Fri 10/2-Sun 10/4
Over the past decade, Cleveland has undergone quite a rejuvenation and re-imagination.
During that time, one of the key driving forces not only re-branding downtown Cleveland but ushering the Rock Hall City into the 21st century has been the innovative IngenuityFest, where arts, sciences and technology intersect into something fabulous.
This year’s 11th annual free event takes place 10/2-4 along the lakefront, centering around Voinovich Park, the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. In addition to live music, there will be a wide range of tech-based art installations, performances and interactive exhibits that focus on the theme of Transitions. Also, the creators of the Tesla Orchestra return with Big Tippy, which is a giant interactive arcade game to test your skills.
Cool Cleveland talked to Ingenuity Cleveland program director Emily Appelbaum about the festival’s evolution and future in downtown Cleveland.
In looking ahead to this year’s IngenuityFest, the first thing you notice is an expanded footprint to include Voinovich Park.
I think that keeping it fresh is something we’ve always done. Those warehouses we’re currently in are slated for demolition. I think that’s not happening on the time frame that they thought it was going to but beyond that we are partnering closely with Cumberland Development. We’re excited about the changes coming to the lakefront. We’re doing a lot at the festival to talk about those changes and showcase them from a special section at the VIP area of the festival, which is something new this year.
Tell us me about this VIP area.
The VIP Salon is not only a thank you to our partners and sponsors but also available to the public for a low cost. It’s the only area of our free event that’s ticketed. For $20, people can enjoy tastings from local restaurants and kind of circle around Cleveland leaders on topics like the future of the waterfront.
There’s no doubt Ingenuity Cleveland has expanded its programming, including events such as Maker Faire and Bal Ingenieux. How do those programs fit into IngenuityFest?
In the past few years we have begun a general program of expansion. We now run multiple programs every year and the festival really reflects us as a year-round organization building partnerships with the community. We’re not really showcasing a little piece of this, little piece of that, but rather if we do our work right, the festival should be a natural outburst of a year full of programming partnerships. That’s the direction that we’re moving in.
Can you describe the year-round programming efforts?
We just completed our third Maker Faire, and Bal Ingenieux just completed its fourth year. We’ve debuted a number of new programs including Agents of Ingenuity, which previously was something that took place inside of the festival. We broke it out. It’ll be happening 11/16- 19 as a four-day long series of cocktail hours all around topics of Cleveland as a global hub for innovation. So this is the sort of thing when they say the festival should represent what we do as a year-round organization. We’ll be using those talks in the VIP area to preview the type of thing that will happen at Agents of Ingenuity. So I guess my point overall is when we have our year-round programming firing, it should result in a lot of pieces of the festival being familiar or falling into place.
Looking ahead to programming this year, what stands out?
We’ll have more stages than ever before. We have five including the VIP stage that will be playing music at different times with tons of local artists and tons of exciting work [including a stage that] the Young Latino Network that will be curating. We’ll have some up-and-coming hip-hop artists. Of course we’ll have local indie favorites and experimental music. In terms of art pieces, we’ll have several large-scale iconic works by artists both in Cleveland and out of Cleveland, as well as a number of works that will grow over the course of the weekend through community participation.
The great thing about IngenuityFest is when one thinks about the festival, nothing specific comes to mind. Instead, you feel a sense of wonder regarding what will this year’s event hold?
That’s a great way to put it. It’s a great benefit in terms of our ability to see every year where the energy lies but it’s also difficult because, of course, you do have to be concerned with creating a brand that’s consistent enough that people know what to expect. However, for us, I think there aren’t too many other organizations that are as responsive as we are. It is part of our mandate to be a connector in the community. When we started, it was all about filling a gap that needed filling. It was about filling downtown urban spaces that were abandoned and that were decaying, and now that isn’t a need that really applies to downtown Cleveland anymore. So we’re turning our attention to underutilized resources in the artistic and creative community, and seeing how we can exhibit those and give them a platform.
Finally, considering Voinovich Park won’t be available next year, what does the future hold for IngenuityFest?
I think we were always conceived as a nomadic event that would come and transform a space and then move on to another space. So it’s a big secret. We don’t know where we’ll be yet. We’re looking at a number of different options, including staying on the lakefront and other spots around town that need our magic touch.
