By Way Of
A group exhibition of new work by the inaugural cohort of the Regional Artist Mobility Program
Image: Rachel Ferber, 2026. Film still.
November 13, 2026 – February 7, 2027
11610 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
Opening Reception
November 13, 6:00 – 8:00 pm with remarks at 6:00 pm
Gallery Hours
Monday – Thursday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday – Sunday: 12:00 – 5:00 pm
The Cleveland Institute of Art’s Reinberger Gallery presents By Way Of, a group exhibition of new work by the inaugural cohort of the Regional Artist Mobility Program (RAMP), a residency exchange between CIA and Flux Factory.
By Way Of takes its title from the common preposition for an indirect route—a nod to the oft absurd, circuitous path taken by makers for their art. Leaning into processes of working backwards, taking the side quest, wandering off or rerouting, each of the artists in By Way Of channels a practice through something that already exists: by way of a melting shoe, by way of reenactment, by way of material resistance or by way of Saturday morning cartoons.
The inaugural RAMP cohort includes two CIA faculty members: interdisciplinary artist and designer Rachel Ferber and painter Mike Meier. It also includes two Flux Factory community artists: textile artist and designer Itala Aguilera and interdisciplinary artist and former actor Li-Ming Hu. The exhibition is co-organized by Meghana Karnik, Curator & Exhibitions Director at Flux Factory and Nikki Woods, Director of Exhibitions + Galleries at CIA.
By Way Of will open to the public with a reception from 6:00 – 8:00 pm on Friday, November 13 at CIA’s Reinberger Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. Remarks will begin at 6:00 pm and will be followed by a live, one-night-only performance by Aguilera at 6:15 pm. The exhibition will remain on view through Sunday, February 7, 2027.
Related Events
- Friday, October 16, 12:15 – 1:30 pm | Lunch On Friday: By Way Of Cleveland
Spend your lunch hour with artists and CIA faculty members Rachel Ferber and Mike Meier as they discuss their experiences in residence for six weeks at Flux Factory in New York City over the summer. Their residencies were part of the Regional Artist Mobility Program (RAMP)—a joint initiative, by the Cleveland Institute of Art and Flux Factory, to strengthen inter-regional exchange between U.S. artists by supporting professional development, facilitating creative dialogue and building cooperation among artists from different regions. The discussion—moderated by Meghana Karnik, Flux Factory’s Curator & Exhibitions Director—will take place during Lunch on Fridays from 12:15 to 1:30pm Friday, October 16 in CIA’s Peter B. Lewis Theater. - Friday, November 13, 6:15 pm | Candelabra Shoes
Performance by RAMP artist Itala Aguilera
The Regional Artist Mobility Program is made possible with the generous support of The Kettering Family Foundation. Reinberger Gallery programming is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County, through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and its exhibitions are generously supported by CIA’s Community Partners.
About the Artists
Rachel Ferber is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and educator based in Cleveland, OH. Her work explores sticky intersections of power, performance, and sustainability through the lens of private space. She holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, and a BFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art, and has exhibited across the United States and Canada. In addition to her studio, she runs an experimental natural dye project called The Dye Bath, and is one half of the art and design initiative, NEW NEW NEW.
Mike Meier‘s work examines media, art history and popular culture to explore the American psyche. He earned a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. His practice merges fine art traditions with raw, reactionary energy, drawing on satire, emotional intensity and cultural critique to probe power, violence and belief systems as American identity.
Li-Ming Hu is an interdisciplinary artist and recovering actor, originally from Aotearoa/New Zealand and now based in New York. She spent the better part of a decade as a professional actor in television, film and theater, making-believing herself into roles including a Power Ranger (Silver) and a doctor on New Zealand’s only soap opera. After trying to separate her acting background from her art practice for some years, she realized that her experience with scripts, set and cameras has given her a useful methodology with which to explore ideas and practices of performance while being in dialogue with a history of performance art that has often taken pains to distance itself from the theater and ideas of the spectacle that the entertainment industry embodies. She has an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Itala Aguilera was born in Mexico City in 1996. After studying Textile and Fashion Design, she worked as a costume designer while developing her practice within the visual arts. Since 2021, Itala has been part of Flux Factory. Her work has been exhibited in Mexico in art spaces such as Islera (La Quema de Judas, 2022), El Arenero (CRUDO, 2022), and Museo de la Ciudad in Querétaro (Formas Clásicas de Búsqueda, 2025); in the US in spaces such as Flux Factory in New York (Mamacita Kitchen, 2022; Saturn Return, 2024), Carnation Contemporary in Portland (My Private Property, 2023), and the Textile Arts Center in New York (Quinceañerx, 2024); and in Europe in spaces such as the Forecast Forum in Berlin (Love Bug, 2023) and Platform in Vaasa (One Million Undresses, 2023). In 2025, she was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts grant, sponsored by Flux Factory.
About RAMP
Regional Artist Mobility Program (RAMP) is a new initiative by Flux Factory to strengthen inter-regional exchange between U.S. artists by supporting professional development, facilitating creative dialogue and building cooperation among artists from different regions.
Media & Contact
Nichole Woods, Director of Galleries + Exhibitions
nwoods@cia.edu
Accessibility
Flux IV is located on the ground floor of 56-21 2nd Street, Long Island City, NY 11101 between the Queens Landing Boathouse & Environmental Center and Gotham Point apartments. The closest bus stop is 2 St/55 Ave on the Q101. The closest subway station is Vernon Blvd-Jackson Ave on the 7 line (purple) and 21st st G line (green). The closest ferry pier is Hunter’s Point South Ferry Landing. A Citibike station is located at Center Blvd & Hunters Point South Ferry Landing. iPark (paid parking) is available on 1-20 56th Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101. There is a public restroom left of our front door.