ARTISTS APPLY FREE

CANJournalWinter2017-18

When CAN launched as a quarterly, we were stricken with the glow of potential. This column began:

There’s a moment, sure as flipping a light switch, when you realize something is possible. The visual art scene in Cleveland is at that moment.

Five years later, that potential has grown in every way, and another moment has arrived. In the summer 2018, Cleveland will be at the center of the international art world’s attention as the first FRONT International, Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary art brings dozens of artists from around the nation and the planet to install works in venues across the city.

Programming associated with FRONT is already underway at the Madison Building in Glenville, with visiting artists presenting work and beginning to engage the neighborhood there. You can read about six Cleveland-based artists participating in the Madison Residencies in this issue of CAN.

Meanwhile, preparations are also well underway for a parallel triennial event, focused entirely on artists of Northeast Ohio: in July, 2018, Collective Arts Network will present the first CAN Triennial.

The two events together give Cleveland an opportunity to burn bright on an international stage: to highlight magnificent institutions like the Cleveland Museum of Art and MOCA, and along with them the depth of this robust art scene which keeps us running, all the while knowing there is so much going on that there is no way to take it all in.

CAN Triennial began in conversations with artists and exhibitors of Northeast Ohio looking for ways for a broader representation of Northeast Ohio artists and galleries to capture the energy that will come to Cleveland with FRONT. As we developed plans, we realized all over again that the multitude of artists and galleries in this region are stronger when they work together. Just as dozens of galleries gathered their forces to produce CAN Journal, by working together again we all have a better opportunity to capture the attention of visitors next summer.

CAN Triennial is a curated exhibit led by a diverse team that will scour seven counties for a thorough look at who we are and what we do, and art fair that will gather the region’s galleries and studios in a cohesive setting with critical mass—a destination for collectors from around the region, state, nation, and world seeking exemplary art of Northeast Ohio.

The exhibit and fair will take place at 78th Street Studios, occupying all the public spaces and corridors in the building, and partnering with the galleries and studios there for elements of the exhibit and related programming. The building’s many nooks and crannies offer unique vistas and settings for site-specific installations—including rooftops, murals, staircases, and more.

We are grateful to have early support in this project from The Cleveland Foundation, Consolidated Solutions, 78th Street Studios, City of Cleveland Councilman Matt Zone, William Busta and Joan Tompkins, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, The FORM Group, and Agnes Studio. We want your support, your engagement, your involvement, and your art, too

Consider yourself invited. Artists apply free. Visit CANtriennial.org.

 

Michael Gill

Editor / Publisher