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  • In Response w/ Art Therapy Studio | moCa Cleveland

    Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 6-7:30PM Thu. April 16, 2026 In Response w/ Art Therapy Studio SIGN UP at moCa Cleveland $5 In Response invites you to engage contemporary art as a starting point for mindfulness, reflection, and meaningful connection at moCa Cleveland. Facilitated by Art Therapy Studio, each session begins with guided time in the galleries, where participants closely observe select works from the exhibitions on view and engage in thoughtful group discussion. Grounded in slowing down and intentional observation, the experience creates space for presence, curiosity, and shared insight. Following the gallery engagement, participants transition into an accessible, hands-on art-making experience focused on process rather than perfection, encouraging creative response, emotional awareness, and self-expression. Offered on the third Thursday of each month until July 2026, the series is designed to be welcoming to both first-time and returning participants, with a consistent structure that fosters ease and belonging. No prior art experience is needed; come as you are, and respond in your own way. A $5 reservation hold will be refunded at check-in. Please note: Eventbrite's processing fees are non-refundable.

  • science-fair-art-market

    Science Fair: Art Market Aug 24, 2024 Join moCa and Pattern Play Glass for our third annual Science Fair! Check out the work of more than 20 artists & makers and bring home one-of-a-kind artwork at a variety of prices. Get a new piece of flash from your favorite tattoo artist, grab a snack from a delicious local vendor, or a sip of regional natural wines. VENDORS INCLUDE: Pattern Play Glass Tess Young Jewelry Time Change Generator Jack Romer Harkin Oliver C St Clair Frayed Knot Farm Cleveland Babies Secret Books Robes by Natty Faan Slow Goods poofydustcloud KING RELD Joi Art LizaRoseGlass Aura Aura World of Whimzee CottonPonyExpress Skinny Dip Jewelry Bianca Breed Deposit Unknown Threehexagons DirtBaby Ceramics Yikes Design Poems 4 You Dakar! Shannon Makes Cakes Hi Cutie Fibers Justin Michael Will Evening Son Video / Family Fluff Vintage / Alison Scarpulla Superior Hot Glass happy thought knits TATTOO ARTISTS: Lauren Vandevier Nate Kemmerer Winnie Black Tine About Join moCa and Pattern Play Glass for our third annual Science Fair! Check out the work of more than 20 artists & makers and bring home one-of-a-kind artwork at a variety of prices. Get a new piece of flash from your favorite tattoo artist, grab a snack from a delicious local vendor, or a sip of regional natural wines. VENDORS INCLUDE: Pattern Play Glass Tess Young Jewelry Time Change Generator Jack Romer Harkin Oliver C St Clair Frayed Knot Farm Cleveland Babies Secret Books Robes by Natty Faan Slow Goods poofydustcloud KING RELD Joi Art LizaRoseGlass Aura Aura World of Whimzee CottonPonyExpress Skinny Dip Jewelry Bianca Breed Deposit Unknown Threehexagons DirtBaby Ceramics Yikes Design Poems 4 You Dakar! Shannon Makes Cakes Hi Cutie Fibers Justin Michael Will Evening Son Video / Family Fluff Vintage / Alison Scarpulla Superior Hot Glass happy thought knits TATTOO ARTISTS: Lauren Vandevier Nate Kemmerer Winnie Black Tine Join moCa and Pattern Play Glass for our third annual Science Fair! Check out the work of more than 20 artists & makers and bring home one-of-a-kind artwork at a variety of prices. Get a new piece of flash from your favorite tattoo artist, grab a snack from a delicious local vendor, or a sip of regional natural wines. VENDORS INCLUDE: Pattern Play Glass Tess Young Jewelry Time Change Generator Jack Romer Harkin Oliver C St Clair Frayed Knot Farm Cleveland Babies Secret Books Robes by Natty Faan Slow Goods poofydustcloud KING RELD Joi Art LizaRoseGlass Aura Aura World of Whimzee CottonPonyExpress Skinny Dip Jewelry Bianca Breed Deposit Unknown Threehexagons DirtBaby Ceramics Yikes Design Poems 4 You Dakar! Shannon Makes Cakes Hi Cutie Fibers Justin Michael Will Evening Son Video / Family Fluff Vintage / Alison Scarpulla Superior Hot Glass happy thought knits TATTOO ARTISTS: Lauren Vandevier Nate Kemmerer Winnie Black Tine

