CMA Issues Call for Regional Art, and Announces a New Juried Exhibition for Northeast Ohio

It’s not the May Show, but the Cleveland Museum of Art did not beat around the bush in announcing Lake Effect—a new juried exhibition of contemporary art of Northeast Ohio, to be produced by the Museum this year at Transformer Station. In fact the Museum says directly, “Drawing inspiration from the museum’s historic May Show—an annual exhibition that for decades championed regional artists—the exhibition reaffirms the CMA’s deep roots in the community and its enduring role as a source of inspiration for artists and audiences alike.” Lake Effect will be on view at Transformer Station July 9 – November 22, 2026.

The announcement came as part of a call for art, opening today, January 20, with a submission deadline April 24. To be eligible, artists must live in Northeast Ohio—as defined by the same seven-counties that once defined the May Show: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, or Summit counties. Artists must be 18 years or older.  Works must have been created in or after 2020. There is no cost to enter. Jurors will be curators from the Museum, but the museum is not revealing their names—at least not yet.

The exhibition is timed with the Museum’s 110^th year. It’s in part made possible by the still-flexible calendar and yet-to-be-determined plan for programming Transformer Station. The west side space had been dark except for musical programming for two years after Fred and Laura Bidwell handed it over to the Museum. Exhibitions resumed there early in 2025, first with Love Is Resistance, a collaboration with the Cleveland Institute of Art. Following that came the CMA staff show, with the FRONT Futures Fellows exhibition New Work rounding out the year. Unlike all those exhibits of art from the region, this one will be built from an open call, with works chosen entirely by Cleveland Museum of Art curators. A spokesperson said the museum has not yet determined a long-term plan for the space. While it is not out of the question, there are currently no plans to make Lake Effect or another juried, regional show into an annual or periodic event.

The allusion to the May Show came as a surprise. For any who don’t know the history: The May Show was a juried exhibition of local artists held at the Cleveland Museum of Art from 1919 to 1993. Having art accepted into the May Show became a mark of distinction for local artists: validation, and an important line on their resumes. Buyers took notice. The Museum maintains an extensive database of works accepted into the show, which has become an excellent research tool for 20^th century art of the region.

 In Spring 2014, former CMA curator and current professor of art history at CWRU Henry Adams kicked off a year-long debate on the pages of CAN by asking “Why Won’t the Cleveland Museum of Art Bring Back the May Show?” The question was inspired by a lunchtime talk at the Cleveland Institute of Art during which the CMA’s interim director Fred Bidwell—who with Laura Ruth Bidwell created Transformer Station and eventually gifted it to the Museum—said the annual exhibition of regional art wouldn’t come back because “It’s just not part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s mission.”  Bidwell responded in the following issue, citing practical reasons: cost, and logistics. Subsequently, the well-known dealer and appraiser James Corcoran weighed in, highlighting the gravitas of provenance lent by the Museum to artists of the region—and the effect that had on prices in the marketplace. Finally, the contemporary dealer William Busta weighed in with what we thought might be the last word: “It is dead, cremated, and the ashes have been dispersed.”

Apparently not.

Call For Art: Lake Effect
July 9 – November 22, 2026
Transformer Station
Deadline for submission: April 24, 2026

Cost to submit: Free.

Also scheduled at Transformer Station:
Improper Frames
A Cleveland Print Room exhibition presented in partnership with the Cleveland Museum of Art
Saturday, February 14–Sunday, May 10, 2026