Cleveland's most innovative arts festival will transform its historic industrial space into a crucible of creativity this fall. IngenuityFest 2025: Forging the Future this Friday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 28, takes a look back at Cleveland’s manufacturing heritage and looks ahead to future innovative technology—served up with a hefty dose of music, art, and creativity.

Ingenuity Fest 2023As Ingenuity Cleveland closes out its 20^th season of programming with a 100,000 square foot expansion of IngenuityLabs, visitors to IngenuityFest 2025 can forge ahead into the future and explore the newly expanded footprint through 10 themed festival villages like Forging & Fire Arts, and Making & Technology, while participating in hands-on activities in Family Village.

This year’s festival includes marquee exhibits like The Fire Guys LLC, comprised of Matt Hummel and Nate Clark, a flame effect company specializing in the design, creation, building, and display of fire art; The Urban Forge’s Mechanique Biotique, which teaches blacksmithing; 10K Movement, empowering youth and young adults with deep knowledge of Street Dance styles, immersive cultural experiences, and professional opportunities; and 28 featured exhibits.

There will be six stages with live music, dance, spoken word, and danceable DJ sets, as well as street dancing, aerial and acrobatic performances by regional and touring talent, workshops and maker activities for all ages, visionary projects from local artists, inventors, and entrepreneurs, and interactive exhibits exploring the tools, trades, and technologies shaping our future. More than 40 artist vendors will sell their creations throughout the weekend.

A city and organization in ascent
"Forging the future really speaks to a couple of things," explains Emily Appelbaum, Ingenuity's executive artistic director. "First of all, I think there is a moment that Cleveland is in where we are picking ourselves up and continuing to drive ahead with some really big and exciting projects in the city, and certainly in our [St. Clair Superior] neighborhood."

Ingenuity Fest 2024.The festival reflects both Cleveland's urban renaissance and Ingenuity's own evolution as an organization. After 20 years of growth, Appelbaum says they've reached a pivotal moment. "As we finally close out the chapter where we are figuring out who to become next, I would say we have become it. We have a very clear path for what's ahead of us."

Appelbaum talks about facility upgrades that will allow for the creation of a robotics arena, updated classrooms, and establishing the Hamilton Collaborative as the main pillar of the creative and industrial community that is thriving in the neighborhood.

Industrial heritage meets future innovations
IngenuityFest’s historic venue is more than just a backdrop. The building’s original tenant, Osborn Manufacturing, was founded in 1887 and grew into one of the world's largest industrial brush and foundry machine manufacturers by the 1940s.

“We opened up the boiler room and let people see what that was like,” says Appelbaum, noting that Ingenuity is embracing the antiquity. “We have the old enameling and bake ovens that are still on display.

Ingenuity Fest 2024.“We've got art pieces hung from cranes—we are so proud to have a space like this,” she continues. “It is wild that we, as a group of artists and creatives, are able to control this 300,000 square foot factory and use it as a force for social good.”

The 300,000-square-foot space will showcase both traditional crafts and emerging technologies at Ingenuity Fest 2025. Attendees will see blacksmiths, glassblowers, and representatives from old-school makers like Lincoln Electric along with modern-day industry exhibitors like NASA and the Kent State Design Innovation Hub.

Forging and fire
Several additions to Ingenuity 2025 distinguish the event from previous years, says Appelbaum. "I think it really is that focus on the welding, and the forging, and the fire, and the glass blowing,” she says. “These things being presented in a new way as part of our city's history and again, part of where we're going."

For instance, among the standout installations is a creation by industrial engineer Gazelle Dasti, whose work fuses the worlds of art and technology.

Ingenuity Fest 2024."She's bringing a giant head that is all wired up like that image of how your cranium would light up with an idea,” as Appelbaum describes it. “She's built that 20 feet tall."

The festival will also feature about a dozen new large-scale installations, including interactive mushrooms that respond to visitors' proximity and light up accordingly. Artist Bob Drake returns with "Organism," a pipe organ installation.

Hands-on future skills
A major emphasis this year is workforce development and career exploration. IngenuityFest will partner with Argonaut, the maritime and air educational nonprofit, to offer drone racing experiences.

"It’s just a little obstacle course and a roped off area with a professional licensed drone pilot,” explains Appelbaum, “and folks will get to try out the drones and navigate them through a course themselves."

Appelbaum says the programming intentionally blends entertainment with education, offering "a lot of pretty intentional workforce development, career exploration, and youth education-type stuff."

Expanding the future
While the festival celebrates the present, Ingenuity is already forging its future with significant facility improvements.

Three major spaces are in development: the Ingenuity Steam Shop, which will serve everything from theater performances to First Robotics teams; the First Impressions Gallery, creating a proper front entrance to the facility; and upgraded teaching classrooms for expanded youth education partnerships.

"There's a huge need in our area for a full-sized First Robotics practice arena,” says Appelbaum, emphasizing Ingenuity's commitment to STEM education. “If you've been to the building outside of the festival, you know that you have had to drive around the back and get sort of complicated instructions.”

First impressions are equally important, says Appelbaum, and renovations will ensure the impression is positive.

Ingenuity Fest 2023“We are looking forward to building a white wall gallery space and true reception area,” she says. “And then we have some teaching classrooms as well that we'll be upgrading to ramp up our partnership with all of our youth education.”

Crucible of creativity
The industrial setting of IngenuityFest isn't just atmospheric—it's philosophical, argues Appelbaum.

"We talk about our building as a ‘crucible of creativity’—it's this place where all kinds of raw materials and people and energy can kind of get mixed together and react and something incredible, strong, beautiful, durable, and resilient comes out of it," she explains.

She adds that the metaphor extends to Cleveland itself, as the city and its creative community emerge stronger from its challenges.

"It is like out of a crucible,” Appelbaum says, adding that as Cleveland continues its transformation and Ingenuity enters its next chapter, this year's festival is both a celebration of how far the city has come and a preview of where it's headed. “We made it through some really wild times and redefined ourselves and now we have this great momentum."

Tickets to Ingenuity 2025: Forging the Future start at $15 for a general admission day pass; $25 for a general weekend pass; $36.65 for the full-share weekend pass (the actual per person cost to produce IngenuityFest); and start at $150 for Angel of Ingenuity memberships. Children aged 12 and under are admitted for free.

Ingenuity Fest 2025 takes place Friday, Sept. 26 from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday, Sept. 27 from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 28 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Ingenuity Cleveland is located at 5401 Hamilton Ave., Cleveland 44114.