  • moCa NOW: EXPO Chicago | moCa Cleveland

    Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Apr 9- April 10, 2026 moCa NOW: EXPO Chicago +more on EXPO Chicago Navy Pier, Chicago Planning to be at Expo Chicago? Join Megan Lykins Reich, moCa's Kohl Executive Director, and DJ Hellerman, moCa's Deputy Director & Senior Curator, for special tours and times throughout the contemporary art fair. For details, email Morgan Jones, Senior Advancement Officer, at mjones@moCacleveland.org .

  • Bowers-Inside-Climate-News

    News + Read more at Inside Climate News Sunday, February 4, 2024 Fighting for a Foothold in American Law, the Rights of Nature Movement Finds New Possibilities in a Change of Venue: the Arts The celebrated artist Andrea Bowers grew up in Ohio on Lake Erie. Her exhibit at MoCa makes a case that the lake and its tributaries possess the legal rights to “Exist, Flourish and Evolve. By Katie Surma CLEVELAND—The ailing Cuyahoga river, bloated with industrial pollution, erupted into flames reaching as high as a five story building on June 22, 1969. The river, one of several heavily polluted waterways that feed Lake Erie, had caught fire at least a dozen times over the course of a decade, the horror of which helped spark the nascent U.S. environmental movement, leading to the enactment of landmark legislation like the 1972 Clean Water Act. Fast forward nearly a half century to 2014, when Lake Erie, after having endured decades of pollution from industrial, agricultural and other human activities, was stricken with toxic algae blooms so intense that roughly 500,000 people living near the lake lost access to drinking water for three days. Those residents were left questioning what 50 years of environmental laws actually protected: ecosystems or industry’s right to pollute. Such are the bookends of Andrea Bowers’ new “ Exist, Flourish and Evolve ” exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland (MoCa), showing now through May 26. Bowers, an Ohio native and internationally acclaimed artist, named the exhibit for three of the legal rights that activists enshrined into a 2019 law known as the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. The idea was, in part, to level the legal playing field between the interests of the lake, on one hand, and those of industry, on the other. Ecuador, Panama, Bolivia and Spain are some of the countries where lakes, rivers, forests, wild animals and Earth itself have been recognized as rights-bearing entities. The so-called rights of nature laws typically provide a higher form of protection than conventional environmental regulations and usually give human legal guardians the ability to enforce the rights on behalf of rivers, forests and wild animals. Exist, Flourish and Evolve provokes visitors to confront philosophical arguments behind the rights of nature movement: principally, that nature is not a thing, or merely human property as conventional law treats it. Rather, Earth and its ecosystems are complex living communities to which humans belong. Modern science confirms this fact and legal systems ought to catch up to that reality, advocates argue. The exhibition takes place across two locations. The first, a giant red, green and blue neon sculpture installed outside Cleveland’s lakefront Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame declares: “Lake Erie Has the Right to Exist, Flourish, & Naturally Evolve.” The second, at MoCa, holds Bowers’ drawings, additional neon light installations, a documentary film and activists’ posters and campaign paraphernalia, including a sign boldly asking the question: “If Corporations Have Rights, Shouldn’t Mother Nature?” In between displays of Bowers’ drawings are photographic images of the 1969 Cuyahoga fires and algae blooms of the 2010s, raising questions about the effectiveness of environmental protection efforts in the intervening years. Nuclear power plants, offshore wind farms, and factory farming are some of the region’s other industrial activities highlighted throughout the exhibit. For Bowers, who grew up splashing in Lake Erie’s waters, working on Exist, Flourish and Evolve has been deeply personal. Her first word was neither mom nor dad, but “lake,” and her family lived closely to the land with her father, an avid fisherman and hunter, running the police boat on the lake. A quintessential advocate, Bowers is known for using her art to amplify the plight of feminists, Indigenous communities, environmentalists, immigrants, workers and others. She spends lengthy periods of time in the field with activists, learning about their work and how she can be of service to their cause. She’s embedded with Indigenous communities at Standing Rock and was arrested in 2011 alongside fellow activists for “tree sitting” in protest of the razing of trees in her current home town of Los Angeles. “I always ask the simplest question which is, ‘How can my art be in service to you?’” Bowers said of her approach to working with other activists. “They are the driving force in terms of content and I try to create and use my access to institutions to bring attention to their issues.” For Exist, Flourish and Evolve , Bowers teamed up with the U.S.-based nonprofit Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), an organization that helped enact the world’s first rights of nature law in 2006 in a rural Pennsylvania town . Bowers spent most of 2019 talking with CELDF’s consulting director Tish O’Dell and learning about the organization’s thwarted efforts to make U.S. rights of nature laws more than symbolic—despite nearly 20 years of effort, no U.S.-based rights of nature law has been enforced. Courts have struck down the laws on a variety of grounds, including state law preemption . O’Dell explained to Bowers how 61 percent of Toledo voters, fed up with toxic algae blooms and other environmental degradation, enacted the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) into law in February 2019, and how a day later, an industrial farm challenged the constitutionality of the law. In February 2020, a federal court in Ohio struck down LEBOR, reasoning that it was unconstitutionally vague and exceeded the authority of a municipal government. Since then, O’Dell and her CELDF colleagues have entered a period of reflection, wondering how to advance their movement in light of the roadblocks erected in U.S. legal and political systems. Working with Bowers and learning about the power of art, O’Dell began riffing on a longstanding question in the legal world: Does law influence the culture, or does culture influence the law? “We had been so focused for so long on using the law to change our culture,” O’Dell said. “Andrea gave us a different way of thinking about organizing and how we can use cultural change to shift mindsets and use that to shift the laws.” And so CELDF, in partnership with Bowers, rolled out a two-phase “ Truth, Reckoning, and Right Relationship ” conference in late 2023 and April 2024. The fall 2023 meeting at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame convened doctors, lawyers, activists, Indigenous people, students and others to reckon with how existing legal, political, educational, economic and cultural systems have contributed to the “ill health” of the Great Lakes. A gathering in April 2024 will focus on how, beyond changing laws, humanity can come back into “right relationship” with those ecosystems. “Maybe then we won’t need laws to instruct us to not poison ourselves,” O’Dell said. Still, she and her CELDF colleagues have not given up on their work in the legal realm. In March 2022, New York state Assemblyman Patrick Burke, with the help of CELDF, introduced the Great Lakes Bill of Rights , aimed at “securing legal rights” for the Great Lake’ ecosystems. The bill is pending in committee, with Democrats currently in control of the legislature and governorship. As exhibit attendees exit Exist, Flourish and Evolve , a final neon and painted installation underscores that unfolding effort in bold letters: “The Great Lakes Ecosystem Shall Possess the Inalienable and Fundamental Rights Not to be Owned or Privatized or Monetized.” Previous Next

