The Cleveland artist celebrated as the American da Vinci will get his own museum next month.
The Viktor Schreckengost Museum will take over space in the Tower Press Building formerly occupied by improv comedy troupe Something Dada. Opening May 6, the museum will be devoted to Schreckengost and the Cleveland design community he spawned.
American da Vinci LLC and the Viktor Schreckengost Foundation co-founded the museum, where displays will showcase a selection of Schreckengost's more than 20,000 archived creations. It will also feature contemporary designs from institutions such as the Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland State University and Rose Iron Works.
Wally Berry, who heads American da Vinci, says the combination of exhibitors is appropriate. Schreckengost founded CIA's Industrial Design program, his archives have been donated to CSU, and he taught Rose Iron Works founder Mel Rose.
Plans call for rotating shows every two to three months. Berry figures the museum can produce 20 years of shows without repeating any of Schreckengost's work.
"Cleveland is trying to reinvent itself as a center of design," he says. "What better person to rebuild upon than Viktor Schreckengost. His shoulders are pretty broad."
