On Friday, September 30, dancer and choreographer Maureen Fleming will kick off the museum’s 2011–2012 VIVA! & Gala performing arts series with her highly anticipated performance piece Black Madonna.

Members Pat Ashton and Moira and Wulf Utian at Cincinnati Museum Center

By Jeanne Marie Stumpf, MS, PhD
Museum member

Certainly, institutions that benefit from hundreds of hours of volunteer help, such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, can attest to the importance of volunteers. Studies now show that the volunteers themselves also reap advantages, including expanding their social networks, building their resumes, enjoying healthier lifestyles, and traveling the world.

This Saturday, June 25 is the museum's annual Summer Solstice Party. Get ready for all the excitement by listening to past Solstice sounds below: Solstice soundbite

By Allison Tillinger Schmid
Membership Assistant

In preparation for the Cleveland Museum of Art's Parade the Circle, stilt walkers practice their moves. Don't forget: Parade the Circle is Saturday, June 11. Parade begins at noon, and Circle Village will be open on Wade Oval from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. See you at the Parade!

As they prepare for the Cleveland Museum of Art’s 2011 Parade the Circle, six guest artists sprawl their talents out across the large outdoor tent, combining sculpture, painting, scenic design, construction, and clothing design to collaborate on the three giant puppets that will tell the Hindu myth of Shakuntala, the love story of a cursed princess.

We're just one week away from Parade the Circle 2011. To get you in the mood, enjoy the festive sounds of steel drums for last year's parade. This year look for more music among the participants. Hope to see you there! parade_steeldrums

By Cindy Fink Director of Marketing and Communications Performance and music are a major part of the museum’s annual Summer Solstice Party, this year happening on Saturday, June 25 from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Exciting, eclectic music never stops once it starts at the party, and it’s no easy feat to organize all. So, we caught up with Tom Welsh, who masterfully envisions and secures the performance lineup, to ask him for a bit of insight into his work on the party. Q.