Welcome to Cleveland's Most Innovative Theatre Festival!
We Are Mission-Driven.
BorderLight’s mission is to present innovative theatre that inspires, builds cross-cultural understanding, and celebrates the diversity of the human experience.
Large-scale performing arts festivals are some of the most celebrated community events—and largest economic drivers—in the world. BorderLight promises to bring the vibrancy of an international performing arts festival to downtown Cleveland—and shine a spotlight on our city's abundant arts and culture community, as well as our rich cultural assets.
We Are Ambitious.
Our mission is ambitious. Your support will help us get there.
When you make a gift to BorderLight, you are supporting cross-cultural artistic collaboration that provides a unique, compelling theatrical experience for our city. In these unprecedented times, arts organizations need your support now more than ever. No gift is too small - every dollar makes a difference.
Thank You to Our Leading Supporters
We Are Impactful.
BorderLight 2023 $430,020 in direct economic impact.Â
BorderLight featured the work of 186 artists representing 36 shows from around the world including international and national touring companies, and individual artists and companies from the local Cleveland theatre community. We also worked with multiple partners, both local and international, to present new works of theatre for the festival.
WE ARE LOVED...
BUT DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT
We Are Diverse.
The BorderLight Festival is committed to advancing equity and inclusion. We aspire to reflect the diversity of our community at every level of the organization, and to serve as a platform for sharing different perspectives on the human experience.
The BorderLight Festival was conceived to bridge cultural and social divides. As theatre presenters, we believe it is in sharing stories and bearing witness that we all build our capacity for empathy and understanding. Our stages are platforms for artists who reflect a range of identities and nationalities. Their performances provide a shared experience that connects us and allows us to reckon with our histories and imagine new futures.
We Are Cleveland.
Cleveland has an incredible theatrical infrastructure, ideal for supporting an ambitious theatre festival.
Cleveland's per capita arts attendance is among the highest in the nation. In fact, in a recent report by the Cultural Data Project (SMU/Arts), Cleveland ranked 5th among the nation’s leading cities for arts and culture, alongside New York, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Once dubbed "The Best Location in the Nation," Cleveland is located a day's drive or less from most major cities of the east coast and midwest USA.