Press releases and announcements from Ohio's arts organizations
Cincinnati Opera has revealed the complete cast for its 2026 Summer Festival, featuring Kathryn Lewek in Salome, J’Nai Bridges in Carmen, and the world premiere of a new opera by Kevin Day.
Read moreThe Cincinnati Art Museum presented ‘What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine’ through March 1, featuring more than 150 original artworks from the Norman Rockwell Museum’s traveling show.
Read moreArtsWave’s Board of Trustees approved 12 projects for its 2026 YP Grants, supporting programs that connect Cincinnati young professionals to the city’s arts community.
Read moreThe Toledo Museum of Art is celebrating its 125th anniversary with tours, glassblowing demonstrations, and archival lectures at its free-admission facility along Monroe Street.
Read moreThe Columbus Museum of Art opens the Greater Columbus: 2026 Visual Arts Fellowship Exhibition on April 15, presenting work by six recipients of the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s 2025 fellowship.
Read moreEight graduating actors from the CWRU/Cleveland Play House MFA program will perform scenes in Cleveland on April 30 before heading to New York City for industry presentations.
Read moreArtsWave and Cincy Shirts have partnered on Cincy Arts Shirt Week, a limited-edition apparel fundraiser beginning April 16, with proceeds supporting more than a dozen Cincinnati arts organizations.
Read moreThe Butler Institute of American Art is accepting entries through April 17 for its 89th National Midyear Exhibition, one of the country’s longest-running juried shows for contemporary American artists.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art launches two major exhibitions in April 2026, including the most comprehensive Martin Puryear retrospective in nearly two decades.
Read moreCincinnati Ballet ends its 2025-26 season under new Artistic Director Cervilio Miguel Amador with a Balanchine-anchored triple bill and a family production of ‘Pinocchio’ at the Aronoff Center.
Read moreThe Dayton Art Institute’s 69th annual Art Ball fundraising gala will take place June 13, 2026, with a theme drawn from a Japanese Imari-style porcelain bottle in the museum’s permanent collection.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art presents ‘Manet and Morisot,’ the first exhibition pairing the two Impressionist artists, on view through July 5, 2026.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art opens its first major exhibition pairing the works of Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, on view through July 5, 2026.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art is showing the first major exhibition to pair works by Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, exploring their creative relationship through July 5.
Read moreThurber House has named three finalists for the 2026 Thurber Prize for American Humor in Writing, with the award ceremony set for May 7 in Columbus.
Read morePlayhouse Square and The University of Akron have announced a four-show 2026-27 Broadway season at E.J. Thomas Hall, featuring Beetlejuice, The Bodyguard, A Beautiful Noise, and The Wiz.
Read moreThe Cleveland Institute of Art’s 2026 Spring Show opens April 21 with an evening reception featuring a student runway show, video and animation screenings, and exhibitions across all degree programs.
Read moreEight-time Grammy winner Jon Batiste will perform with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center on August 20 as part of the 2026 Blossom Music Festival.
Read morePlayhouse Square has unveiled its 2026-27 Broadway in Akron series for E.J. Thomas Hall, including ‘The Bodyguard’ and ‘Beetlejuice,’ extending the organization’s regional touring reach.
Read moreCIFF50 runs April 13-18 across Playhouse Square and Cedar Lee Theatre, spotlighting Ohio filmmakers and screening 326 total films.
Read moreThe Art Academy of Cincinnati presents its 2026 Thesis Exhibitions April 6–May 1, with free public receptions and work from graduating seniors across painting, sculpture, photography, and more.
Read moreThe Toledo Museum of Art is celebrating its 125th anniversary with programming through December 2026, including docent tours, lectures, and monthly glassblowing demonstrations.
Read moreThe Toledo Museum of Art is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2026 with legacy tours, glass demonstrations, and collaborative events honoring the institution founded by Edward Libbey in 1901.
Read moreThe Taft Museum of Art will present ‘The Scandinavian Home: Landscape and Lore,’ featuring 75 works from a major private Nordic art collection, from June 13 through September 20, 2026.
Read moreThe sixth annual Downtown Akron Sakura Festival brought 5,000 to 8,000 visitors to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail on April 4, honoring JANO’s donation of 472 cherry blossom trees to the city.
Read moreThe Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Funds for Artists program opens June 1, offering individual artist grants for materials, professional development and marketing to Franklin County residents.
Read moreNearly 100 works by the late self-taught Cincinnati artist Tony Dotson go on view May 8 at AGAR’s Sample Space gallery downtown in the first major retrospective of his career.
