Cleveland Institute of Art: College of Art + Design

Last cache: 16-12-2025 08:07:01

I Break The Rules

On Purpose

I Create What I Love

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Facilities + Labs Interactive Media Lab Fabrication Studios
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Interactive Media Lab

Design the future! The IML is 14,297 square feet of technology and innovation designed for big ideas and bold experimentation! Whether you're exploring Extended, Augmented, or Virtual Reality, or prototyping your next big invention, the possibilities here are limitless. Plus, it's the only facility of its kind in the world!

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A student is working on their final in the wood shop.

Make Your Dreams Possible

99% of new students received financial aid in Fall 2024 and the average student aid given by CIA was $40k. Affording your college education really is possible here.

Let's Find Out How

Operation: Blast Off

Operation: Blast Off is a proof-of-concept short film that follows a little girl’s journey from her backyard to outer space—made entirely in our state-of-the-art Interactive Media Lab. From full-size sets to virtual production, this project shows what’s possible when imagination meets technology.

I Love

"capturing joy"

—

Julissa Bruno,

Drawing

"carving my own path"

—

Nat Lenington,

Sculpture + Expanded Media

"sharing my knowledge"

—

Cullen Williams-Freeman,

Life Sciences Illustration

"overcoming my fears"

—

Robin Sutherland,

Graphic Design

"being myself"

—

Tristen Kovacs,

Painting

"discovering my passion"

—

Cale Ours,

Photography

"crafting with purpose"

—

Jaime Clampitt,

Craft + Design

"creating new worlds"

—

Kadirah McJunkins,

Animation

"designing the future"

—

Owen Gray,

Industrial Design

Do What You Love In A CIA Major

Makerspaces

For almost any material imaginable, CIA has the tools to shape, craft, and elevate it into a unique creation.

Interactive Media Lab

One of only a few at a college of art and design.

36 foot wide LED wall in the XR studio.

14297 square feet of technology, innovation and collaboration.

Interactive Media Lab

A student is welding. You can see sparks flying off the piece they are working on.

Metals Studio

Dedicated studio for fabricating in metals.

35000 feet of welding wire used each year

6500 degree temperature for arc welding

Metals Studio

A glass student is working with hot glass on a metal surface.

Glass Studios

Capabilities to work in hot glass, cold glass, fusion processes and flameworking.

2000 miles of glass tubing formed

2300 degree furnace temperature for glassblowing

Glass Studios

A student is cutting a piece of wood in the fabrication studios.

Wood Shop

Fabrication space for working with wood.

1100 inches of bandsaw blades used each year.

6200 + sheets Baltic Birch plywood used each year.

Wood Shop

A student is hand forming clay in their personal ceramics studio.

Ceramics Studios

Surfacing, cutting, shaping, sanding, turning, drilling and fastening.

5 tons of clay used each year

11 kilns, including gas, electric and wood

Ceramics Studios

A student is using a 3D printer for a red and orange object.

Digital Forming

Use technology to form in ceramic, glass metal, wood and more.

11 3D printers

3 CNC cutters, including a 5’x8’ system that cuts vertically and horizontally.

Digital Forming

Wood Kiln

One of only a few at a college of art and design.

400 + works fired each semester.

2300 degree temperature for wood kiln

Wood Kiln

A close-up of a student cutting and refining a metal piece.

Jewelry + Metals Studio

Traditional and digital tools for producing wearable art and small-scale sculpture.

265 colors for enameling.

21 soldering stations.

Jewelry + Metals Studio

A pre-college student is working at a sewing machine.

Sewing + Felting Studios

Tools and equipment for producing soft sculpture, fashion and conceptual work.

23 dress forms + sewing machines

7000 cubic-foot studio

Sewing + Felting Studios

I look for a college that will empower me to elevate my future as an artist and designer. I also want a community that welcomes and supports me. Cleveland Institute of Art is both of those things.

Learn about Life at CIA

Meet Our Alumni

Our alumni are doing amazing things across the country and world!

See more profiles

A scene from a video game with blue characters and a purple setting.

January 23, 2026 to January 23, 2026

FREE PLAY Indie Arcade Night

Join us for an exciting evening of fun and community building for makers and video game enthusiasts!

