A Cleveland art tradition that went dark for a decade and a half is lighting back up this weekend. The Sankofa Black Art Expo runs Friday through Sunday, September 18-20, 2026, around Shaker Square, offering free and open-to-the-public programming built around Black artists, vendors and a featured artist spotlight.
Because thunderstorms were in the forecast, organizers announced they were moving expo activities indoors, according to blackartexpocle.com. The main expo center will now be housed at Fashions by Fowler, 13228 Shaker Square, while a spotlight exhibition is set for Kamron Khan Photography at 13200 Shaker Square, per the same organizer site. As cleveland.com notes, the expo features artists from across Greater Cleveland and gives visitors a chance to meet creators, learn about their work and purchase original artwork and prints.
The expo's return closes a long gap in local arts programming. Organizers describe it as returning for the first time since the Sankofa Fine Art Expo's original run from 2001 to 2011, according to blackartexpocle.com, while the Collective Arts Network reports the Black Art Expo actually began in 2000 at Cuyahoga Community College East and ran annually until 2011. Cool Cleveland frames it simply as a comeback after a 15-year break for the Glenville-based Sankofa Arts organization, as reported by Cool Cleveland.
Jerome White Headlines as 2026 Featured Artist
Jerome White, a Cleveland-born artist, muralist and art educator, is the 2026 featured artist, according to cleveland.com. White said he is deeply honored to be the featured artist for the 2026 Sankofa Fine Art Expo, adding that the recognition celebrates his artistic journey and the power of Black art to preserve history, honor ancestors and inspire future generations, per cleveland.com.
White's work appears alongside six other artists in the One Powerful Community spotlight exhibition, which the Collective Arts Network describes as featuring six Cleveland-based artists of the African diaspora alongside a variety of vendors. Cool Cleveland lists the exhibition's featured artists as Stina Aleah, Nana Kwesi Agyare, Davon Brantley, Myrya Johnson, Sylvia Munodawafa, Vince Robinson and White himself, with the show addressing themes of community, resilience and identity through painting, photography and mixed media.
Weekend Schedule Blends Vendors, Talks and Film
An opening celebration takes place Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. indoors at Fashions by Fowler, where guests can meet artists, dance to music by DJ Candi Fresca and enjoy refreshments, according to Cool Cleveland's report. Twelve artists and representatives of Black-owned galleries will show original art and prints available for purchase in the Black Art Expo Tent, the outlet adds. Expo hours run Friday from 5 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m., per cleveland.com.
A programming segment called Three Takes, set for Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Fashions by Fowler, gives artists an opportunity to discuss their creative practices and the stories behind their work, cleveland.com reports. An artist talk featuring participants from the One Powerful Community exhibition is scheduled for Sunday from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at Kamron Khan Photography Studio.
Tied to Cleveland's Urban Film Festival
The expo is being held in collaboration with the 15th annual Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival, combining visual-art programming with film. Additional programming will include community discussion on art collecting and artist talks about common themes and interdisciplinary visuals in GCUFF films, according to the Collective Arts Network.
Sankofa Fine Art Plus is the organization behind the expo. The group has produced or supported more than two dozen murals across Cleveland neighborhoods, according to the Collective Arts Network, extending its footprint well beyond the Shaker Square weekend.
