Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland launched its 2026 season recently with four new exhibits exploring themes of nature, memory, survival, and responsibility. Guests at he opening reception engaged enthusiastically with the immersive installations by KING COBRA, Sky Hopinka, and other artists.

Cleveland Public Theatre's Test Flight program allows local playwrights to develop new work in front of live audiences and gather real-time feedback. The program gives artists creative freedom and practical support. 2026 Test Flight features "Boxed," a dance theater piece by Elizabeth Pollert that uses movement and cardboard boxes to explore how people are labeled and confined by identity categories.

Cleveland Kurentovanje kicks off this Saturday, Feb. 7, with the Kurent Jump at the Slovenian National Home. The mythical Kurent creatures will be summoned from slumber to chase away winter and usher in spring. The Jump includes traditional Slovenian food, music, and a special lager from Collision Bend Brewing Company.

Ceramic artists from Cleveland Institute of Art, Kent State University, and the University of Akron explore clay as a sculptural and architectural medium, rather than functional vessels in The Sculpture Center's new exhibit, "Surface and Structure: Contemporary Ceramics at the Edge of Form."

The Museum of Contemporary Art (moCa) Cleveland opens its new season this week with four exhibitions that explore humanity's relationship with the natural world through diverse artistic lenses. The exhibits resist simple narratives about environmental crises to offer various perspectives on trauma, responsibility, and repair of ecosystems.

FreshWater writer Jill Sell is inspired by one of the memorial benches established by the Toni Morrison Society's "Bench By The Road" project. Sitting in the winter cold, Sell reflects Morrison's powerful characters and themes while connecting them to personal memories of childhood discrimination.

Cleveland Public Theatre celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Test Flight series with six productions by local playwrights, choreographers, and directors over three weekends. Test Flight offers development of works-in-progress while showcasing diverse voices in CPT, Teatro Público de Cleveland, and Masrah Cleveland Al Arabi.

The Silk Road Cultural Collective preserves the cultural heritage of the ancient trade routes spanning from Asia to Europe with interactive, hands-on experiences. Founded by Cleveland filmmaker Johnny K. Wu, the organization encourages participants to touch, wear, and experience historical artifacts while learning about the diverse cultures along the Silk Road from the 5th to 17th centuries.

FreshWater's Reuben Kutash was curious about Western Reserve Historical Society's Murder Mystery series, so last week he stopped by the Cleveland History Center to participate in "Municipal Murder: The Final Pitch." Read Reuben's take on the interactive whodunit based on 1940s Cleveland baseball, see his photos, and find out how you can get tickets to the next installment.

Tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 24, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., people of all talents and abilities are invited to Waterloo Arts for a Brite Winter workshop to fill in life-sized figures with Day Glo paint  for Cleveland's winter arts and music festival. Brite Winter debuts in its new location in the Waterloo Arts District on February 21.

The Western Reserve Historical Society is about to launch its latest murder mystery event, "Municipal Murder: The Final Pitch," set in the 1948 Cleveland baseball scene. Now in its third year, the immersive series has become a seasonal favorite, offering participants the chance to solve historically-rooted mysteries while learning about different eras of Cleveland's past.

In 1854, Frederick Douglass delivered his only commencement address at Western Reserve College in Hudson, challenging scientific racism and calling for moral courage. Student filmmakers have revived this piece of history through the award-winning documentary "Just and Perfect," just in time for Douglass' great-great-great grandson to visit the campus where the original speech was delivered.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this Monday, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Museum of Art, and CMA's Community Arts Center, will offer free admission and programming to celebrate Dr. King's legacy. The celebrations feature  activities ranging from planetarium shows and wildlife encounters to art-making workshops, live performances, and storytelling sessions. Several other University Circle institutions are also participating, with University Circle Inc. providing free CircleLink shuttle service to all locations.

On Feb. 18, Literary Cleveland and Ohio Humanities will lead organizations throughout Ohio in yearlong celebration honoring Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. The celebration will feature more than 40 events, exploring Morrison's life, literature, and impact on American culture.

As we head into the peak of the holiday season, Downtown Cleveland is the place to be for festive lights, decorations, and winter celebrations.

Danielle McGough, a professional gingerbread house designer who has created holiday structures for major retailers, launched the Jolly Gingerbread Makery Pop-Up Workshop in 78th Street Studios this holiday season. Participants decorate hand-baked gingerbread houses with access to a variety of decorations and optional add-ons like LED lights and edible windows.

For more than 40 years, photojournalist Roger Mastroianni has chronicled Cleveland's arts, healthcare, and corporate landscapes—capturing everything from Cleveland Orchestra performances to hospital operating rooms. Mastroianni's work is a living archive of Cleveland's cultural history and the evolution of photojournalism itself.

"One Art One Community," an art exhibit at Case Western Reserve University's Wade Park Community Engagement Center, showcases 46 works by 16 incarcerated artists from Grafton Correctional Institution. The exhibit is meant to create meaningful connections between inmates and Cleveland community members. with Community Voice labels written by people impacted by incarceration.

The Shaker Arts Council and Craft Kinship will present a Holiday Art Market at Van Aken District on Saturday, Dec. 13, featuring works by Cleveland Institute of Art students, alumni, and emerging artists. The one-day event will offer handmade glass, ceramics, jewelry, and other crafts, with 20% of proceeds supporting the Shaker Arts Council.

The Cavaliers have unveiled their 2025-26 City Edition uniforms, featuring orange and yellow hues inspired by autumn sunsets at Edgewater Beach and across the trails on Cleveland Metroparks' 25,000 acres.