Welcome to Cleveland Institute of Art

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Welcome

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Welcome to Cleveland Institute of Art, lovingly referred to as CIA for short. We attract dreamers and doers, thinkers and makers—each one chasing their creative future. Every member of our community arrives with intent: to tell their story, to cultivate their artistic identity, to make their mark on the world through expression of their art and design. And every part of our physical environment—from studios to labs to living spaces to the neighborhood around us—is designed to help each student bring their creative ambition to life, on purpose.

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This is where the making happens. Here our students push beyond their limits to discover new modalities of creativity, blending disciplines and expanding their skill sets with the help of their professors and technical specialists. You’ll gain expertise while collaborating with peers to design and build things you might have never considered possible. Explore the sophisticated equipment that populates every room of the fabrication studios: the wood shop, plastics shop, machining shop, metal shop, plaster/stone room, oil clay room, the spray paint booth, and the spray mount room.

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There’s nothing better than seeing beautiful, museum-quality reproductions of your work. The Digital Output Center (DOC) focuses on just that—producing tangible prints of student work that match their creative vision. Archival prints produced at up to 2400 DPI provide stunning color and image quality on a wide variety of papers, films, canvas, and fabrics. Students will be guided through a clear process for getting work printed, so the DOC will be an asset throughout your four years at CIA.

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When it comes to creativity at CIA, the technological limit does not exist. Access to advanced tech is integral to much of the CIA experience. Students who pursue digitally-focused majors will enjoy access to computer labs equipped with industry standard software and hardware. From a green screen Chroma Key studio, sound recording studio, optical scanners, a render farm, enlargers and darkroom equipment, and so much more, students will use state-of-the-art tools to realize the best of their imaginations.

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Welcome to design heaven. Students across many disciplines make their creative homes here. Thoughtfully appointed, beautifully designed spaces create the optimal container for design exploration. There is no shortage of advanced tools available to CIA students, and an abundance of talented faculty to help those students become masterful in their use. One of the coolest processes accessible here is rapid prototyping: a technology that turns *CAD/CAM* designs into three-dimensional scale models.

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How do CIA students form friendships while creating a shared language of art and design? All first-year students progress through our Foundation program together before specializing in a major. Foundation combines an introduction to forms, methods, media, and concepts with classes in the liberal arts, creating a well-rounded first year for you and your peers. As you work on studio projects, you will investigate visual dynamics, creative processes, and issues that inform contemporary art, design, and culture.

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Without light there is no form, no color, no art. That is why our MakerSpaces privilege gorgeous lighting that both inspires and illuminates. Each student will enjoy their own studio space from sophomore year on, and the ability to cultivate one’s own creative home is something that truly sets CIA apart. Our incredible labs and spaces are open to you to explore, collaborate, and make work—access that students simply don’t enjoy at larger schools. We believe that when you create your environment, you let your environment create you. And that is where brilliance happens.

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What would you prioritize in a college living situation? If a bright, modern building; proximity to classes; a lively neighborhood; or spaces for both privacy and collaboration are high on your list, you would enjoy living at CIA. Students match with peers to form four-person suites—living spaces with plenty of privacy along with space to work and lounge. You will reside right in the heart of University Circle, surrounded by dozens of great places to eat and shop, as well as world-class cultural institutions.

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Life on campus is about much more than where you’ll learn and live. Here we’re highlighting a few of the jewels of our campus, including the Peter B. Lewis Theater (or PBL, for short). The PBL hosts visiting artist talks, events, student animation screenings, as well as Cinematheque, one of the nation’s best repertory movie theaters, showing alternative, foreign, classic, and independent films all year long. Click the highlights to see the gorgeous gallery spaces that house student art.

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Imagine sketching in the Botanical Garden or strolling the contemporary wing of the Cleveland Museum of Art for inspiration before your printmaking class. Both of those possibilities are a short walk from CIA’s campus, along with many other cultural institutions such as MOCA Cleveland, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Natural History Museum. And while students can absorb as much art, history, science, nature, music, and culture as they wish, when they are more focused on innovation, they can head to the nearby Sears Thinkbox: a seven-story makerspace and entrepreneurship hub open to all CIA students.

Welcome to Cleveland Institute of Art

Welcome

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Fabrication Studios

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Digital Output Center

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Technology Labs

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Design Studios

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Classroom Spaces

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Makerspaces

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Living Spaces

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Exhibition and Presentation Spaces

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University Circle

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