SPECIAL AGENTS OF INGENUITY PACKAGES

Plus:

- Festival Programming Announcements!

 -IngenuityLabs Ingeneers Workshops !

-Festival Volunteer Opportunities

& Much More!

IngenuityFest 2025 will ‘Forge the Future’

September 26-28, 2025 at IngenuityLabs

We're just over a month away from IngenuityFest 2025: Forging the Future and there are still tons of savings to be had! Early-bird Agents of Ingenuity Tickets remain - and both singles and pair memberships come with either free T-shirts or drink packages for the first 50 sign-ups.

Purchase your Agents of Ingneuity memberships TODAY and receive weekend admission plus admission to our VIP cocktail reception Friday September 26 from 6:30-8pm, including small bites and cocktails, PLUS receive a complimentary Drinks or T-shirts package, tickets to our year-round events including Flannel & Finery (December 6th) and the Ingenuity Bal, held annually in May. Memberships are on sale and your support TODAY ensures savings for your, plus our best festival yet!

WHAT TO EXPECT:

This year's event is chock-full of Art and Technology, Industry & Innovation, plus the everything audiences have come to know and expect: Dozens of Immersive Exhibits, Off the Wall Performances, Hands-on Demonstrations and more!

This year’s festival invites guests to get hands-on with time-tested tools of yesteryear from blacksmithing to glassblowing, as well as experience the technologies of tomorrow. Festival Villages include returning favorites like the sustainability-focused IndusTREE Alley and Mechanique Biotique, the immersive Dream Destinations, and Makers Mecca, showcasing local artisans and entrepreneurs. New exhibits and installations will also explore the intersection of creativity, craftsmanship, and community.

This year’s festival theme, Forging the Future, celebrates Cleveland’s deep industrial roots while casting a bold eye toward tomorrow. With a dynamic blend of art, industry, and imagination, IngenuityFest 2025 will showcase hands-on experiences, electrifying performances, and immersive exhibits that bring together makers, dreamers, and doers of all stripes, including Art-Tech Installations such as:

• The new Ingenuity STEAMshop featuring large-scale light-and-sound immersive sculptures by animation and inflatable artist Xacto Mundo and multimedia artist Ed Morra. 
• Soundscape artist Bbob Drake’s large-scale pipe organ installation “Organism,” surrounding audiences with original compositions.
• International installation artist and engineer Gazelle Dasti, debuting “NewClear Neural”, an audience-participatory sculpture which invites guests to step inside an 18-foot stainless steel human bust, driving an LED light array in the cranium by a people-powered merry-go-round.
• Colorado-based Story Portal, who will delight guests with an interactive mechanical set that invites guests to spin a yarn, tell a tale, and join in for a sing-along or interactive acoustic sets.
• Liquid Light artist Noah Hubbard, presenting the immersive “Xenocyclotron” experience, and composer Tom Stoll of Barking Kitten Productions, creating a “Digital Grotto” in which an immersive soundscape is “played” with dripping water
• Chris Seibert’s “Artists in the Altogether” and Tanya Kaiser’s “Confessional Womb,” inviting intimate moments from audience members
• Brian Gesler’s “Smoke & Mirrors,” inviting guests into a larger-than-life board game with human-scaled playing pieces challenging teams to navigate a maze with lasers
• Visual artist Fiona Harper-Latkovich, presenting immersive video installation entitled “Murmuration” based on traditional animation techniques

Photos: Robert Rhu's Story Portal, Top, and Gazelle Dasti's "NewClear Neural."

