Rain, shine, snow, sleet, or hail, Clevelanders embrace the unpredictable winter we have come to know and love. Case in point: Brite Winter, a free music and arts festival that defies even the coldest temperatures and invites people of all ages to brave the elements. Slated for this Saturday, February 24, this year’s event features more than 45 bands and is projected to attract 20,000 attendees to the West Bank of the Flats.

Today marks the start of the Cleveland Institute of Art’s 72nd Student Independent Exhibition (SIE). Through March 18, this annual exhibition will be presenting over 100 works of art—from paintings to drawing to ceramics to video—at the Reinberger Gallery. Gallery director Nikki Woods says the exhibition is designed to "remind us of the importance of playful experimentation and the need to take chances, and to question the status quo."

The juro... Read more >

“A lot of people take for granted that this little special Japanese print gallery is in Cleveland,” says Michael Verne, who took over the gallery more than 30 years ago. “This is the one place in the world that you can see some of the highest-quality Japanese prints.”

The Coventry P.E.A.C.E. Campus and the nonprofit groups working out of the building will remain in the former Coventry School building after Heights Libraries opts to buy the property from the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District for $1, saving the grounds from possible commercial development.

Fresh Water's monthly "Free Stamp" feature rounds up the freshest free events in Cleveland.

It’s Liz Maugans’ first official day as Director of YARDS Projects at Worthington Yards—a bold new space in the Warehouse District that combines four apartment buildings with public art and an art gallery. Her to-do list is long, and it ends with making Cleveland the global arts destination.

Touted as “part play, part town hall meeting,” How to End Poverty in 90 minutes (with 119 people you may or may not know) explores the complex subject of poverty through the eyes of art. A collaboration between Cleveland Public Theatre, United Way of Greater Cleveland, and Sojourn Theatre, the 90-minute experimental play runs from January 24-28 at Gordon Square Theatre and is fully sold out.

When EDWINS founder Brandon Chrostowski told documentarian Thomas Lennon that he was "opening the greatest French restaurant in the country, in Cleveland,’” that alone was enough to pique Lennon’s interest—but then Chrostowski told him the restaurant would be staffed entirely by people just out of prison. “I knew in 10 seconds there was a film,” says Lennon.

From Christina Sadowski’s perspective, there is no better vantage point of the Cleveland skyline than from a purple kayak at the crack of dawn. Her upcoming photography exhibition, “Reflections of Cleveland,” is the product of Sadowski’s kayak jaunts on Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River—and what her camera captured along the way.

Cleveland-based artist Loren Naji made waves at ArtPrize in 2016 with EMOH, a spherical sculpture and temporary living space made of found objects, garbage, and remnants of abandoned or demolished Ohio and Michigan homes. Now he's set to take it on the road this year in U.S. cities with large homeless populations—starting in New York in March during the Independent Air Fair.

Find out more about this socially conscious sphere here.

As anyone who attended the Cavs championship parade knows, the Land knows how to throw a party—and with multiple centennial celebrations over the past few years, there has certainly been a lot to celebrate. The party continues into 2018 as a number of Cleveland institutions, organizations, and businesses mark major milestones.

The best things in life are free, indeed, and our monthly "Free Stamp" feature rounds up all of the free #CLE events that get our "stamp" of approval. See what's on tap for January here. 
 

From Nela Park to Public Square, Cleveland is full-on festive when it comes to the holidays. Fresh Water managing photographer Bob Perkoski set out to capture our city in all of its glittery glory this holiday season.
 

For many longtime Clevelanders, the holidays conjure up memories of downtown shopping tips to the former Higbee’s Department Store in Public Square. Images of ornate arches, ribbons, and even Bruce the Spruce come to mind in the holiday season.The historic 1931 Higbee Building at 100 Public Square seems to bring up nostalgic memories at all times of the year, with current office tenants like Quicken Loans incorporating Higbee’s décor into its modern office desig... Read more >

In early October, Cleveland became the first northern port city to sign a memo of understanding with Cuba’s maritime administration—effectively paving the way for future trade possibilities. The agreement makes a fitting cap for what has been a year of rich synergy between Cleveland and Cuba across the spectrum, from art to entrepreneurship to architecture to dance.

Interested in learning more about Cleveland's rich history? Point your GPS toward Cleveland Starts Here, the new permanent exhibit opening tomorrow at Cleveland History Center.

According to director Angie Lowrie, Cleveland Starts Here will cover the time period from the city's origins in the 1790s all the way through the Cavs taking home the gold in 2016.

"We used to have a core exhibit that talked about the early history of the Western Reserve, but ... Read more >

If your idea of the perfect gift is a locally made one, Cleveland doesn't disappoint. From a Black Friday event at 78th Street Studios to a CIA student art sale, these six shows offer the best of locally made products and art.