Art

2026 Print Club of Cleveland’s 41st Fine Print Fair and 2025 Photos

Sunday, April 19, 2026 - Print Club of Cleveland’s 41st Fine Print Fair

On Sunday, April 19, 2026, I had a great time attending The Print Club of Cleveland's 41st Fine Print Fair in The Cleveland Museum of Art’s atrium. I enjoy attending this art event every year!

I put this blog post together to share my photos from the event and to lock in my positive memories from the day. Most importantly, I want to thank the event organizers.

A special shout-out to Jerry Smith, who is a member of the 41st Fine Print Fair organizing team.

When I first arrived at the Fine Print Fair, I watched a print demonstration by the Cleveland Institute of Art: College of Art + Design:

Sunday, April 19, 2026 - Print Club of Cleveland’s 41st Fine Print Fair

I hope you enjoy this sampling of prints from the 41st Fine Print Fair, and that it encourages you to attend in the future:

Sunday, April 19, 2026 - Print Club of Cleveland’s 41st Fine Print Fair

Last year, on Sunday, April 27, 2025, I took my mom to the 40th Annual Fine Print Fair. During the event, we watched printing demonstrations by both the Cleveland Institute of Art and Zygote Press.

In 2025, I did't have time to write a blog post about the event. Now, in 2026, I am taking the opportunity to share my 2025 photos here -- enjoy!

Sunday, April 19, 2026 - Print Club of Cleveland’s 41st Fine Print Fair

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Three Cleveland Museum of Art Exhibitions and the Summit ArtSpace Grand Reopening Party

Collage of three Cleveland Museum of Art exhibitions, plus the Summit ArtSpace Grand Reopening Party featuring their winter exhibitions!

Thursday, April 9, 2026 -- My day of art!

I have created this blog post to share with you my impressions of the day I visited two art exhibitions at one venue, and the reopening of a second, renovated art venue. I want to encourage my readers to visit in person what I share online here. I also deviate from this one day to share my photos from a third art venue, which I visited on April 2nd.

The main blog post sections feature:

I want to take this opportunity to state how fortunate we are in Northeast Ohio to have these art venues to enjoy!

Thursday Morning, April 9, 2026 - This is a screenshot from the Cleveland Magazine video showing me talking to Emily Liebert, the curator of the exhibition. We were talking about how regular visitors to the museum are familiar with “Alien Huddle”, which they can learn more about in the Cleveland Museum of Art's ArtLens app.

Stuart Smith attending the Martin Puryear: Nexus preview

Stuart Smith attending the Martin Puryear: Nexus preview

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Cleveland Museum of Art Preview of "Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses"

Cleveland Museum of Art Preview of Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses

I appreciated being invited by The Cleveland Museum of Art Director of Communications Jacqueline Bon, to the Thursday, November 6, 2025, preview of Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses, but I did have questions about this new exhibition. I wondered what was meant by the statement that the exhibition would feature "art and fashion interwoven." I knew that I liked Renaissance art, but I was not sure that I would appreciate how this artwork impacted the development of ". . . fresh perspectives throughout the fashion landscape."

Fortunately, while attending the opening reception for the New Work: FRONT Fellows Show, I was able to talk to the museum's Chief Marketing Officer, Todd Mesek, and learned that the upcoming Renaissance to Runway exhibition would, indeed, be of interest to me!

The Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses exhibition runs from Sunday, November 9, 2025, through Sunday, February 1, 2026. Since the New Work: FRONT Fellows Show is currently being shown at Transformer Station through Saturday, December 27, 2025, I decided to also add information about this special, final, FRONT show. I put together this blog post to share my photos and observations about these two current shows, and to thank The Cleveland Museum of Art for bringing such exciting exhibitions to our community!

Cleveland Museum of Art Preview of Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses

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20th Anniversary - IngenuityFest 2025: Forging The Future

Friday, September 26, 2025 - The faces of Stuart, Julie, and Michael appear on an installation at IngenuityFest 2025: Forging The Future.

I have written 21 blog posts about Ingenuity Cleveland and their events: IngenuityFest and Bal Ingénieux/Ingenuity Bal. We are very fortunate to have this gathering of Cleveland creatives that is Ingenuity Cleveland. On September 26 and September 27, 2025, I attended the celebration of their 20th anniversary season at IngenuityFest 2025: Forging The Future.

IngenuityFest 2025: Forging The Future

I hope this blog post encourages you to attend future fun events hosted by Ingenuity Cleveland!

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Cleveland Museum of Art 36th Annual Chalk Festival - After the Rain

Cleveland Museum of Art 36th Annual Chalk Festival - After the Rain

As I parked my car, it was a beautiful summer day for the Cleveland Museum of Art 36th Annual Chalk Festival on Sunday, September 21, 2025. Less than ten minutes later, it started raining, but fortunately, it was a short cloudburst. The rain only returned on and off for the rest of the afternoon. Despite the fact that I missed seeing the pre-rain chalk drawings by just a few minutes, I still found the artwork most enjoyable, along with the festive environment of the Fine Arts Garden.

I heard a fellow attendee of the event state that the brief rainfall brought a “soft focus” to the chalk artwork! That was an astute observation.

For this, my fourteenth Chalk Festival blog post, I want to thank all the creative people who participated. The chalk art created at the Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival every year is outstanding!

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March 2025 Akron ArtWalk: Visiting Four Art Venues

Akron ArtWalk 2025 Thursday dates: March 13, June 12, September 11 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. On March 13th, I visited four of the venues whose icons are in this image: Summit Artspace, Art x Love, Akron Soul Train, and Akron Art Museum.

I attended the March 13, 2025, Akron ArtWalk after I learned about it via an invitation from Summit Artspace Executive Director Heather Meeker.

