February 2022 Newsletter
What we’re looking forward to in 2022
It has been a difficult winter everywhere and we’re completely snowed in here in Cleveland, so we wanted to share some of the brighter things we are looking forward to in 2022.
First off, we made a little video for your art-curious friends to see what FRONT is all about.
Hosting artists as they do site visits in Northeast Ohio is one of our favorite things, so we are looking forward to a steady stream of insightful, observant, and provocative guests in the Spring. We already had Abigail DeVille, Cooking Sections, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, and Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis visit this winter and Wong Kit Yi and Renée Green are coming in February. Look for artist talks and programs on our website!
L: Visiting artists, Cooking Sections, on a tour in Cleveland. R: Visiting artist Abigail DeVille with FRONT Director of Community and Artistic Initiatives, Deidre McPherson, and FRONT Fellow at Cleveland Public Library, Ron'Dale Simpson.
At the end of March, we’ll have two big press events announcing the slate of projects at our partner institutions, along with a complete artist list for Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows. We have been working hard to match artworks with venues and to commission ambitious new artworks for this edition of the triennial, so we are really looking forward to these press events. Save the date for our Cleveland press launch on March 31, 2022!
In March we’ll also be launching the pilot for The Pod of Dust and Rainbows, our four-episode narrative podcast for FRONT 2022. Hosted by Cleveland luminaries Dr. Lady J and Kenyon Farrow, and recorded at the West 117th Foundation studios, the podcast will give listeners behind-the-scenes access to the triennial’s artists and artworks. No spoilers, but the first episode stars Toledo-based FRONT 2022 artist Loraine Lynn and Chicago-based FRONT 2018 artist Dawoud Bey, and we’re going to talk about Africa, Ohio. Have you ever been there?
FRONT 2022 Artist Loraine Lynn with FRONT podcast co-host Dr. Lady J.
Speaking of going places, FRONT will have 15 art-filled billboards in the Cleveland area. Look for us on the highways and byways this spring!
The Rodina Graphic Identity for FRONT 2022.
One of our biggest goals for FRONT 2022 is to make it easier for people to connect with the artworks, so we’re preparing an all-ages Activity Book, which will feature activity prompts for each of our exhibition sites, along with a handy map so you can plan your route. We prototyped this tool in our preview show, Grand Prototypes, Humble Tools, and we thought the responses to the activities were great! You’ll be able to pick this booklet up at the FRONT PNC Exhibition Hub at Transformer Station this summer.
Activity card from the FRONT 2022 Preview Exhibition: Grand Prototypes, Humble Tools at Transformer Station from October 8, 2021–January 2, 2022.
Of course, the thing we are most looking forward to is Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows, the summer-long exhibition that culminates many years of deep engagement with the creative resources of the region and beyond. We’ll be bringing some of the world’s best artists to town and bringing the best out of Cleveland. We hope you’ll save the dates for our ticketed opening gala on Thursday July 14 and for our block party, which will be free and open to the public, on Saturday July 16, 2022.
Until then, we hope you’ll stay in touch on Instagram.
Winter will be over soon and the snow might even stop falling.
Warmly,
Fred, Prem, Sarah, Allison, Ron’Dale, Janet, Deidre, Annie, and Dushko
