create for the viewer?

This piece comes towards the end of the exhibition, after viewers have seen many monumental paintings where Monkman is engaging with Indigenous history and revising colonial narratives. Many of his works depict violent colonial subjugation.

For example, The Going Away Song is a painting of children forced to watch the mass hangings of eight Cree and Assiniboine men — some of them their relatives — who were sentenced to death for their acts of resistance. One of these men was an ancestor of Pauline Shirt. Confronting that history, then going into a room honoring living (or recently deceased) elders working to improve their communities is a very powerful and necessary transition, and a way to end on a note of hope and resilience.

How do the materials used add to the overall feeling of the piece?

Monkman works in acrylic on canvas, and his process involves extensive research, study of art history, and live models. In this painting he worked directly with the sitter, and has known her for decades. Monkman’s deep knowledge comes through in all of his canvases.

What was happening at the time that might have influenced the artist?

Pauline’s own family and ancestors are important to

@CanvasCLE

Pauline Shirt (Nimikiiquay) (2021) by Kent Monkman (Fisher River Cree Nation) honors a Cree elder and knowledge keeper who carried songs, stories and cultural traditions across generations. The portrait is one of a series Monkman created to elevate contemporary Indigenous leaders. Copyright and image courtesy of Kent Monkman. understand. In the words of the artist: “She carried the song her great-great-great grandfather kapapamahchakwew (Wandering Spirit) sang as he crossed over to the other side on that cold day in the Frost Moon in 1885. The song gives hope and shines a light forward for future generations.”

What makes this a notable work within the artist’s body of work?

Monkman often depicts historical events and people, but Pauline Shirt was someone he knew for decades before her passing. A beloved elder, knowledge keeper, activist, and educator, Pauline cofounded Canada’s first school led

by Indigenous people, now known as Kâpapâmahchakwêw (Wandering Spirit School). She served as a cultural advisor to many organizations that focused on issues ranging from mental health to the performing and visual arts.

The work is currently on view as part of Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors at the Akron Art Museum through Aug. 16, 2026. Copyright and image courtesy of Kent Monkman

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 27

Presented by

June - August Rock Hall Live rockhall.com June 13 Larchmere Porch Fest larchmereporchfest.org June 14 Cleveland Chamber Choir: The Power of Carousel with the Musical Theater in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art clevelandchamberchoir.org June 20 CMI @ Cleveland Institute of Art cim.edu Through June 21 Gates Mills Music and Ideas Festival: By Leaps and Bound encorechambermusic.org June 23 Paul Simon at Blossom Music Center ticketmaster.com June 25 - 27 Tri-C JazzFest at Playhouse Square tri-c.edu July 7 Jack Johnson: Surfulmusic Tour 2026 at Blossom Music Center ticketmaster.com July 10 Cleveland Institute of Music Summer Brass Lab Concert cim.edu July 10 Jason Aldean 2026 Full Throttle Tour at Blossom Music Center jasonaldean.com July 11 - 12 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets In Concert with the Cleveland Orchestra clevelandorchestra.com July 15 Old Skool: WOW! Wade Oval Wednesdays bandsintown.com July 18 Kent Blues Festival kentbluesfest.com July 18 Lakewood Summer Meltdown lakewoodalive.org July 28 Train - Drops Of Jupiter: 25 Years In The Atmosphere at Blossom Music Center ticketmaster.com August 10 Foo Fighters: Take Cover Tour 2026 at Huntington Bank Field huntingtonbankfield.com August 11 Rod Stewart: One Last Time at Rocket Arena rocketarena.com August 13 Cleveland Chamber Choir: A Night at the Cabaret clevelandchamberchoir.org August 14 - August 16 Reggae on the River reggaeville.com August 15 J. Cole: The Fall-Off World Tour at Rocket Arena rocketarena.com August 24 Motley Crue & Tesla at Blossom Music Center ticketmaster.com September 16 Pitbull - I’m back with special Guest Lil Jon at Blossom Music Center ticketmaster.com

28 | Canvas | Spring/Summer 2026

MUSIC

Events Calendar

CanvasCLE.com

Presented by

Through August 23 Icons in Ink: The Jewish Comics Experience at the Maltz Musem maltzmuseum.org June 13 Cleveland Musuem of Art Parade at the Circle clevelandart.org June 20 Solstice 2026 Cleveland Museum of Art clevelandart.org June 20 Wildwood Arts & Wine Fest cityofmentor.com June 20 Bayarts Art & Music Festival bayarts.net June 27 - 28 and July 4 - 5 Boston Mills Artfest bmbw.com July 10 - 12 49th Annual Cain Park Arts Festival cainpark.com July 11 - 12 Youngstown Summer Festival of the Arts sfa.ysu.edu July 18 Willoughby ArtsFest willoughbyartsfest.com July 19 Art in the Park medinacountyartleague.com July 25 - 26 Akron Art Expo akronartexpo.com August 1 Lakewood Arts Festival lakewoodartsfest.org August 2 Chardon Square Arts Festival chardonsquareassociation.org August 29 - 30 Hudson Art on the Green hudsonsocietyofartists.com September 4 - 6 Made in Ohio Art & Craft Festival madeinohiofestival.org September 12 Waterloo Arts Fest waterlooarts.org September 12 Rocky River Fall Arts Festival rrparksandrecfoundation.com September 13 Berea Arts Fest bereaartsfest.org September 19 FireFish Festival firefishfestival.com September 19 Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival experiencetremont.com

