‘Tis the Season: Fall is When the Art World Comes Alive. Here’s a Boatload of Shows You Should Check Out.

In the arts community, the fall is considered the beginning of the new exhibition season. During the summer months, galleries become hot (especially when packed with warm bodies and humid air) and many arts patrons take vacations. There are still plenty of events and exhibitions — especially outdoor events and benefits — but fall is when things really seem to get going.

One factor in this increased activity is the re-opening of academic galleries and programs with the start of a new academic year. The first event of October will be an artist reception for CLAY: Not Your Usual Suspects, curated by Mary Urbas, at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland on Thursday, Oct. 2, from 7 to 9 p.m. The show features nearly 50 local, regional and national artists working in clay.

The first Friday of every month is Walk All Over Waterloo in Collinwood. The art walk set for Oct. 3 is uniquely exciting because it marks the completion of Project Light Switch — featuring a comprehensive streetscape that includes new sidewalks, parking lots, lighting, restaurants and art-related businesses.

Waterloo Arts will host an opening reception for Oleandor: Paintings by Martha Ferrazza that evening. An empty storefront (16013 Waterloo Rd.) will house YARN n YESTERDAY, an exhibition celebrating the 120th anniversary of the Euclid Beach pier — which is scheduled for demolition this fall by the park’s new owner, the Cleveland Metroparks. Gallery One Sixty debuts No Permission by Timothy Joyce. You’ll also have one last chance to check out the mesmerizing work of renowned local artists Amy Casey and Cathie Bleck at the Maria Neil Art Project.

Further west, the Cleveland West Art League (CWAL) hosts the opening reception for the latest incarnation of Tall Walls, its annual, unjuried, uncensored members’ show. The work will fill the walls from floor to ceiling on Friday, Oct. 3, from 6 to 11 p.m. Due to Loren Naji’s ongoing legal issues, this year’s exhibition will be held at 6706 Detroit Ave. (next to Sweet Moses). Then stop by the Hildebrandt Studios for the one year anniversary show of the Hildebrandt Artist Collective (3619 Walton Ave.). A Ka-Pow comedy show will follow at 10 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 4, is your first chance to see the latest exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Maine Sublime focuses on Frederic Church’s Twilight in the Wilderness — one of the museum’s most beloved masterpieces. The exhibition features the original painting alongside a collection of nearly 25 sketches studying the various aspects of “Maine’s rugged interiors, rocky coast and windswept islands,” created over the course of three decades.

Also on Saturday, Oct. 4, ARTneo (formerly the Cleveland Artists Foundation) hosts a studio visit with established local artist Chris Pekoc just weeks before the Oct. 15 opening of his exhibition, Hand Made, at the Akron Art Museum.

The following weekend features a number of events. Friday, Oct. 10, features opening receptions for highly anticipated shows around town. 1point618 hosts an opening reception for Sid Rheuban at 90 and Zygote Press/CAN Journal co-founder Liz Maugan’s Screen Play — featuring her latest screen prints alongside written excerpts from prominent local writers (myself included) inspired by a piece assigned to each writer. The galleries at BAYarts will showcase their annual juried show and a solo exhibition by Julie Cikra.

The fun continues Saturday, Oct. 11, with shows all over town. Lakewood’s Breakneck gallery hosts an opening reception for Creeps, Critters and Creaks, a Halloween-themed exhibition, from 6 to 10 p.m. Stop by the Morgan Conservatory for their Seventh Annual Benefit and Silent Auction. The Cleveland Museum of Art debuts exhibitions by Jacob Lawrence and Anika Yi, and offers a special talk by Julia Wachtel at 2 p.m. at the Transformer Station in association with her first institutional solo exhibition in 20 years.

Also on Oct. 11 from 6 to 9 p.m., head back to Waterloo for Art and Craft, a collaborative pairing of local craft beer by Portside Brewery and local art at the Maria Neil Art Project and Gallery One Sixty, sponsored by Edible Cleveland. The evening will feature an artist talk with Amy Casey and Cathie Bleck at MNAP. Both galleries will be sampling a different beverage. Don’t worry, they have their permits.

