Cleveland is planning to welcome Republican National Convention delegates, this month, with a number of artistic surprises. Visitors riding the Red Line from the airport will be greeted by a number of large murals painted on empty walls and bridge abutments. Random collections of colorful plastic animals will be positioned in open spaces downtown. But, the most surprising of all may be a series of pop-up performances.
It might be a theatre troupe staging a skit on Euclid Avenue, or an opera singer warbling in a public park. Performers from across the region will offer entertainment in places where you might least expect it. Cuyahoga Arts and Culture's Jake Sinatra calls these random entertainments, "Art Interventions".
"An art intervention can look like a lot of different things," he says. "We've gathered some of our art and cultural ambassadors to hit the streets and bring their music, dance, spoken word, artistic abilities and showcase them for the community that will be coming here for the RNC."
Sinatra says the performers will appear at random times in mid-July, but he won't say exactly where or when.