ART

Events Calendar

PERFORMANCE

June 13 Taste of River rockyriverchamber.com June 13 Uncorked Cleveland at the Great Lakes Science Center uncorkedwinefestivals.com July 19 Taste of Tremont experiencetremont.com August 7 - 8 Vintage Ohio Wine Festival at Lake Metroparks Farmpark visitvintageohio.com August 13 - 16 Little Italy Feast of the Assumption littleitalyfeast.com August 29 - 30 Cleveland Garlic Festival at Shaker Square clevelandgarlicfestival.org September 4 - 7 Cleveland Taco Fest at Jacobs Pavilion tacofestcle.com September 4 - 7 and 11 - 12 Cleveland Oktoberfest at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds clevelandoktoberfest.com

@CanvasCLE

FOOD / DRINK

Through June 21 Freak the Mighty in the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square cleveland.events Through June 28 The Great Gatsby in the Connor Palace at Playhouse Square playhousesquare.org June 12 - 15 Cirque Italia: Water Circus in Cleveland at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds cleveland.events June 16 Ilana Glazer at the Agora Theatre cleveland.events July 8 - August 16 The Lion King in the KeyBank State Theatre at Playhouse Square playhousesquare.org July 8 - 11 BorderLight Theatre Festival in the Playhouse Square Theatre District borderlightcle.org July 10 - 11 Funny Marco at Funny Bone Comedy Club & Restaurant cleveland.events July 10 - August 9 Mean Girls at Beck Center for the Arts beckcenter.org August 26 - September 20 The Magicians Table at Cibrèo Privato at Playhouse Square playhousesquare.org September 12 - October 3 Death Becomes Her in the KeyBank State Theatre at Playhouse Square playhousesquare.org Septermber 22 - 27 Beetlejuice in the KeyBank State Theatre at Playhouse Square playhousesquare.org

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 29

LISTINGS STAGES

MASSILLON MUSEUM 121 Lincoln Way East Massillon, Ohio 44646 P: 330-833-4061 : massillonmuseum.org : @massillonmuseum

BECK CENTER FOR THE ARTS

17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood P: 216-521-2540 : beckcenter.org

Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood produces Mean Girls. Mean Girls was nominated for a staggering 12 Tony Awards. We have all experienced some “Plastics” in our lives. Cady Heron learns the hard way that you can’t cross a queen bee without getting stung. Running July 10 to Aug 9. Tickets at BeckCenter.org.

MUSEUMS THE ARTISTS ARCHIVES OF THE WESTERN RESERVE 1834 East 123rd St., Cleveland P. 216-721-9020 : ArtistsArchives.org : @ArtistsArchivesoftheWesternReserve

The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve is a unique archival facility and regional museum which preserves bodies of work by Ohio visual artists and promotes the region’s rich cultural MJ Bole, Untitled, heritage. We feature an ever changing group of drawing on paper, collection of AAWR impactful exhibitions in our three gallery spaces, open to the public Wednesday – Friday, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Saturday from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. Please visit our website for updates and more information.

MALTZ MUSEUM 2929 Richmond Road, Beachwood P: 216-593-0575 : maltzmuseum.org

The Maltz Museum introduces visitors to the beauty and diversity of heritage in the context of the American experience. It promotes an understanding of Jewish history, religion and culture, and builds bridges of appreciation and understanding with those of other religions, races, cultures and ethnicities. It’s an educational resource for Northeast Ohio’s Jewish and general communities.

July 17: Island Party—reggae with Carlos Jones+ and island refreshments under the stars. Free Ralph Young Publishing Co., Canton, Ohio admission. Exhibitions: Driving Postcard: Lincoln Way, Looking West, Forces: The Lincoln Highway Massillon, Ohio Journey (through October 18); c. 1935 Nick Lee: Eternal Flames (July 18– Paper August 30); and 10 additional art Gift of Andrew D. Merrell and history galleries. Unique shop, Collection of the Massillon Museum (83.4.3) TWilite Café, and sensory room.

Free admission.

MCKINLEY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM 800 McKinley Monument Dr NW, Canton OH 44708 P: 330-455-7043 : mckinleymuseum.org : @McKinleyMuseum Contact Name: Kimberly A. Kenney, Executive Director

The McKinley Presidential Library & Museum has something for everyone! Learn about presidential history in the McKinley Gallery and the McKinley National Memorial, the President’s final resting place. Step back in time in the Street of Shops, our life-sized indoor town. Visit the stars in the Hoover-Price Planetarium. Meet live animals and explore science in Discover World, our interactive science center. Plus, there’s always something new in the Keller Gallery.

GALLERIES FRAMED GALLERY 15813 Waterloo Road, Cleveland P: 216-832-5101 : framedgallery.net

Located in the emerging art scene of the Waterloo Arts District, Framed Gallery is an exclusive African American Art gallery in Cleveland. This gallery displays emerging, mid-career and established artists creating contemporary works on paper, paintings, graphite drawings and assemblage.

