moCa

This a blog post about two stories. First, as the title indicates, it is my opportunity to share my photos, the people with whom I connected, and some of what I learned at the Futureland AI Forward Summit on Thursday, November 20, 2025. The second story is how I am having a busy month, and to save time, I used AI for the first time to write part of this blog post.

First Story

I want to mention here that it was great to see the performance of Myles "Humble G" Smith of International Multimedia Group, and later have a great conversation with him and Jalá Smith. I had written a blog post which featured Humble G many years ago , so it was great to see him perform again!

In the afternoon, I attended TerDawn DeBoe's presentation, "Workshop: From AI Overwhelm to 10X ROI in 90 Days." You can learn more about her work at WorkWithTerDawn.com and InstituteOfBusinessai.org. I was interviewed about what I thought of her presentation, and if she uses it in a future promotional video, I will add it to this blog post.

Second Story

The second story was driven by my goal to create the text for this blog post quickly. It was after 11:22 pm, and I was finishing the draft of my blog post about the Grand Opening: Upland Sims Park Expansion - City of Euclid. I was tired, but I had set a goal of starting the text about the Futureland event, and I did not want to go bed without beginning to write it. I decided that since the Summit was about using AI, and was sponsored by Google, I would try for the first time using the Google Gemini AI platform. I gave it minimal promps and the text I had shared on social media. By 11:40:38 pm, I had an OpenDocument (.odt) file of a blog post text, and then decided it would be easier for me to add an HTML file to my website. I had Gemini create the HTML (Hypertext Markup Language - HTML5 version). I finished the evening at 1:02:09 am by choosing the following privacy option: "The activity you selected is being permanently deleted from your account and no longer tied to you."

The most important takeaway from the Summit is that our Northeast Ohio leaders are looking to use AI and other technology to better serve our community. I did talk to a couple of the presenters about how many unscrupulous people are using AI to steal creative people's intellectual property, to create false propaganda, and for other unethical activities. I shared with them the case of the felon in the White House creating an AI video of himself as a king dropping feces on the public that does not support him. They shared my concerns, and I was impressed that they did make the Summit focus on positive uses of technology in the world. As I shared on Bluesky social while I was writing this blog post, many ". . . of the presentations weren’t even about AI per se, but just about how to use good data and technology to better serve the community. Technology in the hands of good people can truly improve lives."

I currently don't plan on using AI, since it does not meet my current needs, but at the same time I think it is important to learn what it can do. I highly recommend attending future Futureland Summits, since their presenters did an excellent job of introducing technology that could further positive objectives in our community.

I put together this blog post to share some of what I saw while visiting eight area galleries in February 2025. There is a variety of artwork presented, which will appeal to the different tastes of different people. I hope this encourages you to visit those galleries that have items of interest to you.

Thank you to the following galleries for an enjoyable month visiting:

1. Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - Picasso and Paper - Cleveland Museum of Art

2. Friday, February 7, 2025 - ArtLens Gallery - Cleveland Museum of Art

3. Friday, February 7, 2025 - Gala Porras-Kim: A Hand in Nature and Harminder Judge: Bootstrap Paradox and Birthing Beautiful Communities: Dear - moCa Cleveland

4. Friday, February 7, 2025 - Possibility for Repair and Opening Night for Back in the Dayz - Cleveland Institute of Art

5. Saturday, Friday 8, 2025 - d.a. levy: Subversive Printmaking in 1960s Cleveland - Zygote Press

6. Friday, February 14, 2025 - Opening Night for Love Is Resistance - Cleveland Institute of Art at Transformer Station (Cleveland Museum of Art Remote Location)

7. Friday, February 28, 2025 - North Chagrin Nature Photography Club - Cleveland Metroparks

8. Friday, February 28, 2025 - Opening Night of the 2025 Student Independent Exhibition - Cleveland Institute of Art

If you have limited time, I recommend prioritizing visiting the Picasso and Paper exhibition and the two Cleveland Institute of Art exhibitions at their main campus building and at Transformer Station.

I am grateful that we have so many galleries to enjoy in our area. I hope you take time to visit the institutions I mention in this blog post! Have fun!!!

We are very fortunate in Cleveland to have Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage make its United State debut at our very own moCa Cleveland in Uptown Cleveland - University Circle. When I saw Manabu Ikeda's exhibition, along with two other new exhibitions, as part of the moCa Cleveland Opening Night Celebration, I knew I would need to come back a few more times. There is so much to see in the details of Manabu Ikeda's artwork. Fortunately, the exhibition is in Cleveland through May 26, 2024, and moCa Cleveland is always FREE and open to all.

This blog post is about the February 2, 2024, moCa Cleveland Opening Night Celebration, and my March 29, 2024, return visit during a Studio Access with Manabu Ikeda session at moCa Cleveland.

Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows, the second iteration of FRONT International, will run from July 16 through October 2, 2022. Building on the success of the first edition, FRONT 2022 will further the Triennial’s commitment to stimulating new and sustained cultural conversations within the region.

The following blog post is from my tour of FRONT International and CAN Triennial venues in University Circle on several days in July/August 2022, and about the Friday, July 29, 2022, PechaKucha Night Cleveland event. I had planned on publishing this blog post on Friday, August 26, 2022, which is the day I went to the Akron FRONT International venues, but got busy with some family commitments and did not have time to finish writing everything I wanted to add to the blog post.

I have now decided to just publish this blog post "as is" (please read the tweets text to get most of the story) before FRONT International closes on October 2, 2022.

