Press releases and announcements from Ohio's arts organizations
Short North Stage has announced its 2026-27 season, its largest eight-show lineup in the company’s 15-year history, featuring Pippin, Sweeney Todd, Dear Evan Hansen, and Mean Girls.
Read moreThe Taft Museum of Art presents Beyond the Picturesque, an exhibition by 2026 Duncanson Artist-in-Residence Ayana Ross, on view April 11–July 26, coinciding with the program’s 40th anniversary.
Read moreThe Cincinnati Art Museum and Taft Museum of Art will each present separate retrospectives of Charley and Edie Harper’s work, opening in October 2026.
Read moreThe Cincinnati Art Museum will present approximately 150 works by mid-century nature illustrator Charley Harper, including National Park Service paintings, from October 2026 through March 2027.
Read moreThe Cincinnati Art Museum will host Yayoi Kusama’s immersive Infinity Mirror Room installation from July 17 through October 18, 2026, on loan from the Dallas Museum of Art.
Read moreBalletMet presents the world premiere of artistic director Remi Wörtmeyer’s first full-length ballet, relocating Puccini’s La Bohème to 1920s New Orleans, May 13-17 at the Davidson Theatre in Columbus.
Read moreCrumbley Comedy Toledo produced 21 live comedy and performance events in April 2026, operating out of venues across Toledo including Barn, Cheri’s, Cigar Spirits, Home Slice, and False Chord. The home base for the operation is Toledo Spirits Company. More information at crumbleycomedy.com.
Read moreHeights Arts and Land Studio are installing six murals along the Cedar Lee corridor in Cleveland Heights this summer, officially launching the Cedar Lee Arts District. The project celebrates Cedar Lee’s identity as a hub for visual arts, film, theater, dining, and retail. Mural artist finalists are forthcoming. The initiative builds on Heights Arts’ ongoing […]
Read moreToledo Opera is marking National Teacher Day (May 6, 2026) by spotlighting three cornerstone education programs serving pre-K through high school students across Northwest Ohio. An Opera Is A Story brings pre-K workshops directly into classrooms, introducing young learners to storytelling through opera. Opera on Wheels delivers live opera performances to more than 60 schools […]
Read more934 Gallery, an all-volunteer-run space in Columbus, Ohio, has been voted #3 Art Gallery in Columbus by 614 Magazine readers as part of the ColumBest 2026 awards, out of nearly 20 galleries city-wide.
Read moreProMusica Chamber Orchestra announced its 48th season under Music Director David Danzmayr, featuring seven programs at the Southern Theatre from October 2026 through May 2027.
Read moreGreat Lakes Theater’s 2026-27 season spans Shakespeare, Sondheim, and a new production of Les Misérables at Cleveland’s Hanna Theatre.
Read moreBalletMet Columbus presents La Bohème May 13–17 at Davidson Theatre, with choreography by new Artistic Director Remi Wörtmeyer and live music by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
Read moreThe Tipp City Area Arts Council will hold its inaugural fundraiser, A Decadent Affair, on May 9, 2026 at the Tipp Center in Tipp City. The event features wine tastings from three local wineries, food from area caterers and pâtisseries, live music, and art displays with works for sale by ten local artists. VIP admission begins at 5:00 p.m. with general admission from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Featured wineries include Dragonfly Winery, Old School House Winery and Old Mason Winery. A raffle and art sales will support the council mission. Tickets are available online at tippcityartscouncil.com.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art drew more than 800,000 visitors in 2025 and is preparing to reopen its redesigned ArtLens Gallery this summer, featuring AI tools and immersive experiences.
Read moreAn exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art traces magical practices from ancient Egypt through the Roman Empire, running through July 5 in the Glass Pavilion.
Read moreNationally recognized poet and arts leader Barbara Fant has been named the next executive director of Thurber House. She will assume the role in September, bringing over 20 years of experience in the arts and nonprofit sector. Fant’s appointment marks a new chapter for the Columbus-based literary arts organization. She has a history of community engagement and a focus on using arts for healing and connection. Her arrival precedes the 25th Thurber Prize for American Humor awards ceremony and the organization’s summer programming.
Read moreThe Columbus Museum of Art will open ‘Tavares Strachan: The Day Tomorrow Began’ on May 16 at The Pizzuti, the first major U.S. museum survey of the Bahamian conceptual artist.
Read more‘East of the Pacific: Making Histories of Asian American Art’ opens April 15 at the Columbus Museum of Art, presenting works by more than 30 artists spanning the mid-19th century to today.
Read morePlayhouse Square unveiled its 2026-2027 Broadway season featuring seven productions, opening with the premiere tour of ‘Death Becomes Her’ in September 2026.
