Search Results
380 results found with an empty search
- Silent Disco: moCa'ture | moCa Cleveland
Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 9PM-12AM Sat. February 8, 2025 Silent Disco: moCa'ture SOLD OUT at moCa Cleveland $25 advance; $30 at door Tonight's event is SOLD OUT. Entrance only for those who have purchased advance tickets. Join us for a full night of hot dance and hotter looks as 3 DJs spin throughout moCa's iconic building. Dress to impress as we celebrate Fashion Week and bring your twist to utilitarian couture. EXCLUSIVE POP-UP EXPERIENCE 6th Street Vintage and YellowCake will present an exclusive pop - up shopping experience for attendees of Silent Disco. Get ready to fall in love with your next favorite fashion—your wardrobe will thank you! DJ Kyro DJ Yulissa DJ Zosimo Maximo HOST COMMITTEE
- Art in the Open: Nature Walk & Artist Talk | moCa Cleveland
Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 12-2:30PM Sat. February 21, 2026 Art in the Open: Nature Walk & Artist Talk SIGN UP OFFSITE: Garfield Park Reservation 11350 Broadway Ave. Garfield Heights, OH free w/registration Designed as a slower, immersive encounter with art and landscape, this program invites participants to engage contemporary art through guided exploration of Cleveland's park system. Each session begins with a nature walk led by Cleveland Metroparks staff at Garfield Park Reservation, offering participating guests time to observe ecological systems, seasonal change, and the sensory qualities of the landscape. The walk will be followed by an artist talk and hands-on activities led by moCa's Ohio Now: State of Nature exhibiting artist, Avery Mags Duff. These workshops are free and family-friendly, with the goal to create space for reflection, dialogue, and making a direct relationship to the environment. Presented in partnership w/ moCa Cleveland and Cleveland Metroparks.
- 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. February 22, 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 Feb 22, 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. Feb 22, starting at 11AM, while supplies last (the art will be here all day). Presented in partnership w/
- The-National-AIDS-Memorial-Quilt
Oct 8, 2021-Jan 2, 2022 The National AIDS Memorial Quilt In conjunction with moCa’s presentation of Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A. and World AIDS Day Oct 8, 2021-Jan 2, 2022 ∆ Square from The National AIDS Memorial Quilt (detail). ∆ Square from The National AIDS Memorial Quilt (detail). The National AIDS Memorial Quilt In conjunction with moCa’s presentation of Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A. and World AIDS Day Oct 8, 2021-Jan 2, 2022 ∆ Square from The National AIDS Memorial Quilt (detail). With over 50,000 panels created by thousands of participants worldwide, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is the world’s largest community folk art project. Made up of individually created three by six-foot panels—each the approximate size of a grave—the Quilt memorializes 125,000-plus victims of AIDS and HIV-related illness. Portraits appear alongside names and dates, pictures of pets, flowers, rainbows, musical instruments, and thousands of other symbols that represent friends, lovers, and family members. Currently spanning 1.2 million square feet and weighing 54 tons, the Quilt is a powerful symbol of the AIDS pandemic and a living memorial to a generation lost to AIDS and HIV-related illness. The Quilt was conceived by long-time San Francisco gay rights activist Cleve Jones, who in 1978 created the first panel in memory of his friend Marvin Feldman. That same year the Quilt grew to 1,920 panels and on October 11, 1987, it was exhibited for the first time on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. where half a million people visited on the opening weekend. Jones said of the Quilt, “It could be therapy, I hoped, for a community that was increasingly paralyzed by grief and rage and powerlessness. It could be a tool for the media, to reveal the humanity behind the statistics. And a weapon to deploy against the government; to shame them with stark visual evidence of their utter failure to respond to the suffering and death that spread and increased with every passing day.” This focused installation brings together two blocks of the Quilt in conjunction with moCa’s presentation of Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A. and World AIDS Day (December 1). Block 0227 and Block 4506 are a poignant and beautiful tribute to the lives of Edmundo “Mundo” Meza—the artist at the center of Axis Mundo —James Brooke Shoulberg, Michael McDowell, David Caroline, Merle Long, Hugo Niehaus, John (surname unknown), John Doe, Terry David Hernandez, E. Gordon Hanna, Jorge Fernandez, Steve Brown, Ted Zak, David Lewis, Paul Mark Patinka, and Michael F. Farrell. With thousands of displays of the Quilt in locations across the globe, over 14 million people have experienced and participated in the project. To learn more about the National AIDS Memorial Quilt please visit www.aidsmemorial.org/quilt . moCa’s presentation of The National AIDS Memorial Quilt is organized by Courtenay Finn, Chief Curator, Ray Juaire, Exhibitions Director, Lauren Leving, Curator of Public Programs & Artist Residencies, Karl Anderson, Exhibition Technician, and supported by the entire moCa Cleveland staff.
