IngenuityFest Brings New Light To Old Things

The Hamilton Collaborative, a 116-year-old building, was once the largest producer of industrial brushes in the nation. After falling mostly vacant for over a decade, this 329,000-square-foot monument to the St. Clair Superior neighborhood’s industrial past has a new spark. From Sept. 28 to 30, the space is lit from factory floor to sky-high rafter by IngenuityFest, an interactive festival of light shows, art installations and concerts. This year’s theme, FuturePast, prompts artists and engineers to reimagine once-great technologies into responsive pieces of steampunk-esque art. You can hammer a copper masterpiece in the Teaching Garden, a reclaimed metal scrap yard, or play a lead role in the Ingenuity Cabaret. “It’s not that you push a button and something happens,” says artistic director Emily Appelbaum. “You’re actually directing your own experience. You’re making something that expresses your creativity.” 5401 Hamilton Ave., Cleveland, 216-589-9444, ingenuitycleveland.com