FREE PLAY, Black Scholars & Artists Show Highlight CIA’s Winter Offerings

Video games are ubiquitous in pop culture. Even if you’ve never picked up a controller, chances are you’ve heard of Mario and Luigi or Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. Or perhaps you’ve watched films or TV shows—such as A Minecraft Movie or The Last of Us—based on video games.

As expansive as that world is, video games go far beyond entertainment—which is the overarching theme at the center of Cleveland Institute of Art’s (CIA) fall/winter exhibition.

FREE PLAY: Innovative Ohio Game Design is an interactive exhibition that explores video games as powerful media for critical inquiry, immersive therapy, experiential learning and creative exploration. The exhibition highlights the work of seven developer teams with Ohio ties.

“Advances in technology have enabled smaller creative teams like those in FREE PLAY to design and build their own games, sparking a wave of innovation that continues to push the boundaries of the medium,” says Nikki Woods, CIA’s director of exhibitions + galleries. “Together, these projects will expand a viewer’s understanding of what video games can be and do—from tools that support physical therapy to powerful vehicles for storytelling.”

Visitors can play and experience all the games in FREE PLAY. These include Stimulation Driven Rowing Games, a rowing machine-style game that serves as a physical therapy tool for paraplegics, and We Are OFK, a dream-like episodic adventure game that earned Team OFK—including Cleveland-based programmer Jarryd Huntley—a Peabody Award in 2024.

FREE PLAY is on view through February 8, 2026, in CIA’s Reinberger Gallery.

This Ain’t My First Rodeo, the fourth annual Black History Month exhibition organized by Black Scholars and Artists students, will examine the pivotal—but often overlooked—ways Black Americans have historically and contemporarily existed in, contributed to, and redefined life in the American West.

The multimedia exhibition seeks to shed light on how the community’s monumental cultural contributions have been removed from or unjustly ignored by modern-day pop culture narratives.

“This exhibition provides an opportunity to showcase the hard work and talent of our well-rounded student body at CIA,” says BSA President Ashton Burton, a senior Painting major. “It helps build our professional identities as emerging artists and designers, while fostering connections with peers in the field and organizations beyond our immediate community.”

This Ain’t My First Rodeo will be on view February 6–27, 2026, in CIA’s Ann and Norman Roulet Student + Alumni Gallery.

CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART
11610 Euclid Avenue

Cleveland, Ohio 44106

cia.edu

800.223.4700

EVENTS:

Free Play, through February 28 in the Reinberger Gallery

This Ain’t My First Rodeo, February 6–27 in the Ann and Norman Student + Alumni Gallery

2026 Student Independent Exhibition (SIE 80), February 27