- Beverly-Semmes-The-Dresses
Jun 27, 2025-Jan 4, 2026 Beverly Semmes The Dresses Jun 27, 2025-Jan 4, 2026 ∆ Beverly Semmes, Rhonda Lavonda Yolanda Chiffonda , 1995. Organza and crushed velvet, 32 feet long (each). ∆ Beverly Semmes, Rhonda Lavonda Yolanda Chiffonda , 1995. Organza and crushed velvet, 32 feet long (each). Beverly Semmes The Dresses Jun 27, 2025-Jan 4, 2026 ∆ Beverly Semmes, Rhonda Lavonda Yolanda Chiffonda , 1995. Organza and crushed velvet, 32 feet long (each). This installation by Beverly Semmes features four monumental dresses crafted from velvet and organza. Suspended on a white wall with a pronounced architectural scale, the sensuous, floating forms evoke both intimacy and grandeur. A formal exploration of pattern, texture, and color, the exaggerated proportions—what Semmes describes as a “perfect size 6,000”—disrupt conventional scales, connecting the viewer's body with the surrounding architecture. At once whimsical and unsettling, the dresses stand in for absent bodies, inviting reflection on the people who might inhabit them and traditional ideals of femininity, identity, and beauty. Since the late 1980s, Beverly Semmes has created work that centers on the tactile and transformative power of materials. While she often works with fabric and clay, her art also includes glass, video, painting, and performance. Semmes combines references to craft, domestic life, and fine art to build a visual language that is both alluring and sharply critical. Her sculptures and installations explore ideas about gender, power, and how women are seen and represented. By playing with scale, texture, and form, she challenges traditional expectations of women’s bodies. Influenced by expressionism, minimalism, and feminist thought, Semmes creates work that is at once abstract and physical, playful and provocative. This installation was originally commissioned by The Progressive Corporation, the Mayfield Village-based corporation. Co-presented with The Progressive Corporation About the Artist Beverly Semmes. Photo: Ross Collab. Courtesy of the artist and Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC. Beverly Semmes Beverly Semmes (b. 1958) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work incorporates sculpture, painting, drawing, film, photography, and performance. These complementary elements adhere in surprising ways, probing the paradoxes and complexities of the female body and its representation. Based in New York, Semmes has been honored with many solo museum exhibitions, including presentations at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; the ICA Philadelphia; the Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle; The Ginza Art Space, Tokyo; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. In fall 2025, her alma mater, Tufts University, will present a major solo exhibition at the University Gallery. Recent group exhibitions include Always In Relation: 50 Years of the Gallery at Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown; The New Village: Ten Years of New York Fashion at Pratt Manhattan Gallery, NYC as well as Witch Hunt at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the 57th Carnegie International, at the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh. Semmes’ work can be found in the permanent collections of the Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo, the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, the Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Arnhem, The Netherlands, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC, among others. The artist is represented by Susan Inglett Gallery, NYC.
