Michelle Grabner, Fred Bidwell, and Jens Hoffmann

Below is a breaking announcement from the leadership of FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art.

FRONT International Announces Changes to Artistic Team

CLEVELAND, Ohio (November 27, 2017) – FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art announced today that Jens Hoffmann is departing from his role as Co-Artistic Director of FRONT International effective immediately. Michelle Grabner will continue in her role as Artistic Director, working in collaboration with FRONT artists and curators at the various partner institutions, to oversee the inaugural edition of the Triennial, which opens in Cleveland in July 2018 and continues through September 2018.

FRONT’s presentation will investigate the significance and meaning of staging a large-scale international Triennial in the contemporary context. Bringing together more than 70 local, national and international artists across mediums and disciplines, FRONT will partner with museums and other sites throughout the city of Cleveland and beyond to explore artistic collaborations, intellectual exchanges and curatorial dialogues connecting the city and the Great Lakes region to broader global, political and economic networks.

The inaugural edition of FRONT, titled An American City, is a multi-part program that addresses aesthetics in relation to political change and societal uncertainty. Challenging the resurgence of American Pragmatism—a set of concepts that focus more on the practical uses of knowledge and less on knowledge as a tool for reflection and criticality—the Triennial will interweave critical approaches to museum exhibitions, public and educational programs, residencies, publications and research strategies in a multi-venue presentation unfolding across Cleveland and its surroundings. Artistic Director, Michelle Grabner, will continue to conduct artist studio visits and work collaboratively with curators at the various presenting partner institutions throughout Northeast Ohio to activate and realize a complex exhibition program. FRONT presenting partners include Akron Art Museum, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Public Library, MOCA Cleveland, SPACES, and Transformer Station.

About FRONT
FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art is a citywide program developed by an international team of artists, curators and scholars with the creative resources of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. In museum exhibitions and unconventional sites spread across the city, FRONT will be an expansive stage for local, national and international artists to create and share new work that is inspired by and engaged with the most important social, political, cultural and environmental issues of today.

When:
July 14–September 30, 2018