The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
INGENUITY FEST SHOWCASES ARTS
Array of creativity on display at arts festival in St. Clair-Superior area
Families, friends and fans of all manner of creative expression flocked to Cleveland’s St. Clair-Superior neighborhood Saturday to partake in a threeday event honoring innovation.
IngenuityFest “was conceived as a movable feast: a multi-day, multivenue event that would move among downtown locations, inviting Northeast Ohio residents and tourists to re-discover the city as alive and vibrant. IngenuityFest animated storefronts, abandoned alleys and interiors of buildings that had long been ignored,” according to the event’s History web page.
“Launched along Cleveland’s iconic Public Square, the Festival moved to Gateway/East 4th Street, Playhouse Square, the Cleveland State University campus, the Streetcar level of the Detroit Superior Bridge, and finally to Cleveland’s Northcoast Harbor, before settling in Saint Clair Superior in 2016,” according to the event’s web site, which states Ingenuity debuted in 2004, thanks to founders James Levin and Thomas Mulready.
Today, it all goes down at the Hamilton Collaborative, 5401 Hamilton Ave. in Cleveland.
"It’s great to be surrounded by so many artists doing so many awesome things." — Katherine DeSmit, Vero Beach, Florida
Attendees are treated to an extravaganza of creative output - everything from live music and other performances to interactive art installations, artisans and activities.
Perhaps one Southern visitor put it best.
“There’s just so much going on. It’s hard to describe,” said Vero Beach, Fla. resident Katherine DeSmit, who just flew in to Cleveland Sept. 27 and was encouraged by some acquaintances to check it out. “So, I think the best way to describe it would be the simplest: just a bunch of creativity all in one place.”
DeSmit said she’s glad she did come and check out IngenuityFest.
“It’s great to be surrounded by so many artists doing so many awesome things,” she said.
She said her favorite thing was a “random” installation which combined some seemingly unrelated themes.
“It’s this little room,” she said. “It’s a bathroom they decorated with baby shower stuff. But, then, they have this 1970s pinup photo all mounted in a light box on the wall.”
She said she liked it so much it’s the backdrop for her new social media profile picture.
If anything spoke to the event’s wide appeal, it was the diversity of its demography. Of the thousands in attendance Sept. 29, representatives of all ages, including groups of friends, couples, lone wanderers and families were on site.
One Cleveland Heights family said they’ve been enjoying IngenuityFest for as long as it’s been happening.
“This is my favorite thing of the whole year in Cleveland,” said Leah Lou, a musician who has her own band: Leah Lou and the Two Left Shoes.
Lou, who was there Sept. 29 with her 2-month old son, Victor and his father, John Brogan, said she played at the event last year.
“I kind of have my hands full this year,” she said as she glanced at Brogan, who held Victor in his arms.
Lou added how proud the event makes her of Cleveland.
“Every year, I’m just mesmerized,” she said. “It feels
“Every year, I’m just mesmerized. It feels so magical and it makes me feel so good that I’m from Cleveland..” — Leah Lou, a musician who has her own band
so magical and it makes me feel so good that I’m from Cleveland.”
Brogan seemed to share her enthusiasm.
“I work here in midtown and I’m happy to see the space being used and midtown growing,” he said. “I mean, it’s still a ways away from being full of expensive loft apartments, et cetera. But, in the meantime, there’s stuff like this, which is cool.”
Both of his parents agreed they’re glad to be able to expose Victor to such creative energy and such an enlightening environment.
“I can’t wait ‘till he’s older,” Lou said enthusiastically. Brogan concurred. “It’s cool to be able to expose him to something different,” he said. “I want my little boy to see something you don’t see just walking down the street, something you don’t see every day.”
He added that he likes the fact that there are a variety of craft vendors at the event and he’s glad to help support them.
One of the creative minds contributing to IngenuityFest said what sets the event apart from other venues is the accessibility it gives its attendees.
“It’s amazing. It’s different,” said Ryan P. Kinney, the man behind HEYMAN! PRODUCTIONS. “It’s the most unique art festival I’ve ever seen. It’s interactive and fun and it makes art accessible to everyone, instead of it being something hung up behind ropes that you can’t touch.”
Kinney is a Mentor resident whose installation consisted of himself in a mask and draped with the kind of film cameras used to employ before the digital revolution. His display space was surrounded by video screens depicting passersby in real time.
He said one of the best attributes of IngenuityFest is that it brings art to the people.
“It lets them get involved with it,” he said. “It lets them know art is for everyone.”
IngenuityFest runs through 5 p.m. Sept. 30.
For information and a complete schedule, visit: http://ingenuitycleveland.com/ingenuityfest/