The Cleveland Museum of Art Presents 2025 Transformer Station Exhibition Schedule Showcasing Local Artists through Community Partnerships

Cleveland (February 5, 2025)— The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) announces a robust schedule of exhibitions showcasing and supporting Greater Cleveland’s vibrant artistic community at Transformer Station. The 2025 schedule features three major art exhibitions: Love Is Resistance, CMA Artists at Work, and FRONT Fellows Show, along with a series of performances highlighting a talented array of regional artists. 

Transformer Station serves as a near-west-side satellite location for CMA exhibitions and programs, offering distinctive and engaging contemporary art installations, musical and other performances, and a range of programs. Transformer Station also helps fulfill the CMA’s promise to serve as a social and intellectual hub, providing a venue for experimentation in a manner that is most impactful for the community, while complementing the CMA’s work with families at its Community Arts Center (CAC) in the nearby Clark-Fulton neighborhood.

 “Transformer Station offers us a rich opportunity to present emerging and mid-career artists, engage with our community, and create a deeper connection between the CMA’s world-renowned collection and artists working today,” said William M. Griswold, director and president of the Cleveland Museum of Art. “The CMA has deep commitment to Cleveland—both as a marquee museum and in celebration of the vibrant group of artists and arts organizations that call Cleveland home."

2025 Transformer Station Exhibition Schedule

Love Is Resistance

Friday, February 14 through Sunday, April 6, 2025

Free; No Ticket Required

The CMA’s 2025 Transformer Station Exhibition schedule begins with Love Is Resistance, an exhibition organized by the Cleveland Institute of Art and showcasing works created by CIA students, faculty, and alumni. Curated by CIA faculty and Reinberger Gallery staff, the exhibition features artists’ responses to artworks from the CMA’s collection that engage with the concept of resistance from an art historical perspective.

Opening on February 14, 2025, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, Love Is Resistance is an art exhibition and performance event that explores the concept of love as a radical act—one that centers passion, care, knowledge, and community as creative tools to challenge oppressive systems rooted in hate, fear, division, and unjust ideologies. Love Is Resistance calls for building a better world by understanding past histories and approaching one another with persistent care in the face of uncertain futures. 

Opening Night

A special opening night for Love Is Resistance is planned.

Community Welcome

February 14, 4:00—6:00 p.m. 

Free

We invite artists, family, friends and community members to come see Love is Resistance firsthand. No reservations are required.

Beginning at 7:00 p.m., live musical performances from regional artists will begin, amplifying the exhibition’s themes.

Musical Performances

February 14, 7:00 p.m.

Free; reservations required

Limited space is available for these free performances and reservations are required. 

Opening-night performances include the following:

• Minority Threat (Columbus) 
• Kill the Hippies (Cleveland)
• Ritual Sin (Cleveland)
• Private Prisons (Cleveland)
• John Wiese (Los Angeles/Cleveland)

“The Cleveland Institute of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art share a proud history of collaboration, and Love Is Resistance demonstrates how our partnership continues to grow and flourish within a contemporary context,” said CIA President and CEO Kathryn J. Heidemann. “By activating Transformer Station’s galleries with compelling artwork created by CIA students, alumni, and faculty, both our college and the museum will reach new audiences—thus expanding access, reach, and relevance to a broader community.”

CMA Artists at Work 

Friday, June 6, through Sunday, August 3, 2025

Free; No Ticket Required

CMA Artists at Work renews a long-standing CMA tradition of showcasing work from the breadth of local artists who work for the CMA. “I’m absolutely humbled by the depth of our staff’s commitment to art,” said William M. Griswold. “Transformer Station provides a wonderful venue for our staff to exhibit their work.” 

The mission of the CMA is to fulfill its dual roles as one of the world’s most distinguished and comprehensive art museums and one of Northeast Ohio’s principal civic and cultural institutions. With a total staff of more than 450, the museum is proud to present this exhibition featuring the talent of staff from all areas of the museum. 

CMA Artists at Work is organized by the CMA’s exhibition department.

