SIE 80, Latinx Club Exhibition on View This Spring at CIA

Two student-driven exhibitions this spring will showcase the breadth of creativity at Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA).

The 2026 Student Independent Exhibition (SIE) marks the landmark eightieth year for this popular show. As is tradition, SIE is organized and mounted entirely by CIA students. SIE Committee Chair Lane Grigson, a senior studying Craft + Design, says this year’s show will reflect students’ hard work.

“We entered this year with the goal that SIE shows not only the best work CIA has to offer, but it’s also a representation of all majors and disciplines across the College,” Grigson says.

“Students are already excited,” he adds. “The energy is palpable during submission week, and during jurying week, we have to block the windows to Reinberger Gallery because people want to see what the show looks like.”

Students also choose jurors, and for this year’s exhibition, they selected sculptor, costume-maker and performance artist Alex Heard; designer and illustrator Thao Nguyen; and painter Shawn Powell, who is co-chair of Painting at Kent State University’s School of Art. Both Heard and Nguyen are CIA alums.

“I believe these jurors will bring a wide range of skills and expertise—skills that are reflective of CIA’s student body—to the jurying process,” Grigson says.

SIE 80 is on view through April 5 in CIA’s Reinberger Gallery.

El Otro Mundo Debajo del Cielo (The Other World Beneath the Sky) is CIA’s Latinx Club’s 2026 exhibition.

The exhibition “opens the pages to the richness in ancestral stories, indigenous spirituality, folktales, urban legends and myths that permeates throughout the history of Latin America,” says Latinx Club President Nicole Alvarez, a Painting senior.

Work from CIA students studying Painting, Drawing, Illustration, Sculpture + Expanded Media and other programs is expected to be in the exhibition.

“This exhibition draws not only from one’s personal connection to their Latine heritage, but it also draws artists closer to the richness of its history and continues its legacy and messaging,” Alvarez says. “I think viewers will be excited to explore and better understand the different interpretations of the vibrant stories spread across Latin America through art.”

A closing reception for El Otro Mundo Debajo del Cielo will be held from 5:30 to 8 pm Friday, March 27 in CIA’s Alan Lipson Gallery.

CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART
11610 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
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800.223.4700

EVENTS:

2026 Student Independent Exhibition, through April 5 in Reinberger Gallery

El Otro Mundo Debajo del Cielo, through March 27. Closing reception 5:30-8pm Friday, March 27 in Alan Lipson Gallery

2026 Spring Show, April 22-25. Opening night event 6-8pm Tuesday, April 21