- Crafting Kindness: Home for the Holidays w/ Erykah Townsend | moCa Cleveland
Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 12-4:30PM Sat. December 20, 2025 Crafting Kindness: Home for the Holidays w/ Erykah Townsend SIGN UP at moCa Cleveland Free Join artist Erykah Townsend for a free afternoon of drop-in, festive art-making, treats, movies, and coming together for the holidays. Take in a special 25th anniversay screening of the film Dr. Seuss's How The Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey. Create your own custom greeting cards for someone special. Share a snack at the seasonal treat bar with hot cocoa and sweet surprises for all ages. Then stay as the artist shares the inspirations behind her exhibition "Happy" Holidays , now at moCa. Come cozy in pajamas or bundled in your wintry warmest. Bring a blanket or pillow to camp out in front of the movie screen. This event is the perfect way to slow down, connect, and celebrate with loved ones during the holiday season. About "Happy Holidays" Happy” Holidays , the first solo museum exhibition of multimedia artist Erykah Townsend, explores how consumerism shapes Christmas. Rather than a joyous time, this season can create high expectations and financial stress, especially for those with limited means. Townsend blends humor with earnest reflection to examine Western commercialism and how shopping and spending have consumed Christmas. +more About Erykah Townsend Erykah Townsend , also known as E.T., is a conceptual artist from Cleveland, Ohio. Her art boldly confronts and questions the role of pop culture in our lives. She states, “I use pop culture as a medium itself—exploring the spaces it fills in our lives and the inquiry of how real are the imaginary." Through reflective and humorous narratives, Townsend references art history and critiques consumerism and western culture, using characters, cultural icons, and objects as allegories for her criticism. In addition, her work includes elements from their original sources, providing the audience with a fresh and sentimental encounter. Townsend received her BFA in painting from The Cleveland Institute of Art in 2020. +more Presented in partnership w/
- Getting-To-Know-Finnegan-Shannon
Getting to Know: Finnegan Shannon Getting to Know: Finnegan Shannon Artist residency Dec 2022-Dec 2023 Left: Finnegan Shannon Finnegan Shannon is a Brooklyn-based artist who makes work about access and disability cultures. Their practice prioritizes expanding accessibility within and outside of cultural institutions. Some of their recent work includes Anti-Stairs Club Lounge , an ongoing project that gathers people together who share an aversion to stairs; Alt-Text as Poetry , a collaboration with Bojana Coklyat that explores the expressive potential of image description; and Do You Want Us Here or Not , a series of benches and cushions designed for exhibition spaces that explore the need and desire to sit and rest. During this residency, Shannon and moCa Curator Lauren Leving will co-curate a group exhibition that will intervene creatively in moCa’s Lewis Gallery, opening summer 2023. Creating virtual and in-person programming, Shannon also will connect their work with a variety of audiences by designing new Creative Toolboxes, moCa’s ongoing delivery-based program where art-making materials and creative prompts are made available through community-based partners to residents in the neighborhoods around the museum. The Getting to Know Residency is generously sponsored by Margaret Cohen and Kevin Rahilly, with additional support from Char and Chuck Fowler. About the Getting To Know Residency In January 2021, moCa launched a new residency called Getting to Know, designed to support a non-local contemporary artist working in social practice in a long-form project with moCa and our community that allows for repeat engagement, extended exploration, and the development of new work. Getting to Know artists have included Chicago-based fiber artist Aram Han Sifuentes (2021-22) and Brooklyn-based Finnegan Shannon. Related Exhibition ▶ Don't mind if I do
- Support moCa Cleveland
At moCa, we support and amplify the work of artists who represent what's next— in Cleveland and beyond. moCa's Annual Fund directly supports day-to-day operations. Support Support Your gift supports art now, in progress. Gifts to moCa's Annual Fund are fully tax-deductible. Donate Membership Annual Fund Institutional Giving Patrons
- Nina-Chanel-Abney-Cafeteria2
