McDonough Museum of Art
McDonough Museum of Art
The John J. McDonough Museum of Art seeks to expand the teaching and research function of the university by generating compelling academic and public programs. The McDonough’s mission reinforces the mission of the Cliffe College of Creative Arts and that of Youngstown State University in placing academic excellence, scholarship, and innovation at the center of our operations.
The museum works with Department of Art faculty and students and visiting artists to develop programs and exhibitions that enhance the department’s contemporary and interdisciplinary teaching mission. We therefore align curation with curriculum to strengthen the educational function of the museum in teaching and training students and to deepen our relationship with our community and region.
A modernist landmark, the McDonough Museum was designed by the award-winning architects Charles Gwathmey and Robert Siegel, who are nationally known for their work. The McDonough stands as a unique architectural feature on the YSU's campus and consists of 21,000 square feet of exhibition, lecture, and office spaces.
Current and upcoming exhibitions
The McDonough Museum offers a range of dynamic programs that include exhibitions, installations, performances, and lectures that invite campus and community members to discover and explore meaning in contemporary art. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.
The museum is located at 525 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, OH 44502.
Hours are 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM Tuesday through Saturday
(closed Sunday and Monday and major holidays).
Spring Exhibitions
January 21 - February 28
Closing reception: February 28, 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Julia Betts, The Dams are Broken
McDonough Lecture: February 5, 5:30 PM
Julia Betts’ work combines sculpture, performance, and installation in her efforts to push a range of materials to the limits of their use while placing herself in unstable circumstances, creating metaphors of emotional and psychic vulnerability and demonstrations of intentional disarray. She is an Adjunct Professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
Anna Chapman, Underworld/Otherworld
Anna Chapman is an artist and educator. Her work aims to create reconciliatory relationships to place, community, materiality, and voice on both the personal and collective levels, influenced by the social sciences, the humanities, ecology, and the healing arts.
Emerging Artist Abby Cipar, Sometime, Somehow, For You
McDonough Lecture: February 12, 5:30 PM
Abby Cipar is a multidisciplinary artist, arts advocate, and curator from northeast Ohio. They currently serve as a Community Member on the Artist Resource Committee for Akron’s Summit Artspace.
Will Hutnick, QUEER HORIZONS
McDonough Lecture: February 27, 5:30 PM
Will Hutnick, based in Connecticut, has been an artist-in-residence at Yaddo, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences. He is currently the Director of Artistic programming at the Wassaic Project, a non-profit organization that uses art to foster positive social change.
Sidney Mullis, Caught Skies & Pillowed Pines (Black Forest)
McDonough Lecture: February 20, 5:30 PM
Sidney Mullis is a sculptor who is currently building a make-believe forest in which our childhood selves retreat to during adulthood. Her other work has focused on puberty, the intimacy of forgetting, and the performance of gender.
88th Annual Juried Student Art & Design Exhibition
March 21 – April 4
Reception: March 21 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM
The Annual Juried Student Art and Design Exhibition features work by YSU Department of Art students. Local businesses and individuals support the event and its artists by contributing cash awards and gift certificates to numerous award categories, including ceramics, photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, digital media, and graphic and interactive design.
Spring 2025 Graduating B.F.A. Exhibition
April 18 – May 3
Reception: April 18 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM
The 2025 Spring Graduating B.F.A. Exhibition celebrates the work of senior Department of Art students graduating from Cliffe College. The exhibition serves as an opportunity for these students to share their original and innovative ideas with the public and garner feedback on their work.