Learn more

November 7, 2025 to February 8, 2026

FREE PLAY: Innovative Ohio Game Design

FREE PLAY invites viewers to experience video games that push beyond convention

Learn more

Featured Stories

Read more about our community of artists and designers!

CIA to explore ethics surrounding technology, AI and art this year

November 18, 2025

CIA introduces technoethics programming to address AI’s impact on art and design through exhibitions, panels, and collaborative discussions.

Operation: Blast-Off launches learning, creating at CIA’s IML

November 18, 2025

A young girl peers through a telescope with her mother by her side, when suddenly, the world transforms and our heroine is transported to outer space. She bravely pilots a futuristic spaceship through an asteroid field and around other planets, soaring through a faraway galaxy.

Liberal Arts faculty member earns Fulbright for ecology research

November 18, 2025

CIA professor Troy Neptune earns a Fulbright Award to study light pollution’s impact on amphibians in Spain—bridging art, science, and research.

A class all its own: REUNION show brings together ’80, other alums

November 18, 2025

REUNION celebrates Cleveland Institute of Art’s Class of 1980 with a vibrant exhibition curated by Mary Urbas ’80. Featuring 100 works from alumni and mentors, the show highlights decades of creativity and the enduring CIA community.

Recent CIA alumni understand that gifts of all sizes have impact

November 18, 2025

CIA alumni Davon Brantley ’18 and Daly Horton ’24 share how their passion for art and mentorship continues today as practicing artists and admissions counselors, inspiring the next generation while giving back to their alma mater

Beloved former CIA professor Cintron celebrates 104th birthday

November 18, 2025

Longtime Cleveland Institute of Art faculty member José Cintron celebrates his 104th birthday surrounded by family and fond memories of his 50-year teaching legacy.

CIA artists launched careers with coveted Windgate-Lamar awards

November 18, 2025

Annie O’Brien '25 becomes the second CIA alum in a row to be honored with the Windgate-Lamar Award.

A student works on glass art in his studio.

Cleveland Institute of Art student partners with Holden Arboretum researchers to create glasswork that connects art, science

October 2, 2025

"Chromatic Cells" opens October 7 at Holden Arboretum; art/science talk with plant physiologists on October 25

Cleveland Institute of Art student creates planetary glass installation to inspire, educate park visitors

October 20, 2025

"The Solar System" will debut October 24 at Geauga Park District's Observatory Park and become a permanent installation

A CIA employee operates a camera while two other employees stand in front of a large screen in the XR Studio.

Cleveland Institute of Art hopes $13M media lab sparks creative, business growth

June 4, 2025

The IML is positioned to become both a teaching facility and a creative hub for the region, serving as a “welcome mat” to collaborate with CIA on new, novel technologies.

I Break The Rules

I am

Menu

Interactive Media Lab

Make Your Dreams Possible

Operation: Blast Off

Makerspaces

Interactive Media Lab

Metals Studio

Glass Studios

Wood Shop

Ceramics Studios

Digital Forming

Wood Kiln

Jewelry + Metals Studio

Sewing + Felting Studios

Meet Our Alumni

Tim Elek

Alex Anthes

Crystal Miller

Chi Wong

Sydney Kay

Hannah Cabbell

James Negron

Rachel Yurkovich

Aiden Burkley

Fern Haught

Patrick Baran

FREE PLAY Indie Arcade Night

FREE PLAY: Innovative Ohio Game Design

Featured Stories

CIA to explore ethics surrounding technology, AI and art this year

Operation: Blast-Off launches learning, creating at CIA’s IML

Liberal Arts faculty member earns Fulbright for ecology research

A class all its own: REUNION show brings together ’80, other alums

Recent CIA alumni understand that gifts of all sizes have impact

Beloved former CIA professor Cintron celebrates 104th birthday

CIA artists launched careers with coveted Windgate-Lamar awards

Cleveland Institute of Art student partners with Holden Arboretum researchers to create glasswork that connects art, science

Cleveland Institute of Art student creates planetary glass installation to inspire, educate park visitors

Cleveland Institute of Art hopes $13M media lab sparks creative, business growth

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