MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release
June 2026
Contact: Arleigh Savage – programs@heightsarts.org

Heights Arts Summer Exhibitions Explore Disability, Cultural Identity, and Youth Creativity

Cleveland Heights, OH —

Summer at Heights Arts brings new art and perspectives across three exhibitions. Colorburst, opening May 21, showcases the annual high school student-curated show exploring the expressive power of color. On June 18, Beyond Perception brings together artists whose work is shaped by experiences of disability, illness, and recovery, alongside Amelia Casiano’s storytelling of cultural identity in the Spotlight Gallery.

The May student exhibition is curated by Cleveland Heights High School interns Amia Frazier and Evelyn Marinelli. Titled Colorburst, this collection of student pieces broadens the collective vision of the world by celebrating color. The show is part of Heights Arts’ high school internship program, which fosters youth leadership in the art world.

Beyond Perception seeks to shift the perspective of disability as limitation.  Instead, it positions it as a generative force: one that reshapes how art is made, experienced, and understood. This redefinition of disability is expressed by the six participating artists in their respective mediums.

Meg Matko’s interdisciplinary work uses sculpture and performance to explore the feminine body as narrator, interpreter, weight-bearer and voice. Ceramicist and chronic illness survivor Kristi Copez will present a series of her open prayer vessels. Ceré Bellow’s multimedia work touches on ecological awareness with personal healing. Drawing on natural dyes, eco-printing, and earth-derived materials, Bellow treats the environment as collaborator rather than subject. Following experiences of trauma, art emerges not only as expression but as necessity. For Andrew Reach, disability prompted a profound shift in medium and perspective. After his 21-year career in architecture was cut short by spinal disease, Reach turned to digital art as a form of survival. What began as two-dimensional experimentation evolved into hybrid sculptural works he calls “ART-itectures”. Visually impaired self-taught finger painter Regina E. Dorfmeyer will exhibit work that redefines the relationship between sight and creation. Her process is tactile and immersive. “Finger painting allows me to connect directly with the surface, feeling each movement, texture, and layer as the work unfolds” says Dorfmeyer.

Also opening on June 18^th is the Spotlight Artist Amelia Casiano, who draws from her Puerto Rican heritage and Cleveland upbringing, to create mixed media works of vibrant palettes and layered textures. Casiano’s work explores themes ranging from womanhood to climate change. Casiano invites viewers saying, “This exhibition is special with the way I story-tell within my paintings. I always make room for conversation with my pieces and want the people to take a glimpse into my own technique and creative process.”

Guests can also experience poetry in tandem with the exhibitions at the Ekphrastacy: Artists Talk + Poets Respond event on Thursday, July 23 at 7:00pm, and enjoy enjoy live music and curated cocktails at ARTbar featuring Tony Cuda’s Jazz Cats on June 25 at 7:00pm. Learn more or RSVP to events at heightsarts.org.

PRESS MEDIA

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Founded in 2000, Heights Arts (www.heightsarts.org) is a nonprofit, multi-disciplinary arts organization whose mission is to cultivate a strong, diverse, and collaborative arts community by inspiring people of all ages to engage in the arts; supporting the arts through education; providing exhibition and performance opportunities; and fostering public appreciation for the arts.

Heights Arts is generously supported by funding from individuals, businesses, and organizations, including: City of Cleveland Heights; City of University Heights; Cuyahoga Arts & Culture; Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation; Ohio Arts Council; The Arthur E, Elsie G, and Betty M Kranz Family Foundation; The Jean, Harry, and Brenda Fuchs Family Foundation; The Peggy and John Garson Family Foundation; The William Bingham foundation; and WWMR Foundation.