Stories from Storage

When the pandemic upended international travel in March 2020, temporarily delaying projects that had been in development for years, the museum reimagined its schedule of exhibitions by drawing on its own resources. Stories from Storage offers a thoughtful and focused examination of multiple important themes through seldom seen works of art carefully selected by each of the museum’s nearly two dozen curators. It conveys not a single, linear narrative but multiple stories that complement one another. Each story reveals a unique element within the museum’s encyclopedic collection, representing human creativity across the globe. 

“This wonderful new exhibition offers a glimpse into our vault, making available works rarely, if ever, before seen by the public,” said William M. Griswold, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art. “In Stories from Storage, visitors will experience a range of curatorial approaches, expanding our visitors’ understanding of the museum’s collection by adding to, elucidating or even complicating the chronicle of art history we present in our permanent collection galleries.” 

With the  CMA’s ArtLens  App, hear from each curator to learn why they picked the objects for their story in the exhibition.  Listen to  a special introduction from Director William Griswold, get access to  in-depth information with high-resolution  images of  every artwork on view  and gain  special  insights into each of the 20 stories. Keep the entire exhibition at your fingertips to dive deep whether at home, or at the museum.