Program Directory

Applause - Artist Augusto Bordelois; GE Norman Rockwell Collection

Applause

We take you inside the opening of a new exhibit by Cuban-born artist Augusto Bordelois at the Galleries at CSU in Playhouse Square. For Augusto, the show is a homecoming of sorts. In 1999, CSU brought him to Cleveland to lecture and exhibit his work - and he stayed, settled down and began a family. His journey to become an artist began in the small town of Minas de Matahambre, Cuba, playing kid's games, and a run-in with an outsider artist.

This year, the GE Lighting Division, located at Nela Park in the City of East Cleveland celebrates its 100th anniversary of operations. When the company moved to the facility in 1913, their greatest obstacle wasn't producing electric lights but selling them. At that time, the light bulb was a modern day miracle; since most light had been coming from either candles or oil lamps. And getting the American people to give this new technology a try was a challenge. To convince them, GE turned to one of the most trusted image makers of that time: a painter named Norman Rockwell.

We've all heard the saying that when one door closes another opens up. For artist and businessman Lou McClung that adage couldn't ring more true. When the Cleveland Catholic Diocese shuttered the doors on some 50 churches between 2009 and 2010, many including Lou mourned the loss. But out of that he saw a glimmer of hope for one boarded up church. And took a leap of faith to do something he'd only dreamed of: opening a museum.

September 12, 2013