About the 2025 Festival
The theme of the 2025 Cleveland Humanities Festival is APPETITE. Feast. Famine, Ambition. Desire. Craving. Appetite is both a bodily state and an emotive force. As we celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the CHF, we will explore the multifaceted ways that humanistic inquiry has engaged this theme. What do we hunger for in our personal and civic lives? How does longing shape the human psyche? How have artists and makers explored the role of appetite in creative production? What metaphors of appetite resonate across diverse time periods and cultural milieus? How will AI and new technologies impact our collective appetites for knowledge? These questions and more will be addressed by Cleveland area arts, cultural and educational organizations through a series of public events in the spring of 2025.
The Hunger for Meaning: Fifth Decade Mastery
March 20, 2025
7:00 PM Cuyahoga County Public Library Garfield Heights Branch 5409 Turney Road Garfield Heights, OH 44125
Learn to unlock your potential in your 50’s and beyond! Are you looking back with regret and feeling anxious about the future, sensing that time is slipping away? In this workshop, uncover the keys to unlocking your limitless potential and achieving abundant success in your fifties and beyond. Presented by Natalie Rudd, Certified Professional Life & Business Coach
Book a Chat with the Chief
March 20, 2025
7:00 PM Rocky River Public Library 1600 Hampton Road Rocky River, OH 44116
In this discussion led by Police Chief Lichman, read The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, and come to share your thoughts on how communities can be built through one connection at a time.
This event is sponsored by Rocky River Public Library and is free and open to the public.
Registration is required. Register HERE.
Hunger for Change: Writing as Activism
March 22, 2025
1:30 - 3:00 PM Third Space Action Lab, 1464 E. 105th St, Cleveland, Ohio 44103
Appetite isn't just about food; it can be a hunger for change, justice, and transformation. This workshop invites participants to harness their writing as a tool for social commentary and activism. We will explore how writers can respond to the world's injustices and articulate a collective yearning for a better future. Participants will leave with a powerful piece that channels their hunger for change.
Who it's for: Writers interested in exploring activism through creative writing.
Food and Culture: Healthy Cooking Made Simple with Vel Scott
March 22, 2025
2:00 PM Cuyahoga County Public Library Brooklyn Branch 7619 Memphis Avenue Brooklyn, OH 44144
Cooking Vareniki (Ukrainian Pierogis)
March 24, 2025
11:00 AM Cuyahoga County Public Library Mayfield Branch 500 SOM Center Road Mayfield, OH 44143
You’ll see step-by-step how to assemble and cook this traditional Vareniki (Ukrainian pierogis). In this hands-on program you will build your Vareniki, choose fillings, learn to fold and crimp this Ukrainian favorite using premade dough discs. You will leave with Vareniki ready to be cooked at home. Supplies limited.
This event is sponsored by Cuyahoga County Public Library and is free and open to the public.
Ravenous Remediation: Documentary to AI Practices in Visual Storytelling from Eurasia
March 27, 2025
6:30 pm | Cinematheque at Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Thirst for Knowledge: The Florist of Millionaire's Row
March 27, 2025
7:00 PM Cuyahoga County Public Library Chagrin Falls Branch 100 East Orange Street Chagrin Falls, OH 44022
The Analytic Museum: Freud’s Curatorial Phantasm
March 28, 2025
6:30 PM 2460 Fairmount Boulevard #312 Cleveland, OH 44106
Feasting the Imagination: Writing Inspired by Art
March 29, 2025
1:30 – 3:00 PM The Darl Center of the Arts 5437 Broadway Ave, Cleveland, OH 44127
Transforming Sophia: Mycotecture
March 31, 2025
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.
7:00 PM Clark Hall Room 400 11130 Bellflower Road Cleveland, OH 44141
This workshop will explore shaping the built environment using fungi. You will use the byproducts of mushroom cultivation to shape building blocks, scuptures, or other artifacts from living materials. You will also learn clean handling of microorganisms, form buildinng, and cultivation of objects from fungi. The instructor will discuss real world application of biofabrication.