Best Places to Take Art Lovers in Cleveland

Art lovers in Cleveland have an abundance of destinations to explore. Whether you’re interested in historic art, modern art, or even creating art of your own, you’ll find destinations here that cater perfectly to your needs. You can view expansive sculpture galleries, visit intimate studios, attend immersive workshops, or even harvest the materials for local paper-making projects in this city. Here are some of the must-see spots for art lovers in Cleveland.

The Cleveland Museum of Art

“Vols-Colonna family field armor – Cleveland Museum of Art” by Tim Evanson is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The Cleveland Museum of Art is a free attraction that gives visitors access to stunning pieces from artists as notable as Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Renoir, Botticelli, Dali, and Caravaggio. The museum’s collection includes over 45,000 works of art.

The museum makes a statement the moment you walk in with its soaring glass atrium that’s a work of art in its own right. As you explore, you’ll find a vast range of intriguing galleries. You can view the Egyptian coffins of Bakenmut and Nesykhonsu, a colorful collection of Tiffany glass, nearly 500 pieces of African art, and an entire Armor Court showcasing helmets, swords, and suits of armor. The museum also features numerous touring exhibitions, so you can explore something new on each visit.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland

The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, or moCa Cleveland, is a unique facility in that it doesn’t collect art. Rather, this ever-changing display continually celebrates the artists of our time, showcasing what’s new and modern today. MoCa Cleveland has showcased over 2,000 artists since 1968, maintaining an engaging rotation that always stays fresh.

Admission to the museum is free, so you can easily drop in no matter how much time you can devote to your visit. In addition to its displays, moCa Cleveland also features workshops, talks, and live performances.

78th Street Studios

Spanning 170,000 square feet, 78th Street Studios is the largest art and design complex in the region. It houses performance spaces, art galleries, music recording studios, and more. These facilities can accommodate nearly any type of creation, making them an art lover’s dream.

Inside 78th Street Studios, you’ll find 14 art galleries to explore. The building also houses working studios for over a dozen artists. You can come here to browse the latest pieces, commission works of your own, or hire professionals for conservation services, custom framing, or even clothing design. Take the time to explore it all.

FIG / Future Ink Graphics

FIG is a fascinating makerspace for graphic designers, digital artists, and silkscreen artists. While you can certainly stop in to view the rotating exhibitions here, this unique destination also invites you to step up and take a hand in making pieces of your own.

Art lovers can partake in their passion at any skill level at FIG. Beginners can sign up for classes and workshops, while more skilled artists can participate in advanced career workshops or purchase a membership for access to the studio’s powerful equipment and software. Stop by the Art Store to take home a stunning original from one of the artists in the studio, or become one of those artists yourself. The options are endless in this inspiring and versatile space.

Morgan Conservatory

The Morgan Conservatory is a vast arts center dedicated to letterpress printing, papermaking, and book arts. Inside the 15,000-square-foot space, you’ll find a double-wall gallery spanning 85 feet with rotating exhibitions as well as working studios and a large event space. The conservatory even features a kozo garden. The kozo, or paper mulberry tree, is used widely for paper making. The annual kozo harvest here takes place around November.

If you’re interested in learning more about paper arts, you’ll find a variety of workshops at the Morgan Conservatory. Admission to the conservatory itself is free, and workshops are priced individually.

The Sculpture Center

If you’re fascinated by the bold three-dimensional aspect of sculptures, you won’t want to miss the displays at The Sculpture Center. This facility was founded in 1989. It highlights mixed media, expanded media, three-dimensional forms, and performance art. Each year, The Sculpture Center’s keystone program selects between four and six artists who are within the first decade of their careers. These artists have the opportunity to put forth a solo exhibition.

Though you may start your exploration with the stunning pieces on display within the center, you’ll also find the resources you need to take your tour beyond these walls. The Sculpture Center maintains a database of around 1,500 outdoor sculptures in Ohio that are accessible to the public. While the center often hosts talks at the facility, it also offers artist-guided tours of sculptures elsewhere in Cleveland. Admission to The Sculpture Center is free.

Zygote Press

Zygote Press supports printmaking arts, offering a gallery, archive, education center, and studio. The facility provides the tools and equipment for screen printing, relief printing, letterpress, intaglio, and Risography.

Zygote is open to the public by appointment only, so you’ll need to book ahead to tour the space. The best way to experience Zygote is through a class or workshop. You can find classes at all levels that will introduce you to intriguing new forms of printmaking art.

Bonfoey Gallery

If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind piece from a local artist, the Bonfoey Gallery is a great place to start your search. The building features a street-level gallery and a lower-level gallery. The third floor is home to a massive framing department that offers all the services you need to properly display any masterpiece that you might purchase.

The Bonfoey Gallery hosts a variety of rotating exhibitions that highlight original regional artwork. You may find still lifes, portraits, landscapes, abstracts, photography, and sculptures. Come back often to see what’s new.

Do you know of a great art destination in the Cleveland area that we missed? Contact our team at Kia of Streetsboro and let us know so we can check it out. We want to make sure we always have the best recommendations in the city, so we can tell our customers where to go when they drive off the lot.