FRONT: Gathered

From the initial announcement of curators, to interviewing them about their plans, to individual reviews of specific installations, CAN Journal and CAN Blog have extensively covered the 2022 FRONT Cleveland International Triennial for Contemporary Art. To make it easy to get an overview, we’ve gathered all our coverage here, with links to full posts and stories.

FRONT Triennial 2022 Artistic Director Prem Krishnamurthy. Photo courtesy of FRONT Triennial.

I Think Its Absolutely Changed

In the Summer 2022 issue of CAN Journal, Brittany Mariel Hudak interviewed FRONT Artistic Director Prem Krishnamurthy and curator Annie Wischmeyer about their curatorial strategies, inspirations, and what we can expect for FRONT 2022.

Jace Clayton’s 40 Part Part, installed in the Main Reading Room at Cleveland Public Library, as part of FRONT Triennial.

To Soothe The Savage

Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, and it plays a significant role in several installations in the 2022 FRONT Triennial. Michael Gill considers how that played out in Asad Raza’s maritime performance Delegation, Cory Arcangel’s Hail Mary at the Church of the Covenant, and Jace Clayton’s BYOM (Bring Your Own Music) installation at the Cleveland Public Library, 40 Part Part.

Ahmet Ogut, Bakunin’s Barricade, installation view at Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin.

Installed to Stall

Jo Steigerwald considers an unsigned contract, the power of culture to protect against real-world barbarism, and associated questions while visiting Ahmet Ogut’s installation, Bakunin’s Barricade, at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin

Loraine Lynn, from the series JOYfull, 2022. Installation view, Cleveland Institute of Art, July 16–October 2, 2022. Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art. Photo: ©FieldStudio. Artwork © and courtesy Loraine Lynn.

FRONT in Cleveland: A View from Chicago

University of Chicago student Dallas Knox visited FRONT installations at MOCA and the Cleveland Institute of Art while in Cleveland for the 2022 Summer on the Cuyahoga internship program.

FRONT: Paralysis, Motion, Sound, and Fury at FAVA

Jo Steigerwald explores extroaordinary works by painter Alexandria Couch, as well as pieces by media artist and composer Joe Namy, and video artist Tony Cokes–the FRONT installations at FAVA’s galleries in the New Union Center for the Arts building at 39 S. Main Street, Oberlin.

Dr. Lady J: A Woman Who Slays, at the FRONT Triennial

Grace Carter interviews FRONT podcast co-host Dr. Lady J. “Upon realizing [certain]gaps in the field of drag history, Dr. Lady J embarked on writing her PhD dissertation.” … “Things are a lot more complicated than they seem,” the doctor said.

FRONT at CMA: In Ruins There Are Always Possibilities

In his farewell ramble through the Cleveland Museum of Art, writer Luke Frazier found his way to the Glass Box gallery (#218) and the vast ocean of all possibilities, an “electrifying installation” by Firelei Baez. His musing brought forth the word “amazary,” as he wandered through the arches of the ruins.

Artistic Director Prem Krishnamurthy speaks at FRONT’s opening press conference, during which the winners of four Futures Fellowships were announced.

FRONT Futures: Three Is Not Enough

Leaders of the Cleveland Triennial announce winners of FRONT Futures fellowships for not three (as originally promised), but four BIPOC artists of the region. The fellowships offer financial support, as well as mentorship, travel, and connections to the international contemporary art world.

FRONT, In Search of an Anthem

Erin O’Brien talks with Buffalo-based artist Asad Raza and the captain of the catamaran on which they and a crew of poets and musicians sailed about the planned journey from the artist’s hometown across Lake Erie to Cleveland, in time for the opening of the FRONT Triennial.

Deidre McPherson, announcing FRONT Futures Fellowships. Photo by McKinley Wiley.

FRONT Art Futures Fellowships: Kind of a Big Deal

Leadership of the Triennial announce fellowships that will nuture the careers of Cleveland-based BIPOC artists, with financial support as well as mentorship, travel, and connections to the contemporary art world.

Installation by Sarah Oppenheimer in the FRONT Preview at Transformer Station

FRONT PREVIEW: Let Down Your Bucket Where You Are

Douglas Max Utter visits the Fall, 2021 exhibit at Transformer Station, presented as a preview of the 2022 FRONT Triennial. He muses on the capacity of an art triennial to “heal,” as FRONT strives to do, and considers works especially of Cleveland-based artists such as Dexter Davis, La Wilson, and Paul O’Keefe.

The FRONT Artistic Team as of January, 2020

Dust and Rainbows: FRONT’s Message So Far

In a January, 2020 pre-pandemic panel discussion previewing the second FRONT Triennial (then slated for Summer 2021), Artistic Director Prem Krishnamurthy and a panel of artistic leaders showed interest in taking up big challenges for an art triennial: to deal with racial inequity, and to better connect with people who are not already wired into the art triennial world.