Cities throughout Ohio are undergoing an artistic renaissance, one that is nurturing vibrant arts communities offering everything from art walks and eclectic arts studios in historic buildings to outstanding museums with wide-ranging collections and stunning architectural features.
As a result, groups will find no shortage of venues where art of all kinds provides an engaging backdrop for memorable events.
Central Ohio
Columbus, the state capital, is no exception when it comes to Ohio cities with a vibrant arts scene. According to Megumi Robinson, spokeswoman for Experience Columbus, meeting attendees will find plenty to enjoy in the Short North Arts District, located just north of downtown.
“The arts district is just a short walk from the convention center—and it’s where you’ll find all sorts of galleries, restaurants and shops,” she says. “It’s very authentically Columbus.”
The district is the locale for the city’s newest hotel, Le Meridien Columbus, The Joseph, which is a showcase for works from the Pizzuti Collection, a nearby museum devoted to contemporary art. The hotel’s atrium lobby, mezzanine and hallways, as well as its 7,000 square feet of meeting space and 250 guest rooms, are filled with pieces by international and local artists.
“Each of the guest rooms features between three and eight original works of art by Ohio artists,” Robinson says. “Even just walking down the halls is a way to experience art.”
The Pizzuti Collection also offers event space, including exhibition galleries, a sculpture garden and a terrace overlooking Goodale Park. Up to 150 people can be accommodated.
Currently undergoing a major expansion that will include the debut of a new 50,000-square-foot wing with a special events pavilion and garden in October, the Columbus Museum of Art is another of the city’s group-friendly venues. It’s major event area is the elegant Derby Court, a dramatically sky-lit interior garden space with a Chihuly glass sculpture that accommodates up to 500 for a reception.
“We have a great special events team that can arrange for anything from meetings to concerts and gala events,” says Nancy Colvin, museum spokeswoman. “The expansion will allow us to do even more, including hosting simultaneous events.”
In Delaware, an intriguing venue for groups is the Arts Castle, a stately 19th-century limestone mansion with turrets and arched windows that serves as the Delaware County Cultural Arts Center. The building, which includes nine studios and a ballroom that can host receptions for up to 120 people, features rotating exhibitions by regional artists. A charming parlor/library room accommodates small dinners and receptions for up to 40 people.
Northeast Ohio
Cleveland boasts both an impressive lineup of art museums and eclectic art museums, including many that are available for special events. Its crown jewel is the Cleveland Museum of Art, which recently completed a $350 million renovation and expansion that added the Ames Family Atrium in the center of the building. The glass-enclosed space with a three-story-high ceiling is an adaptable space that accommodates up to 400 people for corporate dinners, galas and other events.
Another new addition to the museum is Gallery One, which features the largest multitouch microtile screen in the U.S., a 40-foot wall that displays images of over 4,100 objects from the museum’s collection.
“It allows you to pick out the pieces in the museum that you want to see–it’s truly amazing,” says Jackie Spencer, spokeswoman for Destination Cleveland. “With the expansion, the museum is one of our most popular unique venues.”
Also recently expanded is Cleveland’s 78th Street Studios, a 170,000-square-foot complex of art galleries, artist studios, design showrooms and other creative spaces. The Studios, which are housed in a mammoth 1905 brick warehouse that was once home to the American Greetings company, are the nucleus of Third Friday evening festivities that take place throughout the surrounding Gordon Square area. Showrooms and galleries throughout the complex are available for dinners and receptions, accommodating groups from 20 to 400.
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In Akron, the Akron Museum of Art is known both for its stunning architecture and its art collections, which focus on contemporary painting, sculpture and photography. Part of the museum is an 1899 Italian Renaissance-style structure, which was once Akron’s main post office. In 2007, an expansion by Coop Himmelb(l)au added such features as the Crystal, a three-story glass and steel lobby, and the Roof Cloud, a cantilevered steel armature extending over both the old and new buildings.
The museum’s dramatic lobby can seat up to 300 for dinner and accommodate twice that for a reception. The museum also offers a 159-seat auditorium and a spacious outdoor terrace.
Southwest Ohio
Cincinnati’s Taft Museum of Art, considered one of the best small art museums in the U.S., is an elegant setting for both indoor and outdoor events. The museum, housed in a Federal-style mansion dating from 1820, is known for its collections ranging from European old master and American 19th century paintings to Chinese antiquities.
Luther Hall, a cherry wood-paneled function space in the museum’s new wing, accommodates up to 112 people for a reception and offers full audiovisual capabilities. For dinners and receptions for up to 220 people, the Taft Museum offers a tented brick terrace, available from May through October, that adjoins a landscaped garden and lawn.
The art of classic American neon is the focus of Cincinnati’s American Sign Museum, which gives events the feel of an outdoor block party in a dazzling exhibit area that resembles a classic Main Street lined with vintage signs. The museum, which opened in its current space in 2012, is located in a former parachute factory in the city’s historic Camp Washington district and accommodates groups of up to 350 for catered events.
Along with vintage storefront displays and signs, the museum is filled with historic photographs and documentation on the history of sign making and its significance in American culture. It also includes a neon shop, where craftsmen demonstrate the art of making neon signs.
To hub of Dayton’s art scene is found at CADC, which stands for Connecting Art and Design Community, a cooperative for over 40 local artists that has hundreds of artworks for sale and also features rotating exhibits and special events. Along with a full range of traditional and contemporary paintings, CADC features photography, jewelry, ceramics and sculpture.
CADC’s First Fridays are evening events on the first Friday of each month where the public is invited to meet with the artists and enjoy live jazz and hors d’oeuvres. CADC is also the frequent scene of customized events for up to 200 people.
Northwest Ohio
Founded over a century ago, the Toledo Museum of Art offers over 30,000 works of art that run the gamut from American and European paintings to ancient Greek and Roman artifacts and decorative arts.
Among the museum’s highlights is the Glass Pavilion, which has two hotshops and five galleries devoted to art glass. Available for events, the curved and transparent contemporary pavilion includes the luminous GlasSalon, which holds 300 for a reception and 230 for dinners.
Other options at the museum include the Libbey Court, an elegant entry hall conducive for receptions for up to 200; a contemporary art gallery accommodating small dinners and receptions; and The Cloister, a medieval stone courtyard surrounded by colonnades that is frequently used for ceremonies, presentations and receptions for up to 150 people.
In Sandusky, the art and preservation of the carousel is the focus of the charming Merry-Go-Round Museum, which is filled with vintage hand-carved animals as well as artifacts related to the history of the carousel. Its centerpiece is the 1939 Allan Herschell Carousel, which was painstakingly restored by the museum’s staff of artisans who also do preservation work on carousel animals for private collectors.
Tours of the museum include the chance to ride on the carousel as well as watch the carvers at work and learn about their craft. Groups can rent the museum in its entirety for dinners and receptions.
Maria Lenhart is a frequent contributor to Meetings Focus.