FRONT Fellows Show

Friday, September 12, through Sunday, December 31, 2025

Free; No Ticket Required

The CMA’s 2025 Transformer Station exhibition schedule includes the capstone exhibition of work by the FRONT Art Futures Fellows. The program allows fellows to develop their artistic practice, build their network, and gain exposure to the contemporary art world with substantial financial and professional support. This exhibition culminates a three-year fellowship program that provides professional development opportunities for emerging artists in Northeast Ohio. The exhibition features work by Amanda D. King, Charmaine Spencer, Erykah Townsend, and Antwoine Washington. Launched in 2022, the FRONT Art Futures Fellows were chosen by a national advisory board of curators and artists. The fellowship includes a $25,000 stipend, travel, and financial support for full participation in the planned 2025 FRONT Triennial. The exhibition showcases the work of the four fellows from the years of the fellowship, an adaptation of the originally scheduled four-part program. 

“I am very pleased with the opportunity to feature this important exhibition of Cleveland artists at Transformer Station,” said Fred Bidwell, founder and executive director of FRONT. “These artists are already making names for themselves at the national level, and the FRONT fellowship exhibition promises to be an exciting look at the work of four very different artists who are working at the height of their potential.”

The fellows’ work represents a wide range of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, and installation. The exhibition explores themes of identity, place, and community.

“As a presenting partner for the two editions of FRONT and now the owner of Transformer Station, which was both a venue and an exhibition hub for the two FRONT triennial editions, the CMA is pleased to provide Transformer Station as a venue for the important exhibition,” said Griswold. “We hope that this exhibition inspires similar opportunities for local artists in the future as part of the continuing legacy of the FRONT International initiative.”

Hours of Operation

Transformer Station is open Thursdays through Sundays from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., beginning on February 15, 2025. A limited bar and light snacks are also available for guests after 5:00 p.m. 

2025 Performing Arts

The CMA also showcases a series of performances spanning classical and contemporary music, global music traditions, dance, and film at Transformer Station. The 2025 Transformer Station performing arts Schedule includes the following:

Pipo Romero

Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 7:30–9:00 p.m.

Transformer Station

Ticket Required

Coinciding with the exhibition Picasso and Paper, the CMA is thrilled to welcome Spanish guitarist Pipo Romero to Transformer Station for his Cleveland debut.

Romero, a gifted composer and virtuoso acoustic guitarist from Cádiz, Spain, has become a prominent figure in the acoustic-guitar scene. His unique fusion of styles, labeled “Spanish Acoustic Finger Style,” has garnered praise from critics and journalists. His compositions blend folk, flamenco, Celtic, and classical melodies, creating an emotional and multicultural experience. 

With his third album, Ikigai, released in April 2022, Romero reached #28 on the Transglobal World Music Chart. Ikigai is an ode to Spanish folklore and its crossover with Atlantic folk sounds, composed and performed on a steel-string guitar, full of colors and nuances. Performing internationally, including at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in the US, the World Music Festival Tawain, and the Adriatico Mediterraneo Festival in Italy, he continues to captivate audiences with his vibrant performances.

More information about Pipo Romero can be found on his website.

Alice Street: Film Screening and Director Discussion

Thursday, February 27, 2025, 7:00–9:00 p.m.

Free; Ticket Required

The Cleveland Museum of Art invites you to Transformer Station for a free screening of the award-winning documentary film Alice Street, followed by a discussion led by Spencer Wilkinson, the film’s director, and Desi Mundo who is prominently featured in the film.

In Alice Street, two artists form an unlikely partnership to paint their most ambitious mural to date in Oakland’s downtown, ground zero for gentrification. Their site is situated at a unique intersection where Chinese and Afro-Diasporic communities face the imminent threat of displacement and gentrification. Fraught with challenges, the mural is finally completed to great fanfare and a vibrant celebration. Soon after the mural paint dries, a luxury condo is planned that will obstruct the art and cultural history. The community decides to fight back.