  • moCa NOW: Cocktail w/ Sky Hopinka | moCa Cleveland

    Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 5:30-6:30PM Thu. April 23, 2026 moCa NOW: Cocktail w/ Sky Hopinka RSVP at moCa Cleveland Free for moCa NOW Members moCa members are invited to an exclusive early cocktail reception ahead of artist Sky Hopinka’s talk. Connect with fellow members and settle in before an engaging presentation from the acclaimed artist. Arrive early, explore the gallery, and experience this special pre-event gathering designed just for our member community. For details, contact Morgan Jones, Senior Advancement Officer, at 216.658.6934.

  • moCa Saturday Glazed & Mused | moCa Cleveland

    Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 11AM Sat. May 31, 2025 moCa Saturday Glazed & Mused Donuts for first 50 visitors at moCa Cleveland Free to all Donut forget that the last Saturday of the month is Glazed & Mused! On May 31, at 11AM, we’re treating the first 50 guests to a FREE donut, coffee, and a sweet start to their day. It's the perfect way to begin your weekend: filled with a quick bite of art, conversation, and a tasty treat. We’re partnering with the incredible Goldie's Donuts, a local favorite with spots in Lyndhurst and Ohio City, known for their perfectly golden, handcrafted treats. Whether you're here to explore the galleries or craving good vibes (and great donuts), we can’t wait to meet you. One free donut and cup of coffee for the first 50 people at moCa on Sat. May 31, starting at 11AM, while supplies last (the art will be here all day). Presented in partnership w/

  • studio-access-w-manabu-ikeda-2024-03-30-13-00-1

    Studio Access w/ Manabu Ikeda Mar 30, 2024 Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season. About Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season. Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season.