Dear Stuart,

I am excited to share with you an update and an invitation to celebrate the opening of the second edition of FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art. Prem Krishnamurthy, our FRONT 2022 Artistic Director, has assembled a brilliant exhibition sprawling across 30 venues in Northeast Ohio and featuring a dazzling array of over 100 artists, including art stars like Julie Mehretu, Firelei Baez, Renée Green, Yoshitomo Nara, Jacolby Satterwhite.

Anticipation is high, and the press is calling FRONT one of the must-see art events of the year, along with documenta and the Venice Bienalle.

The title of FRONT 2022, Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows is inspired by a couplet by Langston Hughes, . . .

Our preview days are July 14 and 15, and we would be delighted to have you join artists and art lovers from across the country to share a packed calendar of events and programming. . . .

Laura and I  would be pleased to have you as our guests for an open house brunch at our home from 10:00 to 12:00 on July 15 and 16. . . .

Of course, FRONT runs through October 2, and we would love to see you any time this Summer. I would love to hear your thoughts and impressions.

With warm regards,
Fred Bidwell
Executive Director

I am grateful that Fred Bidwell emailed me an invitation to attend the 2022 FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art preview events. It was great to learn more about, and get an advanced look at some of the venues before “Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows” opened to the public on July 16, 2022. It runs through October 2, 2022.

As background, I put together both "Preview Exhibition" and "Personal Prequel" blog posts, which cover my interests and activities relating to FRONT International between the 2018 events and the start of the 2022.

The scope of this second FRONT International is so large that the preview barely gave a nibble of the full banquet of northeast Ohio art that is now available for exploration. As I prepared this blog post, I learned more and more, but also realized that there still is much more to learn. In 2018, my wife and co-blogger, Julie, enjoyed visiting and blogging about many of the venues we visited, and we look forward to exploring the new art at the 2022 venues.

This blog post includes both the two days of preview events and the kickoff block party, plus additional information:

• Thursday, July 14, 2022 -
  * FRONT Press Conference - Cleveland Museum of Art

  - Provenance Café and Importance of Accessibility to FRONT Venues
  - FRONT Web Resources
  - Inaugural FRONT Art Futures Fellows

   

• Friday, July 15, 2022 -
  * Director’s Open House Brunch Presented by J.P. Morgan Private Bank - Fred & Laura Bidwell Home
  * Remembering Tamir Rice
  * Friday, July 15, 2022 - Picnic Lunch - University Circle
  * CIA Sparkling Toast Exhibition Preview - Cleveland Institute of Art, Reinberger Gallery
  * FRONT VIP Preview Party - moCa  Cleveland (Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland)
  * CWRU Mandel School & Western Reserve Historical Society Grand Carousel

• Saturday, July 16, 2022 -
  * FRONT BLOCK PARTY - Cleveland Public Square, Gund Foundation Green

This blog post is about the creative and historical events I attended Friday, September 24, 2021, through Sunday, September 26, 2021:

• moCa Cleveland (Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland) and more in University Circle
  
  In 2020 (pre-COVID-19 vaccine),  I stopped going to moCa Cleveland, so in 2021 (after being fully vaccinated), I had gotten out of the habit of looking to see what the new exhibits were at the museum. Therefore, I greatly appreciated receiving the following Twitter direct message on September 6, 2021, from @moCaCleveland reminding me to visit: "Stuart, have you been in to see our new season? Just an fyi we have a new Sr Marketing Director . . . moCa hopes all is well."

• Ingenuity at the Lake
  
  When I first arrived at Ingenuity at the Lake, I did not know what to expect. I ended up really enjoying some of the yard games with my family, and of course talking to people from different organizations providing services to our community.

• 16th Annual Remembering The Sights & Sounds of Euclid Beach Park
  
  My son, Kevin F. Smith, displays his Euclid Beach Park memorabilia collection every year. Learn more details about the history of this amusement park, and how Kevin and my wife, Julie, are on the board of Euclid Beach Park Now.

On March 3, 2019, I heard the exciting news:

OPEN HOUSE Includes Free Admission for All, Beginning March 16

I immediately made plans to attend the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland - moCa Cleveland Open House on March 16th!

It is great that we now have another art museum in Cleveland that opens its doors for all to enjoy without charging an admission fee!

On Saturday, August 4, 2018, I returned to the venues in Uptown Cleveland to show my family what I saw on the opening day of FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art.

I hope you enjoy my photos in these tweets of my return visit to FRONT International Triennial in Uptown Cleveland.

On Thursday, July 12, 2018, I took a vacation day to attend the FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art opening day press conference. This blog post continues where my FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art - Opening blog post leaves off -- to share my experiences visiting three of the FRONT International Triennial venues in University Circle and Uptown Cleveland. 

On April, 7, 2018, despite a very busy morning at the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 2018 Opening Day for Trails - Cleveland, I was still very interested in seeing the current exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland in the afternoon. 

Thanks to the sponsorship of PNC Bank, the museum offers free admission for all visitors on the first Saturday of every month.

The current MOCA exhibitions include INDUCTION: Tauba Auerbach and Éliane Radigue, Simon Denny: The Founder's Paradox, Claudia Comte: Zigzags and Diagonals, and Mei-Jia & Ting-Ting & Chih-Fu & Sin-Ji: C. Spencer Yeh. 

My son, Kevin, is developing two board games, so when I told him about Simon Denny's board game designs, he joined me at the Museum. In addition to Simon Denny's work, there were also game designs by local college students.