Jan 27, 2023-Jan 7, 2024 Nina Chanel Abney Cafeteria 2 Jan 27, 2023-Jan 7, 2024 ∆ Nina Chanel Abney, Cafeteria 2 , installation view at moCa Cleveland, 2023. Site-specific vinyl mural, 313.5 x 536.5 in (796.29 x 1362.71 cm). Courtesy the artist. ∆ Nina Chanel Abney, Cafeteria 2 , installation view at moCa Cleveland, 2023. Site-specific vinyl mural, 313.5 x 536.5 in (796.29 x 1362.71 cm). Courtesy the artist. Nina Chanel Abney Cafeteria 2 Jan 27, 2023-Jan 7, 2024 ∆ Nina Chanel Abney, Cafeteria 2 , installation view at moCa Cleveland, 2023. Site-specific vinyl mural, 313.5 x 536.5 in (796.29 x 1362.71 cm). Courtesy the artist. About the Exhibition Nina Chanel Abney’s site-specific mural, Cafeteria 2 , was first unveiled alongside her solo exhibition at moCa, Big Butch Synergy (Jan 27-Jun 11, 2023). This mural incorporates elements from Big Butch Synergy and expands on Fishing Was His Life , her series of collages inspired by Gordon Parks’s photographs documenting the 1940s fishing industry in Gloucester, MA and at New York City’s Fulton Fish Market. Abney transports audiences to a bustling cafeteria to explore themes of desire, loathing, and personal value in relation to gender and racial identity. Within this marketplace, sneakers, basketballs, and other goods are balanced by images of figures and price tags. She encourages visitors to think about how these goods are often read as masculine, contributing to the social dynamics that impact gender performance. Price tags connecting to the objects and figures highlight capitalism as a dominant power structure that we use to assign value to individuals based on race, class, gender, and social status. At the base of this larger-than-life image, the artist includes “I AM,” paying homage to the pivotal “I Am A Man” signage used in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike during the Civil Rights Movement. By notably omitting the word “man,” Abney leaves space for her experiences; she shines a light on discriminatory systems that work to maintain heteronormative ideals–beliefs that assume heterosexuality as the default sexual orientation–while also highlighting how the objects depicted have supported the formation of her identity as a Black, queer, masculine-of-center woman. This omission opens up the phrase as a resource for self-advocacy, while also reminding us about how our biased systems continue to center certain identities over others. Lead support for Cafeteria 2 provided by Joanne Cohen & Morris Wheeler. Additional support provided by The Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation. About the Artist NIna Chanel Abney Nina Chanel Abney Nina Chanel Abney (b. 1982, Chicago) strives to signal narratives that speak to topics on politics, heritage, race, sexuality, and celebrity. The figures in her works typically appear as heavily stylized, graphic, geometric shapes against vivid backgrounds overlaid with symbols and patterns. Known for her frenetic, large-scale paintings, Abney has recently been commissioned to transform the Lincoln Center’s new David Geffen Hall’s façade in New York, drawing from the cultural heritage of the neighborhood previously known as San Juan Hill that comprised African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Puerto Rican families, which she similarly did recently for a public mural at the new Miami World Center inspired by Overtown, a historic Black neighborhood in Miami. Her first solo exhibition debuted in 2017 at Nasher Museum of Art, North Carolina, and subsequently toured to Chicago Cultural Center; Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and the California African American Museum; and the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York. Recent exhibitions include The Gordon Parks Institute (2022), The Art Gallery of New South Wales (2021), ICA Boston (2020), The Contemporary Dayton (2019), The Norton Museum of Art (2019), and Palais de Tokyo (2018). Her work is in the collections of MoMA New York, The Rubell Family Collection, The Brooklyn Museum, Bronx Museum and the Burger Collection, Hong Kong. Exhibition Materials ▶ Wall Text ▶ Gallery Guide ▶ Videos Installation Images Nina Chanel Abney, Cafeteria 2 . Installation view at moCa Cleveland, 2023. Photo: Jacob Koestler
- BlackBrain-SCRD-GRDN
Feb 2-May 26, 2024 BlackBrain SCRD GRDN Feb 2-May 26, 2024 ∆ BlackBrain, Diamond Heart , mural in process, 2024. ∆ BlackBrain, Diamond Heart , mural in process, 2024. BlackBrain SCRD GRDN Feb 2-May 26, 2024 ∆ BlackBrain, Diamond Heart , mural in process, 2024. SCRD GRDN is a new project by BlackBrain and guest artists from Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center, Unidos por el Arte. Representing a metamorphosis from lone artist into collective creative force and guided by the mantra "go fast, go alone; go far, go together," BlackBrain Group transforms solitary endeavors into dynamic collaborations grounded in a shared passion for storytelling through art. SCRD GRDN is an immersive painting installation about the resolute human spirit and its existential journey through oppression, justice, prosperity, and divine understanding. Fusing artistic styles and techniques, the series meditates on the interplay and influence between the inner self and the external forces that shape our existence. Each work includes symbolic, complex images floating within black voids, suggesting fertile seeds of existence that hold and balance tensions such as joy and melancholy, control and chaos, movement and stillness. Drawing inspiration from the awe and grandeur of Renaissance frescoes and monumental stained glass windows, the installation