For this blog post, I gathered my photos, videos, and information about the following four venues I visited to encourage you to learn more about them:

I also include in this blog post information about Summit DD (Summit County Developmental Disabilities Board) and related agencies that Summit Artspace arranged to be involved to make this the "2nd Annual Inclusive Akron Artwalk." This is part of Summit Artspace's commitment to empowering artists of all abilities.

I also want to say thank you to Downtown Akron Partnership for sharing my #AkronArtwalk experience thread on Bluesky.

Thank you to the leaders of these four art institutions for providing an enjoyable evening for my first Akron ArtWalk. I hope that this blog post gets you motivated to get out to visit these venues, and to also learn about the other locations that are partners in these Akron ArtWalks. Have fun!!!

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Artist-In-Residence Sylvia Munodawafa - University Circle New Community Room - Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel

Friday, March 7, 2025 - Painting from the University Circle artist-in-residence Sylvia Munodawafa's exhibition and the Cleveland History Center's Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel

On Friday, March 7, 2025, I was in University Circle attending the Stand Up for Science 2025 Rally at Case Western Reserve University. While there, I made a point of visiting University Circle Artist-In-Residence Sylvia Munodawafa's exhibition, and then, since it was right across the street, I rode the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel.

I met artist Sylvia Munodawafa at the end of the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) opening of their "2025 Student Independent Exhibition,” and she let me know that her artwork is being featured in the University Circle headquarters building.

Also, back in November, at the "Illuminate the Circle” event, I met University Circle Engagement and Outreach Manager Debbi Abela and Chief Engagement and Collaboration Officer Sheffia Randall-Nickerson. They told me about a new University Circle Community Room, which I also made a point of visiting. I learned that artist Sylvia Munodawafa and others are providing community programing in this new space.

I hope reading this blog post encourages you to contact University Circle to visit their headquarters, and to ride the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel. Have fun!!!

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February 2025: Eight Cleveland Area Galleries

Cleveland Area Galleries

I put together this blog post to share some of what I saw while visiting eight area galleries in February 2025. There is a variety of artwork presented, which will appeal to the different tastes of different people. I hope this encourages you to visit those galleries that have items of interest to you.

Thank you to the following galleries for an enjoyable month visiting:

  1. Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - Picasso and Paper - Cleveland Museum of Art

  2. Friday, February 7, 2025 - ArtLens Gallery - Cleveland Museum of Art

  3. Friday, February 7, 2025 - Gala Porras-Kim: A Hand in Nature and Harminder Judge: Bootstrap Paradox and Birthing Beautiful Communities: Dear - moCa Cleveland

  4. Friday, February 7, 2025 - Possibility for Repair and Opening Night for Back in the Dayz - Cleveland Institute of Art

  5. Saturday, Friday 8, 2025 - d.a. levy: Subversive Printmaking in 1960s Cleveland - Zygote Press

  6. Friday, February 14, 2025 - Opening Night for Love Is Resistance - Cleveland Institute of Art at Transformer Station (Cleveland Museum of Art Remote Location)

  7. Friday, February 28, 2025 - North Chagrin Nature Photography Club - Cleveland Metroparks

  8. Friday, February 28, 2025 - Opening Night of the 2025 Student Independent Exhibition - Cleveland Institute of Art

If you have limited time, I recommend prioritizing visiting the Picasso and Paper exhibition and the two Cleveland Institute of Art exhibitions at their main campus building and at Transformer Station.

I am grateful that we have so many galleries to enjoy in our area. I hope you take time to visit the institutions I mention in this blog post! Have fun!!!

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Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., Day 2025 at University Circle

Monday, January 20, 2025 - Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., Day 2025 in University Circle

On Monday, January 20, 2025, my wife and co-blogger, Julie, volunteered at the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel at the Cleveland History Center, while my son, Michael, and I spent Martin Luther King, Jr., Day 2025 visiting four of the museums in University Circle.

It was an unusually cold day (the outside temperature varied between 7°F and 11°F). We used drawstring bags to carry our multiple layers of winter clothing while we were in the comfortably warm museums, and then wore the clothing when we walked between the venues. At these low temperatures, the cold hurts any uncovered skin, such as our faces. Despite the extremely cold weather, was saw many families visiting the museums throughout the day.

I put this blog post together to share my photos and experiences of our visit to the following museums:

I want to thank these museums for welcoming the community every year to visit as part of celebrating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. I am grateful that we have such excellent, educational, and engaging museums in our community. Michael and I had a great time touring all the museums.

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"Picasso and Paper" Preview & Curator Tour - Cleveland Museum of Art

December 3, 2024, Stuart O. Smith, Jr. attends preview of the Cleveland Museum of Art's Picasso and Paper exhibition.

I was fortunate to attend the Cleveland Museum of Art's preview of their new Picasso and Paper exhibition on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. As I was talking to blogger Dan Hanson during the preview, he pointed out how incredibly lucky we are to have the Cleveland Museum of Art bring this exhibition to Cleveland. Cleveland is one of very few places in the world where this exhibition will be shown.

I not only appreciated seeing the amazing artwork, but it was great to be given a tour by Curator of Prints and Drawings Britany Salsbury. She was able to give the historical background in a personal way during the tour she led. I always like to first visit the galleries of a special exhibition, and then attend a tour with a curator or docent.

The exhibition is huge, filling all of the museum's special exhibition space (both the Exhibition Gallery and the Exhibition Hall). With all this artwork, you will want to take time to view it closely, so I highly recommend planning to take plenty time to see it all. I also recommend taking a break halfway through the exhibition and then coming back with fresh eyes to see the second section.

I enjoyed the preview, and wrote this blog post to share my experience at the Picasso and Paper exhibition.

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