Originally published in Fresh Water
The FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Arts is a summer-long arts festival that occurs every three years in Cleveland, Akron, and Oberlin. The 2022 festival opens this Saturday, July 16 and will saturate the region with artist commissions, performances, films, and public programs.
While COVID-19 delayed FRONT in 2021, the event used the postponement to build momentum for the much-anticipated event, which will feature 100 world renowned artists working in a variety of media—coming together to interpret the Langston Hughes-inspired theme "Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows" at 30 sites in three cities.
The inaugural 2018 FRONT Triennial brought 90,000 visitors from more than 25 countries and brought $31 million in new economic activity to the region, and organizers say they expect participation to grow in this second installment.