  • moCa Saturday | moCa Cleveland

    Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 11AM-5PM Sat. March 22, 2025 moCa Saturday at moCa Cleveland Free with admission Discover the museum in a new way every time you visit. Enjoy a variety of self-guided tours that bring you closer to the exhibits and architecture, then explore your curiosity through hands-on exploration in our Practice Lab activity space.

  • studio-access-w-manabu-ikeda-2024-05-12-13-00-1

    Studio Access w/ Manabu Ikeda May 12, 2024 Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season. About Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season. Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season.

  • Marcella Brown leads moCa Cleveland's Board as President

    Press Release Wednesday, August 6, 2025 Marcella Brown Leads moCa Cleveland Board as President Cleveland, Ohio— (August 5, 2025) The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa) is proud to announce the appointment of Marcella Brown as the new President of its Board of Directors. Brown, who first joined moCa’s Board in 2019 and has served as Vice President since 2022, brings deep experience in nonprofit leadership, philanthropic engagement, and values-driven strategy. A champion for community and creativity, Brown was instrumental in steering the Board committee that shaped moCa’s updated mission, vision, and values. She was recently announced as the incoming Executive Director for the Rainey Institute, a Cleveland-based non-profit community arts center dedicated to engaging Cleveland’s youth through dance, drama, music, and visual arts. Brown currently serves as Vice President of Development & Communications at Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM), where she advances the agency’s vision of hope, fair chances, and stability. Her professional and volunteer leadership reflect a strong commitment to community empowerment and equity. She also serves as Board Member and Scholarship & Programs Chair for the Black Professionals Association Charitable Foundation, Co-Chair of the Board Marketing Committee for BankOn Cleveland, and Board Member of the We Raise Foundation. Named one of Crain’s Cleveland Business 2024 Notable Black Leaders, Brown is widely respected for her collaborative approach and deep belief in the power of storytelling and service. “We are thrilled to welcome Marcella as our new Board President,” said moCa’s Kohl Executive Director Megan Lykins Reich. “Her energy, warmth, and strategic insight reflect moCa’s mission to be a radically welcoming and engaging museum for all. Marcella’s leadership will further strengthen our ability to push the boundaries of artistic excellence, community connection, and cultural experimentation.” Brown expressed her enthusiasm for this next chapter, stating: “moCa now lives at the intersection of art, progress, curiosity, and community. As board chair, I am honored and humbled to invite people from communities near and far to come out and experience contemporary art, whether they seek fun, fascination, or the unfamiliar. We want to see you at moCa!” She will be joined in Board leadership by newly appointed officers: Casey Monda as Vice President, Jason Smith as Treasurer, and Jonathan Kurtz as Secretary. Together, this team will work closely with moCa’s executive staff to guide the museum’s strategic vision and community engagement goals. moCa’s outgoing President, Steve Sokany, who completes a four-year tenure, reflects on his experience: “It has been an honor and privilege to serve as moCa Cleveland's Board President for the last two years. Megan's strong leadership, coupled with the staff's efforts and the board's commitment, have aligned around our mission Art Now, in progress , to create exciting momentum that Marcella will continue to foster.” In addition to its new leadership slate, moCa is excited to welcome three new Board Members: ● Grafton Nunes , former President and CEO of the Cleveland Institute of Art ● Susan Petersen , attorney with Petersen & Petersen ● Michael Weil , PhD , owner of Foothills Gallery These new board leaders will work alongside moCa’s active and emeritus board to creatively steward the museum’s vital program, partnerships, and cultural impact. ABOUT moCa CLEVELAND For more than 50 years, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa) has played a vital role in the city’s cultural landscape. moCa is a conduit and catalyst for creativity and inspiration, offering exhibitions and programs that provide public value and make meaning of the art and ideas of our time. Since its founding in 1968, moCa has presented the works of more than three thousand artists, often through artists’ first solo shows. Soon after its founding, moCa was the first in the region to exhibit the works of many vanguard artists such as Laurie Anderson, Christo, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Adrian Piper, and Andy Warhol. Recent artist commissions and solo exhibitions include work by Tauba Auerbach, Aleksandra Domanović, Michelle Grabner, Byron Kim, Ragnar Kjartansson, Tony Lewis, Catherine Opie, Adam Pendleton, Sondra Perry, Joyce J. Scott, Do Ho Suh, Liu Wei, Renée Green, Nina Chanel Abney, Finnegan Shannon, Manabu Ikeda, and Clotilde Jiménez, among many others. MUSEUM HOURS Thursday & Friday : 1-8PM Saturday & Sunday : 11AM-5PM Holiday hours available at mocacleveland.org 2025 Institutional Sponsors Leadership donors supporting moCa's mission include gifts to Art Now: Anonymous, Yuval Brisker, Joanne Cohen & Morris Wheeler, Margaret Cohen & Kevin Rahilly, Dealer Tire, Agnes Gund, Jan Lewis, Roy Minoff, The Robert H. Reakirt Foundation, and The Sunday Painter; Connecting Audiences: Dick & Doreen Cahoon, The Cleveland Foundation, The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation, Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation, David & Inez Myers Foundation, PNC, the Nord Family Foundation, and Nicholas & Erin Reif; and Sustaining Pathways: The Callahan Foundation, Grosvie & Charlie Cooley, Becky Dunn, Harriet Goldberg, Google.org , the Leonard Krieger Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, the John P. Murphy Foundation, Boake Sells, and Edward Smith. moCa Cleveland also receives lead institutional support in part from the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the continuing support of the museum’s Board of Directors, patrons, and members. Media Contact Matthew Dennis moCa Cleveland Tel: 216.399.0077 ex.817 Cell: 216.554.7310 mdennis@mocacleveland.org Previous Next