Performance Areas Include:

• Tesseract Stage brings danceable beats and technological surprises featuring live projection from visual artist Kevin Jackson and legendary Chicago techno DJ Juana. Manow Violin with Abbey Studor will perform an exploration of live violin mixed with vocals. 10k Movement host a two-day street dance showcase complete with demonstration battles. Additional acts include BRAND, Chris Eff, Justin Hartman, JohnDoethe1, Lo-Fila and Tesla Orchestra. 
• Dock Stage, sponsored by the Panza Foundation and styled as a larger-than-life boiler room, hosts punk, rock and hip-hop favorites including Jinari Kemet & The Black Jackets, Raderall, Will Cherry, Easy Tiger, Mr. Carnivore, Nature Nvoke, Lake Philly, What’s His Face, Cowboy Princess Brigade, Anya Van Rose, and Tetraviolet.
• Music Meadow, presented by Roots of American Music and Ohio City Arts Council, is headlined by Black Voltron, along with following acts Sly Vixen, The Brakes feat. Esther Fitz, Bent String, Hot Club of Cleveland and Sam Hooper Duo, The Mars Express and Slideways.
• Crystal Palace, hosted musician and visual artist Christa Ebert (Uno Lady), will showcase excerpts of a newly debuted work, Arbor Aria. Additional immersive video and musical guests include Slugg, Theresa May, Blue Yuma, SissyBunny, Flute Salad, Night Terrors.
• Ingenuity Cabaret, with daytime sets of music, poetry, spoken word, plus raucous evenings with variety acts ranging from drag kings & queens to clowns & robots will highlight SOPHii APPSOLUTELii of Black Widow Management Productions, Trash Unreal, Cleveland Comedy Fest and Kingpin Productions. 
• Ingenuity DREAMshop, curated by Rebecca Groth, will feature experimental performances from Japenese dance-theater form butoh and modern dance to one-woman shows.

Additional Offerings Include:

• IngenuityFest’s Family Village hosting workshops and maker activities for all ages, in partnership with Cleveland Public Library, Central State University Extension and more!
• Visual artist and curator Bobbi Reagins will present “Black Kaleidoscope: Looking Beyond,” an extension of her annual Black Arts Showcase.
• Ideation Station: community exhibitors and entrepreneurs showcase projects that highlight the future of Cleveland, as well as technology partners like Kent State’s Design Innovation Hub.
• Visiting researcher and cultural strategist Naomi Lord’s fully immersive Ear to the Ground listening project “Paradise of Displacement,” challenging visitors to engage with complex dialogue which celebrate the arts as agents of cultural understanding.
• Rollerskating & Bumper Cars from Rollin’ Buckeyez Foundation
• Makers Mecca featuring more than 50 artisan vendors
• Mechanique Biotique and IndusTREE alley featuring sustainability exhibits and opportunities for hands-on tinkering and technology with partners like Lincoln Electric, NASA and MotoGo
• Refreshment stations throughout including dozen food trucks and beverages by Goldhorn Brewery and Watershed Distillery.

TIME TO GET INVOLVED!

Partnership opportunities for Cleveland businesses of all kinds are still available. Ingenuity's unique space is quickly filling with site-specific installations, team-led projects, school groups, nonprofit exhibitors, and local business sponsors that bring the event to life. Potential partners can reach out to the team by emailing [email protected] for more information.

IngenuityFest 2025: Forging the Future is presented with major support from Gund Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, Ohio Arts Council, The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, Swagelok, Thompson Hine, Case Western Reserve University, Turner, Gilbane, and many other generous donors.

All summer long, Ingenuity hosts free community arts workshops Thursday evenings from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and, Starting in August Saturdays, from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. through the festival. In-house expert builders or “Ingeneers”, work alongside community members to build the large-scale installations that make IngenuityFest so unique. Attendees can develop new skills, and meet fellow artists and creatives of all backgrounds by joining Ingenuity’s Facebook Group and email list for updates.

Each year, hundreds of volunteers help make IngenuityFest happen and ensure the event runs smoothly. These volunteers choose shifts in areas including art support, gate and greeters, sustainability, and other logistical positions. All volunteers receive a free t-shirt and weekend pass to the festival! People can sign up by filling out Ingenuity’s online form.