On Oct. 17, check out the 78th Street Studios’ monthly Third Friday. Tregoning & Co. host the opening reception of ARTneo’s 30th anniversary exhibition. William Busta presents new sculptural work by Kate Budd and paintings by Hildur Asgeirsottir Jonsson and Paul Yanko. The Morgan presents Abecedaria VII, Art Book Cleveland and new work by Char Norman and Elena Osterwalder.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, Zygote Press features an opening reception and artist talk for Foreign Affairs 18: Clemens Reinecke and Rita Geissler from 1 to 3 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 19, ARTneo presents a guided tour of Glidden House and its art collection, as well as a visit to the home of Per Knutas, chief conservator at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Speaking of the CMA,it will be debuting its latest free exhibition, Forbidden Games: Surrealist and Modernist Photography, that same day.

On Friday, Oct. 24, check out The New Real at Bonfoey Gallery and The Works of Mustache Machine and Black Betty at the recently-open Nine Muses Art Gallery in Barberton from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, features the M.A.D. (Madison Art District) Halloween Art Crawl throughout the various businesses on Madison Avenue in Lakewood.

The Galleries at Cleveland State host an opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 30, for the latest installment of their biennial People’s Art Show. The gallery anticipates approximately 500 works by 300 artists for this long-running, unjuried, uncensored exhibition.

The local art community isn’t wasting any time in November. On Saturday, Nov. 1, the Screw Factory in Lakewood hosts its Annual Holiday Open Studio from noon to 6 p.m. The Beachwood Public Library presents the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve’s Western Reserve Open Photography Exhibition. Saturday evening, stop by SPACES to support its annual benefit. This year’s theme is Optical Delusions: Last Days on the Viaduct, as the nonprofit organization prepares to move to its new home in nearby Hingetown.

On Wednesday, Nov. 5, Sue Cavanaugh gives a talk about her work and experience at the Cleveland Museum of Art. On Thursday, Nov. 6, the Cleveland Institute of Art welcomes the National Conference for Academic Curatorial and Independent Scholars.

November’s first Friday (Nov. 7) is another busy day. November’s Walk All Over Waterloo includes the work of Creative Fusion artist Dale Yudelman at Waterloo Arts and Shirley Aley Campbell’s The Beauty of Decadence at the Maria Neil Art Project from 5 to 10 p.m. In Akron, Harris Stanton Gallery hosts an opening reception for Flexible Domains, featuring new work by Andrea Joki and Matthew Kolodziej.

Hotcards’ world headquarters is the home of Dana Depew’s latest 19 exhibition — which first began at his Asterisk Gallery in Tremont. The show features 19 of the region’s most active and skilled artists working in a variety of media. Based on the roster and Depew’s history, 19 is my personal choice for the exhibition/event of the season. Don’t miss the opening reception on Friday, Nov. 7, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Flux Metal Arts presents its Second Annual Student and Instructor Exhibition, as well as an anniversary open house on Saturday, Nov. 8. Cleveland Institute of Art hosts a special panel of international artists discussing the theme of “Artists as Social Agents.”

On Monday, Nov. 10, SPACES hosts Farewellcome. Stop by to say hello to British Columbia’s Colin Lyons and Latvia’s Irina Spicaka, as well as goodbye to some of our soon-to-be-former neighbors. Lyons’ Automatic Ruins and Spicaka’s Process will open at SPACES Friday, Nov. 14, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Nov. 13 ushers in a pair of openings. Cleveland Project: Photorealism is a collaboration between creative fusion artist Pablo Serra Marino (of Chile) and the students of Saint Martin De Porres High School at the Cleveland Print Room. The Sculpture Center presents Benitez Vogl’s DEEP: Digital Ephemeral Epidermal Patterns and Przemyslaw Janielski’s Minotaur.

Stop by Tremont for Stand Up on Friday, Nov. 14, an exhibition of art with social commentary during November’s art walk. Meanwhile, Harris Stanton (Cleveland) hosts their First Annual International Show.

In addition to Chris Pekoc’s opening at the Akron Art Museum, Saturday, Nov. 15, includes an opening reception for Aubrey Rhodes’ Rx at Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery at 78th Street Studios, and The Archives Speak launch party and book signing at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve. Five years in the making, this new book provides biographical and career information on more than 60 archived artists. A number of these artists will be available at this event to sign copies of the book.

And Friday, Nov. 21, brings the Third Friday open house at 78th Street Studios. William Busta will host a reception for new exhibitions by Don Harvey (drawings and paintings), Todd Schroeder (paintings), Thomas Frontini (paintings) and Wendy Partridge (books).

Phew. There will be plenty more on the books for fall (many galleries haven’t officially set their schedules yet), so stay tuned to the art page every week for the latest events and news.

This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2014.