LOGANBERRY DIRECTED BY SCOTT SPENCE CHOREOGRAPHY BY LAUREN MAROUSEK

BOOK BY TINA FEY ADAPTED FROM FEY’S HIT 2004 FILM, MEAN GIRLS LYRICS BY NELL BENJAMIN MUSIC BY JEFF RICHMOND

13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights P: 216-795-9800 : loganberrybooks.com

Loganberry Books Annex Gallery features a monthly rotation of local artist exhibitions, with an opening reception on the first Wednesday evening of the month.

Jul 10 – Aug 9, 2026 S E N N E Y T H E AT E R

T I C K E T S S TA R T AT J U S T $ 1 5 S M A R T S E AT S

BECKCENTER.ORG | 216-521-2540

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Beck

Center

arts FOR THE

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LISTINGS M. GENTILE STUDIOS 1588 E. 40th St., 1A, Cleveland P: 216-881-2818 : mgentilestudios.com

A personalized art resource for individuals, collectors and businesses. We offer assistance in the selection and preservation of artwork in many media. Our archival custom framing services are complemented by our skill in the installation of 2D and 3D artwork in a variety of residential and corporate settings.

FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SUMMER PRE-COLLEGE

WOLFS GALLERY 23645 Mercantile Road, Beachwood P: 216-721-6945 : Wolfsgallery.com

: @wolfsgallery : @wolfsgallery Visit WOLFS’ 15 galleries exhibiting many hundreds of artworks representing myriad styles and periods. Tour our generous space Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment. Buying and selling Fifteen fine artgalleries in Clevelandexhibiting since 1975. many

hundreds of artworks representing myriad styles and periods.

FRIENDS OF CANVAS BOSTON MILLS 7100 Riverview Road, Peninsula P: 800-875-4241 : bmbw.com/artfest : @BMBWOhio

It’s not too early for aspiring artists to start thinking about college. cia.edu/precollege 2026 Sessions July 5–17 July 19–31

Nestled in the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley wolfsgallery.com National Park, the Boston Mills Artfest is a nationally recognized tradition in the art 23645 Mercantile Road, Beachwood, Ohio | 216-721-6945 community. Featuring 300 artists traveling from 34 states across the country, this prestigious fine art show is happening June 26-28 and July 3-5.

Whether you’re an art collector or just looking for a day outdoors, Artfest offers an unforgettable summer art experience.

CLEVELAND ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION Jewish Federation of Cleveland E: israelarts@jewishcleveland.org : jewishcleveland.org/israelarts

The Cleveland Israel Arts Connection features the finest in Israeli film, documentary, theater, dance, music, visual art and literature. For updates, visit jewishcleveland.org/israelarts. Please join the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection Facebook page for additional opportunities to experience Israeli arts.

CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY : cuyahogalibrary.org : Branch locations: cuyahogalibrary.org/branches

Cuyahoga County Public Library has 27 branches and serves 47 communities across the county.

Our Mission: To empower individuals and communities by providing opportunities for all to read, learn, create and connect. Our Vision: We envision a thriving and inclusive Cuyahoga County where all residents benefit from and are inspired by Cuyahoga County Public Library’s innovative resources, services and programs.

@CanvasCLE

Spring/Summer 2026 | Canvas | 31

INTRODUCING JAZZFEST 2026 2026 INTRODUCING THE THE TRI-C TRI-C JAZZFEST

INDOOR ARTIST LINEUP JUNE JUNE 25 25 -- 27, 27, 2026 2026

Experience the most expansive Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland Experience the most expansive Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland presented by KeyBank yet — an all-you-can-experience presented by KeyBank yet — an all-you-can-experience celebration across genres, venues and stages. celebration across genres, venues and stages.

Adam Cantor Adam Cantor

Sheila E. Sheila E.

Durand Bernarr & Durand Hubb’sBernarr Groove & Hubb’s Groove

Ron Carter’s Ron Carter’s Foursight Quartet Foursight Quartet

Spyro Gyra Spyro Gyra

Dominick Farinacci Dominick Farinacci & Jon Thomas & Jon Thomas

Kurt Elling & Kurt & Fred Elling Hersch Fred Hersch

Chris Dave & The Chris Dave The Drumhedz ft. &Stokley Drumhedz ft. Stokley

Laurin Talese Laurin Talese

Ohio Players Ohio Players

MonoNeon MonoNeon

For full performer bios, the most For full performer bios, the most up-to-date information and previews up-to-date information and previews of all the fun, scan the QR code of all the fun, scan the QR code or visit tri-cjazzfest.com. or visit tri-cjazzfest.com.

FRAN AND FRANBELKIN AND JULES JULES BELKIN

CAROL A. CAROL A. M.D. CUNNINGHAM, CUNNINGHAM, M.D.

CHAR AND CHARFOWLER AND CHUCK CHUCK FOWLER

DEBBIE & JIM DEBBIE & JIM STRASSMAN STRASSMAN

William M. Weiss William M. Weiss Foundation Foundation