Cinematheque to host Cleveland premiere of art criticism documentary ‘Out of the Picture’


The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque will host the Cleveland premiere of “Out of the Picture,” a feature-length documentary film about U.S. art critics that explores a period of dramatic change for art and media. The premiere will be shown this Sunday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m. in the Peter B. Lewis Theater.

Mary Louise SchumacherMary Louise SchumacherDirected by Mary Louise Schumacher, a longtime critic for the “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,” the 98-minute film follows a handful of writers who have made it their life’s work to translate the experiences of art for others.

Schumacher illuminates the role of art criticism in contemporary society and the challenges faced by those who critique.

“‘Out of the Picture’ offers an incisive look at the fragile position of art criticism—and art critics—in an increasingly fragmented media landscape,” says Steven Litt, former art and architecture critic for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com. “It raises questions about whether independent, critical voices can be heard amid a torrent of online content from social media and traditional outlets that are less disposed to support arts criticism. The film is essential viewing for anyone who cares about the future of arts and culture in America.”

Litt will host a Q&A with Schumacher following the screening.

Litt received the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation award for arts journalism in 2020. In 2024, after 33 years of covering architecture, city and regional planning, and Cleveland’s arts scene, he retired to explore new opportunities in writing, reporting, and research.

Out of the PictureOut of the Picture“Steven left a giant hole in the arts writing ecosystem in Ohio when he left his post not so long ago,” says Schumacher. “I am excited to talk to him and others in Cleveland about how arts journalism in the region could be strengthened now and in the future.”

Schumacher says we should decide if we want criticism to become the domain of media outlets on the coasts; and questions who will report on what artists are doing in places like Ohio and the role of the broader community in sustaining a healthy arts ecosystem.

“Our team remains steadfast in our position that the job of discerning what’s genuinely artful, what’s worthy of our collective attention—the pathfinding role of art critics—is as important as ever,” she says.

“Out of the Picture” is currently the centerpiece of a national impact campaign—with screenings in museums, galleries, art schools, and journalism schools—meant to spark community conversations about how to sustain arts journalism.

“As an institution whose mission is to appreciate film as art and as part of the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cinematheque is proud to host this important conversation around art criticism and to welcome the Cleveland arts community and beyond to partake in it,” says Cinematheque director Bilgesu Sisman.

The film made its world premiere at the 2024 Master of Art Film Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria, where it earned a special jury mention, and made its U.S. premiere last April at the 2024 Milwaukee Film Festival. The film has been an official selection at nine festivals in the U.S. and internationally.

Tickets to the Cinematheque screening of “Out of the Picture” on Sunday, Jan. 26 with the Q&A between director Mary Louise Schumacher and Steven Litt are $12; $9 and guests ages 25 and younger; and free for students.

The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque is located at 11610 Euclid Ave., 44106.