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MLK Jr. Day Celebration at Cleveland Museum of Art
January 20, 2025 @ 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Join the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) on Monday, January 20, as they honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This free daylong celebration explores how the moving passages of Dr. King’s writings and speeches shed light on the museum’s collection and offers a chance to create a work of art inspired by his legacy. Activities for the day are inspired by The King Center’s 2025 theme, Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence. Visitors can partake in activities including storytelling, art making, and reflective writing prompts, and receive free admission to Picasso and Paper, the long-anticipated exhibition that explores Picasso’s lifelong experimentation with paper.
Activities include the following:
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A musical performance in the CMA’s contemporary art galleries
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12:00–12:45 pm
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Film screenings for children and adults
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Children’s animated shorts, Celebrating Black Stories, 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
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Alice Street, 1:00 pm–2:00 p.m.
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Poetry reading by the Most Promising, 2:00–2:30 pm
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Dance performance by Mayne Attraction, 2:45–3:00 p.m.
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Artworks from the Education Art Collection
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Ingalls Library and Museum Archives pop-up
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Printmaking with Zygote Press
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Gallery spotlight tours, 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
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Gallery art stories for families, 12:15–12:45 p.m.
Visitors are also welcome to explore the CMA’s galleries and current exhibitions, including Picasso and Paper, Rose B. Simpson: Strata, and Demons, Ghosts, and Goblins in Chinese Art on its closing day. Provenance Café and the museum store are open throughout the day.
New This Year!
Guests are invited to use the complimentary University Circle Inc. shuttle to travel between the CMA in University Circle and the Community Arts Center (CAC) in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood to explore more opportunities for engagement. Shuttles depart every 20–30 minutes.
The CAC celebrates and honors the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by engaging in the King Foundation’s 2025 theme, Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence. Visitors can participate in visual arts activities inspired by Dr. King’s legacy and print their own themed poster designed by a local artist, courtesy of Future Ink Graphics.
