FRONT partners with Google Arts & Culture to Celebrate Cleveland

Nov. 16, 2022

Google Arts & Culture partners with 18 local institutions, including FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, to present a digital celebration of the arts

Abigail DeVille, My People, 2022. Painted pew, chicken wire, quartz, obsidian, glass, painted plaster casts, wire. Courtesy of the artist. © Abigail DeVille. Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Joanne Cohen and Morris Wheeler, Fleischner Family Charitable Foundation, and Arts Midwest and in partnership with The Sculpture Center, Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation, and Karamu House. Photography by Field Studio.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Today, Google and the Mayor of Cleveland Justin Bibb announced the company is partnering with 18 world-class Cleveland institutions, including FRONT International, to bring the city’s culture–past and present–online on its Google Arts & Culture platform and app. Cleveland is the sixth US city to launch on Google Arts & Culture. With 18+ Cleveland partners–many of which are FRONT partners–80+ stories, 37,000+ artifacts, 90+ videos, and 54+ sites captured in 360° Museum Street View, the project celebrates the city’s cultural DNA as an industrial giant with cultural refinement.

A destination event that positions Northeast Ohio as a global cultural hub, FRONT is a contemporary art triennial that delivers world-class projects and programs through its network of partnerships with museums and institutions across the region, including Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland Public Library. FRONT also integrates free, site-specific art installations in neighborhoods throughout Cleveland, Akron, and Oberlin, revitalizing the landscape and generating significant cultural tourism and activity.

In partnership with Google Arts & Culture, FRONT is pleased to offer online access to 400+ installation images of artworks presented at FRONT’s first triennial in 2018, An American City, and second triennial in 2022, Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows. Online visitors can explore new commissions that were exhibited across Northeast Ohio, including Jacolby Satterwhite’s mixed media installation at Cleveland Institute of Art and Abigail DeVille’s sculptural installations at The Sculpture Center and Quincy Gardens.

“FRONT is thrilled to partner with Google Arts & Culture to bring our world-class contemporary art exhibition to a global audience, said FRONT Deputy Director Sarah Spinner Liska. “With this partnership, we will continue expanding free, public access to contemporary art and shining a light on artists from Cleveland and across the world.”

Allison Smith, FRONT Digital Media Manager stated, “It has been rewarding to work on this project since Spring 2021 and to finally see it come to life. We are proud to share Cleveland’s cultural treasures with the world.”

“Google Arts & Culture is thrilled to present Cleveland to the world on our platform,” said Surya Tubach, US Lead, Google Arts & Culture. “Thanks to our 18 local partners, now everyone can experience the art, culture, food, and music that makes Cleveland an American gem at one online destination.”

Cleveland is the sixth city in the U.S. to be featured in Google Arts & Culture’s global initiative to capture and share the unique culture of cities. Along with Kansas City, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta, joins European cultural hubs on the platform including Milan and Naples, Italy, Lyon, France, and Hamburg, Germany. Now, anyone, anywhere can experience Cleveland by downloading Google Arts & Culture’s Android or iOS app or by visiting Google Arts & Culture.

Jacolby Satterwhite, Dawn, 2022. Mixed media. Dimensions vary. Courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York. Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, with support from the VIA Art Fund, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts © Jacolby Satterwhite. Photography by Field Studio.

About Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture puts the treasures, stories and knowledge of over 2,500 cultural institutions from 80 countries at your fingertips. If Google’s mission is to make the world’s information more accessible, then Arts & Culture's mission is to make the world's culture accessible to anyone, anywhere. It’s your doorway to explore art, history, and wonders of the world. Discover stories about cultural heritage ranging from Van Gogh’s bedroom paintings, Puerto Rico’s heritage, Sports in Australia or the women's right movement to ancient Maya temples, Japanese Food and Indian Railways.

FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art
FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art is a free, public art exhibition that takes place across Cleveland, Akron, and Oberlin every three years.

A destination event that positions Northeast Ohio as a global cultural hub, FRONT is a contemporary art triennial that delivers world-class projects and programs through its network of partnerships with museums and institutions across the region, including The Cleveland Museum of Art, the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Akron Art Museum, moCa Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, and Cleveland Public Library.

Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows, the second edition of FRONT International, was on view from July 16 through October 2, 2022.

FRONT’s inaugural edition in 2018, An American City, drew over 90,000 visitors from more than 25 countries and brought $31 million in new economic activity to the region.

For press inquiries, please contact Executive Director Fred Bidwell at fred.bidwell@frontart.org

L to R: Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb at the Google Arts & Culture Launch at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. FRONT Digital Media Manager Allison Smith and FRONT Deputy Director Sarah Spinner Liska.