Read moreCincinnati’s Taft Museum of Art celebrates the 175th anniversary of Robert S. Duncanson’s landmark murals and 40 years of the Duncanson Artist-in-Residence Program, with artist Ayana Ross as 2026 resident.
Read moreLakewood’s Beck Center for the Arts marks its 50th anniversary of dance with a new family-friendly production of ‘Little Red Riding Hood,’ featuring 93 dancers, April 10–12.
Read moreThe Taft Museum of Art will show ‘The Scandinavian Home: Landscape and Lore’ June 13–September 20, 2026, featuring roughly 75 Nordic works from an important private collection.
Read moreThe Bowling Green State University Philharmonia will release ‘The Composer’s Voice: Volume 10′ on April 10, its 10th album of previously unrecorded contemporary orchestral works, timed to the College of Musical Arts’ 50th anniversary.
Read moreThe Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown is accepting entries through April 17 for its 89th National Midyear Exhibition, running July 12–August 20, 2026, juried by Director Emeritus Louis A. Zona.
Read moreThe Akron Art Museum will host a national touring exhibition of Cree artist Kent Monkman’s work from April 11 through August 17, the only Midwest stop on the tour.
Read moreColumbus’s Short North Arts District opens its April 2026 exhibition cycle with new shows at galleries along North High Street and Lincoln Street, with Gallery Hop on April 4.
Read moreThe Columbus Symphony’s 2026-27 season marks its 75th anniversary with a Carnegie Hall return on October 28 and three major choral collaborations.
Read moreFrom folk art in Lebanon to Asian American art in Columbus, seven new exhibitions open at Ohio museums and galleries during April 2026.
Read moreThe Columbus Symphony’s 2026-27 Cardinal Health Masterworks Season features a world premiere by Gregory Spears, a Carnegie Hall date, and four major choral-orchestral programs under Music Director Rossen Milanov.
Read moreArtsWave and its LGBTQIA+ affinity group announce a call for artists to create a public mural at 515 Madison Ave. in Covington, Kentucky, with a 2,500 stipend and an April 25 application deadline.
Read moreThe Chagrin Cinema 6 in Bainbridge Township reopened April 1 as The Hive and Honey Hill, a multi-use venue with restaurants, a music space, event halls and a small screening room.
Read moreThe Cleveland Pops Orchestra announced a six-concert 2026–27 season at Severance Music Center under Conductor Carl Topilow, with programs spanning Motown, Broadway, rock, and space-themed symphonic music.
Read moreKent State University Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History open ‘Fashion and Feather’ on April 22, pairing historic feather-adorned garments with ornithological specimens and student biomimicry designs, running through October 16.
Read moreCAPA has announced a seven-show PNC Broadway in Columbus season for 2026-27, themed ‘Otherworldly’ and featuring five Columbus premieres including ‘Maybe Happy Ending,’ ‘Operation Mincemeat,’ and Alicia Keys’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen.’
Read moreThe Columbus Symphony unveiled its 2026–27 season celebrating 75 years, including a Carnegie Hall return, a world premiere by Gregory Spears, and major choral works under Music Director Rossen Milanov.
Read moreThe Columbus Symphony unveiled its 2026-27 season marking the orchestra’s 75th anniversary, highlighted by a Carnegie Hall appearance in October for the first time in 25 years.
Read moreThe Akron Art Museum presents Kent Monkman: History Is Painted by the Victors, the only Midwest stop for a sweeping survey of the Cree artist’s work, running April 11 through Aug. 16.
Read moreThe Cleveland Museum of Art announced its ArtLens Gallery will reopen in July 2026 as a fully transformed space featuring AI, mixed reality, and four interactive zones designed to deepen engagement with the permanent collection.
Read moreGreat Lakes Theater’s 2026-27 season at the Hanna Theatre features Shakespeare, Sweeney Todd, Les Misérables, and A Christmas Carol, with subscriptions now on sale.
Read moreCincinnati Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati Ballet, Know Theatre, Children’s Theatre, and Playhouse in the Park all unveiled 2026-27 programming, including world premieres and a new CSO partnership series.
Read moreSix Central Ohio artists will be featured in the biennial Visual Arts Fellowship Exhibition at Columbus Museum of Art, opening April 15 in partnership with the Greater Columbus Arts Council.
Read moreEnsemble Theatre Cincinnati has unveiled its 41st season, featuring a world premiere celebration of Stephen Schwartz’s songbook and three regional premieres across six productions.
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