Wilkinson is the founder of Endangered Ideas, a production company based in Oakland, California. Wilkerson directed the feature-length One Voice: The Story of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (2018), which premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival. The film was featured on the PBS News Hour’s Brief but Spectacular series, was one of East Bay Express’s best movies of 2018, and was selected by the 2020 Truly CA series on KQED. Wilkinson’s 2020 film, Alice Street, premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival. After 10 years working in disenfranchised communities focused on supporting gang-involved youth, Wilkinson began a career in community media and documentary filmmaking.

More information about Wilkinson and Alice Street can be found on the film’s website.

Paolo Angeli

Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 7:00–8:30 p.m.

Transformer Station

Ticket Required

Guitarist, composer, ethnomusicologist, and instrument builder Paolo Angeli is associated with traditional Sardinian music, but nobody performs it quite like he does. Angeli composes multilayered music for his unique prepared guitar: a hybrid instrument with strings going in all directions, foot-pedal-controlled motorized propellers, and hammers. He creates shimmering drones and bass lines as he bows, strikes, plucks, and strums the strings. Rhythmic atmospherics abound by treading on a plastic bag and adjusting tunings on the fly. Electronic effects are utilized, but Angeli uses no loops. With his singular instrument, Angeli improvises and composes unclassifiable music, suspended between traditional music of Sardinia, free jazz, flamenco, Arabic, and postfolk.

Angeli has played concerts with his modified guitar all over the world at some of the most important festivals and theaters of Europe, Japan, Australia, North and South America, Russia, and Africa. He has also recorded more than 50 records. He has collaborated with Pat Metheny (who uses Paolo’s guitar in Orchestrion), Fred Frith, Hamid Drake, Iva Bittová, Butch Morris, Ned Rothenberg, Jon Rose, Derek Gripper, Antonello Salis, Evan Parker, Takumi Fukushima, Louis Sclavis, and Paolo Fresu, among others.

For this concert, Paolo is performing songs from his latest albums, including Níjar, Rade, Jar’a, and 22.22 Free Radiohead.

More information about Angeli can be found on his website.

Occidental Gypsy

Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 7:00–8:30 p.m.

Transformer Station
Ticket Required

Internationally renowned, Occidental Gypsy plays an exhilarating blend of gypsy, jazz, and folk music that enraptures listeners with a complex acoustic sound, burnished by smooth vocals reminiscent of the first era of swing. The band’s pioneering approach to gypsy music pays homage to Django Reinhardt and expands the genre to include elements of Western (Occidental) sounds and rhythms, including blues, klezmer, and Latin.

Occidental Gypsy’s original compositions are deeply complex and are often considered a natural evolution of Reinhardt’s sound. The band’s energetic shows have garnered it fans among the most discerning musicians and new gypsy lovers alike. Occidental Gypsy’s performances include original music and classic covers from their latest recording, 44070. Eli Bishop, Occidental Gypsy’s violinist who is a featured soloist on many of the compositions, was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the world’s fastest clapper, a talent that clearly informs his stellar and lively violin playing.

The band has performed to packed houses at the Green Mill, the Jazz Kitchen, World Cafe Live, Old Town School of Folk Music, the Bluebird Cafe, the Ark, and many other venues. In addition, Occidental Gypsy has shared the stage with greats, including Rickie Lee Jones, Jorma Kaukonen, Stanley Jordan, Joe Sample, and David Bromberg, who also said, “These guys have great singing, fantastic guitar and violin work, and high-energy originals that leave the crowd crazy. An awesome band.”

More information about Occidental Gypsy can be found on the band’s website.

City Stages 2025

City Stages, the museum’s acclaimed free outdoor summer concert series featuring the best in global music, also returns to Hingetown this summer. These block parties take place in front of Transformer Station on select Wednesdays in July. Musical performers and dates are announced at a later date.

“Under the ownership of the CMA, Transformer Station is a vibrant center for the visual and performing arts, presenting the work of emerging artists, time-based media, live music, and dynamic social experiences in Ohio City’s Hingetown neighborhood,” continued Griswold. “We invite all to come and experience these wonderful exhibitions and performances.”

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About the Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 66,500 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovations. One of the top comprehensive art museums in the nation, recognized for its award-winning open access program and free of charge to all, the Cleveland Museum of Art is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station.  

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.