Watch an Exclusive Preview of the Inaugural FRONT International Triennial in Cleveland

FRONT International's Executive Director Fred Bidwell and Artistic Director Michelle Grabner detail their vision.

FRONT International's executive director Fred Bidwell and artistic director Michelle Grabner. Courtesy of artnet and FRONT Exhibition Company.

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The first edition of the long-awaited FRONT International triennial will open in Cleveland this July. Titled “An American City: Eleven Cultural Exercises,” the program features commissioned projects, performances, films, and a variety of public events across seven institutions and 30 non-traditional locations in and around the Rust Belt city.

Plans for the exhibition were first announced in August 2016, along with its founding directors: Fred Bidwell, Michelle Grabner, and Jens Hoffmann (who has since left the project). Since then, details about the program have steadily come to light, including the list of participating artists and institutions. However, because of the ambitiousness of the event and the directors’ vow to “rethink the conventional Biennial or Triennial exhibition model,” it’s been hard to picture how exactly the Triennial will look and feel.

Now, just less than three months from the July 14 opening, that picture is much clearer, thanks in part to a new video co-produced by artnet and the FRONT Exhibition Company. In the preview below, Bidwell and Grabner take viewers through the exhibition’s many components and explain their broader goals for the project.

“The exhibition won’t be about Cleveland,” says Bidwell in the video. “But it will be fully framed by Cleveland—a fascinating place that’s absolutely at the crossroads of every important racial, social, political, economic issue that’s on the table today.”

The first edition of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, “An American City: Eleven Cultural Exercises,” will be on view from July 14 through September 30. VIPs, Press, and Professionals can register for preview day accreditation here.


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