seeks to embody and express sacred meaning today. Comprehensively, SCRD GRDN creates a visual sanctuary where the diverse voices and experiences of the artists–and also, importantly, audience members–converge, intermingle, and resonate. As the artists’ encourage, “Join us on this visual odyssey—a journey that surpasses the conventional, ushering in a new era of shared experiences and inner growth.” SCRD GRDN is a project of moCa’s institutional and early career artist residency with the Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center (JDBCAC) from January 2023-May 2024. Situated within the heart of Cleveland’s Brooklyn Centre neighborhood, JDBCAC is an organization committed to the transformational power of preserving, educating, and promoting Latino heritage through history, culture, and the arts. JDBCAC occupies and engages spaces on moCa’s first and third floors in relation to its mission and work, and co-designs programming with moCa aimed at nurturing the next generation of artistic voices, providing a platform for Cuyahoga County-based residency artists to present their creations in a group exhibition at moCa Cleveland last season. advance the work of Latino/a/x artists and artists of color and provide new professional development opportunities. In 2023, BlackBrain artist Ariel Vergez took on the role of mentor artist to a new generation of artist voices involved in the moCa/JDBCAC early career artist residency, providing a platform for Cuyahoga County-based residency artists to present their creations in the group exhibition ¡Juntos! last year. Vergez, with his experience and innovative spirit, guided these emerging artists, illustrating the reciprocal relationship between mentor and mentee. Generous support provided by Margaret Cohen & Kevin Rahilly, The Cleveland Foundation, and the Callahan Foundation About the Artist BlackBrain Ariel Vergez, aka BlackBrain, is a seasoned artist with a rich heritage and a passion for storytelling through art. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Florida, BlackBrain is the child of two immigrants who came to the United States in search of opportunity and met each other while working in the service industry. Growing up in a household where art was a daily presence, BlackBrain pursued his passion for art at the collegiate level, studying Industrial Design at the Cleveland Institute of Art. With a background in product and graphic design, BlackBrain has worked with world-class brands and has a keen understanding of the importance of storytelling in design. He has fused that experience towards his first love art. This experience is evident in BlackBrain’s art series, which feature unique narratives, a cross-wiring of pop culture icons, and a vuja dé feeling of nostalgia. BlackBrain layers allegory, pop culture, and history to create new and at times, bizarre stories that inflect on the ‘remembered.’ Over the past decade, BlackBrain has been featured in a plethora of shows and has created a range of concentration of subject matter. He has completed a slew of murals worldwide, many of them focused in Los Angeles and Miami, his previous homes. BlackBrain is particularly known for his ability to tell stories through his art, which is a reflection of his pursuit to expound parody and symbolism as key tools to his method of creating rich visual stories. With a portfolio that spans across different mediums and styles, BlackBrain continues to push the boundaries of what art can be and challenge our perceptions of the world around us. His art is a dissection of ancient and pop cultural story telling. It work has a diversity that makes his art so unique and relate-able while maintaing mystery and depth. Installation Images BlackBrain, SCRD GRDN. Installation views at moCa Cleveland, 2024. Photos: Jacob Koestler
- ■ Events at moCa Cleveland
Explore art and yourself at moCa events. New art, new perspectives, and new connections: find the right fit for you. Free activities in Cleveland, art talks, and parties to explore your creative side. Events Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Explore art and yourself at moCa events: find the right fit for you. February 21, 2026 Art in the Open: Nature Walk & Artist Talk An indoor/outdoor engagement experience presented by moCa Cleveland in partnership with Cleveland Metroparks. + more February 28, 2026 Silent Disco: Red Light Special A silent disco where art, sound, and style collide. + more March 7, 2026 Family Canvas: Art in Nature A nature-based exploration of art with moCa and the Cleveland Metroparks + more Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more All Events ↓ All Events moCa NOW moCa Saturday Parties Talks
- ArtWorks Live!: The Future in Progress | moCa Cleveland
Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Fri. May 2, 2025 ArtWorks Live!: The Future in Progress 5-8PM at moCa Cleveland Free to all Experience bold ideas, art in motion, and emerging voices. Shop inspired student creations and connect with the next generation of artists. Presented by