Read moreBeck Center for the Arts unveiled a six-show 2026-27 season including a world premiere comedy by Cleveland playwright Eric Coble and regional premieres of How to Dance in Ohio and Dear Evan Hansen.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art opens three new exhibitions in May and fills the month with performances, lectures, and community events.
Read moreCleveland City Council legislation would allow 21+ patrons to carry drinks outdoors in the Playhouse Square theater district.
Read morePlayhouse Square has announced nominees for its 2026 Dazzle Awards, with a record 44 Northeast Ohio high schools participating and the ceremony set for May 16 at the KeyBank State Theatre.
Read moreThe Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown is showing 30 silkscreen prints and monoprints by Neo-African Expressionist Danny Simmons, on view through July 26, 2026.
Read moreFinnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali is reported to be the Cleveland Orchestra’s choice to succeed Franz Welser-Möst as music director.
Read moreKent State University’s 2026 May 4 commemoration included a student art exhibition, Neil Young tribute concert, and dedication of the Alan Canfora May 4 Collection, marking the 56th anniversary of the 1970 campus shootings.
Read moreSPACES gallery in Cleveland hosted the return of its Monster Drawing Rally on April 26, 2026, with more than 75 artists creating and selling work in live timed sessions.
Read moreThe Sculpture Center in Cleveland opens concurrent exhibitions by Gary Sczerbaniewicz and Ling-lin Ku, both running through June 6, 2026.
Read moreThe BorderLight Theatre Festival will present 120 performances of 43 shows across Cleveland’s Playhouse Square District from July 8–11, 2026.
Read moreBeck Center for the Arts in Lakewood will stage Alice By Heart, featuring 22 student performers ages 12-18, running May 1-10, 2026 at the Senney Theater.
Read moreThe Akron Art Museum is hosting “History is Painted by the Victors,” a retrospective of over 30 large-scale paintings by Cree artist Kent Monkman, through August 16, 2026.
Read moreA co-production with Milwaukee Rep, directed by Lou Bellamy, brings Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama to Cincinnati through May 3.
Read moreColumbus artist Mandi Caskey is installing a new large-scale mural on North High Street that pays tribute to the Short North’s beloved 1990 Mona Lisa mural.
Read moreThe Ohio Immigrant Alliance returns for a fourth year to the Columbus Arts Festival on June 13, 2026, featuring artist Salif Sarr and two new books about immigrant experiences in Ohio.
Read moreCleveland Play House and Seattle Rep will co-produce the world premiere of the musical Freak the Mighty, running May 22 through June 21, 2026 at the Allen Theatre.
Read moreThe Columbus Museum of Art has named Cynthia Amoah as its 2026 Aminah Robinson Writing Resident, beginning a three-month studio residency in May.
Read moreThe Greater Columbus Arts Council has approved more than $13.3 million in operating and general support grants for Columbus-area arts organizations, taking a conservative approach due to economic conditions.
Read moreThe Cleveland Orchestra unveiled its 2026–27 season, the 25th and final year under Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, anchored by staged Strauss opera and an 81-concert European tour.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art announced a series of exhibitions celebrating the U.S. 250th anniversary, spotlighting American artists from Andrew Wyeth to Emma Amos.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art launches a yearlong series of exhibitions commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary, spotlighting Indigenous, Black, and American artists across multiple shows.
Read moreEnsemble Theatre Cincinnati will present the regional premiere of a new musical set in a 1984 Cincinnati suburb, from the creators of the Tony-nominated Bandstand, running May 9 through May 31.
Read moreThe Columbus Museum of Art opened a biennial exhibition featuring work by the six recipients of the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Visual Arts Fellowship, on view through September 20.
Read moreThe Cincinnati Art Museum will present Yayoi Kusama’s “All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins” from July 17 through October 18, 2026, marking the first time the institution displays one of the artist’s Infinity Mirror Rooms.
Read moreThe Toledo Museum of Art held a public virtual town hall to discuss its Reinstallation Project, while closing additional East Wing galleries beginning April 20 to advance construction of a new accessible entrance and expanded spaces.
Read moreThe Cleveland Orchestra’s 2026-27 season will be the last for Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, who is completing a 25-year tenure with a program that surveys his artistic legacy at Severance Music Center.
Read moreThe 2026 Columbus Arts Festival will feature more than 75 free performances over four stages June 12-14, headlined by the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, indie-rock act Karate Coyote, and the Fashion as Art runway showcase.
Read moreCleveland Public Theatre has begun a $12 million renovation of its Detroit Shoreway complex, with free public tours running through May 14 to let the community see the work in progress.
Read moreBalletMet caps its 48th season with Artistic Director Remi Wörtmeyer’s debut full-length creation, a reimagined ‘La Bohème’ set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, running May 13–17 at the Davidson Theatre.
Read moreThe Columbus Museum of Art opened a biennial showcase of six Greater Columbus Arts Council Visual Arts Fellowship recipients, on view through September 20.
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