New Exhibition at Transformer Station Celebrates the Cleveland Museum of Art’s 110th Birthday

CLEVELAND (June 30, 2026)—As the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) looks toward its next century, a new exhibition honors the artists, audiences, and creative communities that have shaped its past while looking ahead to the future. Lake Effect: Artists from Cleveland Now, a juried exhibition, celebrates the region’s rich artistic legacy and the museum’s enduring role as a place of inspiration, connection, and discovery. This free exhibition is on view from July 9 through December 6, 2026, at Transformer Station, 1460 West 29th Street, in Cleveland’s Hingetown neighborhood. 

“Earlier this year, the CMA invited artists from the greater Cleveland area to submit their art for a group exhibition,” said Nadiah Rivera Fellah, curator of contemporary art. “The response to this call was itself testament to the museum’s history and ongoing vitality: We received 1,700 submissions from 950 artists, reflecting a region rich in artistic excellence and vision.” 

From this remarkable pool, a panel of jurors selected 66 artworks, forming an exhibition that honors the breadth of creative voices shaping Cleveland today. The selected artworks collectively map a contemporary landscape shaped by local histories, global currents, and the unique cultural ecology of Northeast Ohio.  

Diverse in media and perspectives, the artworks selected include painting, photography, prints, works on paper, sculpture, fiber art, jewelry, and video. The Lake Effect jury sought to reflect the rich diversity of artistic practices across the Cleveland metropolitan area, bringing together artists of varying backgrounds, generations, career stages, perspectives, and mediums to represent the creative community as holistically as possible. 

“This exhibition offers an opportunity to discover artists whose work may be unfamiliar, while also revealing the remarkable creative talent that exists within our own circles—among friends, colleagues, neighbors, and fellow community members,” said Fellah. “By bringing these voices together, we hope to deepen appreciation for the breadth of artistic practice across the region and to strengthen the connections between artists and the communities they help shape.” 

Participating Artists:  

Marty Ackley, Keegan Adams, Elisa Albrecht, Leslye Discont Arian, Karen D. Beckwith, Eli Betchik, Melissa Bollen, Davon Brantley, Leigh Brooklyn, Timothy Callaghan, Yiyun Chen, David Kendrick Chittock, Kristen Cliffel, Donna Coleman, Doriyan Coleman, Gianna Commito, Ajha Dean-Phillips, Billy Delfs, Avery Duff, Meryl Engler, Charles Gray, Toby Griffiths, Ilynn Guldman, Melissa Harris, Bettyann Helms, Heather Higham, Matthew Holland, R Kauff, Teresa Kiplinger, Phil Kline, Stanka Kordic, Shufeng Kuang, Maria Laureno, Jennifer Leach, Jordan Lee, Janice Lessman-Moss, Hannah Levengood, Amy Lewandowski, Yu Liu, Nicole Maye Luga, Mike Meier, Anthony Mitri, Nicolette Moyer, Paul O’Keeffe, Jenniffer Omaitz, Frank Oriti, Kristina Paabus, Maxmillian Peralta, Allison Polgar, Darice Polo, Maiya Ponsky, Shawn Powell, Bellamy Printz, Ty Rex, Katy Richards, Eric Rippert, Michael Boyd Roman, Brian Sarama, Glen Schreck, Kelle Schwab, Jacob Smith, Heather N. Stout, Judy Takács, Zack White, Chi Wong, and Nikki Woods. 

Transformer Station is open Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 12:00–6:00 p.m., and Fridays 12:00–8:00 p.m.  

On July 17, 2026, Transformer Station remains open until 9:00 p.m. allowing visitors of the Hingetown neighborhood to view Lake Effect and the opening of ArtsPass Members’ Exhibition at SPACES.  

This exhibition is organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art. 

All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Principal annual support is provided by Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder, the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, the John and Jeanette Walton Exhibition Fund, and Margaret and Loyal Wilson. Major annual support is provided by the late Dick Blum and Harriet Warm and the Frankino-Dodero Family Fund for Exhibitions Endowment. Generous annual support is provided by two anonymous donors, Gini and Randy Barbato, Cynthia and Dale Brogan, Dr. Ben and Julia Brouhard, Brenda and Marshall Brown, Gail and Bill Calfee, the Leigh H. Carter family, Dr. William A. Chilcote Jr. and Dr. Barbara S. Kaplan, Mary and Jim Conway, Joseph and Susan Corsaro, Ron and Cheryl Davis, Richard and Dian Disantis, the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, Florence Kahane Goodman, Martha H. and Steven M. Hale, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Linda Harper, Robin Heiser, the late Marta and the late Donald M. Jack Jr., the estate of Walter and Jean Kalberer, Robert M. Kaye, Jane and Doug Kern, the late Mrs. Nancy M. Lavelle, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce Litzler, the Roy Minoff Family Fund, Lu Anne and the late Carl Morrison, Mrs. Peta and the late Dr. Roland Moskowitz, Jeffrey Mostade and Eric Nilson and Varun Shetty, Sarah Nash, Courtney and Michael Novak, Mark and Paula Nylander, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, Dr. Nicholas and Anne Ogan, William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill, Henry Ott-Hansen, the Pickering Foundation, Frank and Fran Porter, Christine Fae Powell, Peter and Julie Raskind, Michael and Cindy Resch, Marguerite and James Rigby, in memory of Dee Schafer, Betty T. and David M. Schneider, Elizabeth and Tim Sheeler, Saundra K. Stemen, Paula and Eugene Stevens, the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Claudia Woods and David Osage. 

The Cleveland Museum of Art is funded in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. 

This exhibition was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

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About the Cleveland Museum of Art 

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 68,000 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 innovation. One of the leading encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and free of charge to all. The museum 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.