  • moCa Saturday Glazed & Mused | moCa Cleveland

    Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 11AM Sat. March 29, 2025 moCa Saturday Glazed & Mused Donuts for first 50 visitors at moCa Cleveland Free to all Donut forget that the last Saturday of the month is Glazed & Mused! On Mar 29, at 11AM, we’re treating the first 50 guests to a FREE donut, coffee, and a sweet start to their day. It's the perfect way to begin your weekend: filled with a quick bite of art, conversation, and a tasty treat. We’re partnering with the incredible Goldie's Donuts, a local favorite with spots in Lyndhurst and Ohio City, known for their perfectly golden, handcrafted treats. Whether you're here to explore the galleries or craving good vibes (and great donuts), we can’t wait to meet you. One free donut and cup of coffee for the first 50 people at moCa on Sat. Mar 29, starting at 11AM, while supplies last (the art will be here all day). Presented in partnership w/

  • moCa Moves: HIIT Bodyweight Bootcamp at the Museum | moCa Cleveland

    Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 11AM-1:30PM Sat. October 11, 2025 moCa Moves: HIIT Bodyweight Bootcamp at the Museum SIGN UP at moCa Cleveland $25 Rock your body, fire up your core and feel the groove with this 45-min low impact HIIT bodyweight bootcamp. You’ll move through 45-second bodyweight intervals with 10 seconds of rest, keeping the pace fun and accessible for beginners while still challenging seasoned athletes. Across 36 rounds, you’ll target your full body and core, then finish with a refreshing 5-minute cooldown to leave you feeling strong, energized, and accomplished. All you need is a yoga mat, a towel, hydration and your sneakers. Modifications will be provided. The workout will be led by GrooveRyde founder and DJ, Zosimo Maximo, so you know the beats will be on point. Please bring your own yoga mat for the yoga session. This program is inspired by our current exhibition by Maggie Menghan Chen, whose work incorporates dance and music elements from Zumba, hip hop, krump, vogue, and ultimately metal to offer an outlet for the pent-up energy of an international community in isolation. After class, keep the energy high with live music by DJ Zosimo Maximo

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