Digital Innovation Collaborators

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Collaborators: 

The CMA’s award-winning digital team, and the supporting cross-departmental team, partnered with the following vendors:

• Mediacurrent: Front-end design and development 
• Substrate: Back-end development
• Prime Access Consulting: Accessibility consulting
• The OPAL Group: API and collection data support
• Design I/O: AI collection concept development
• Fusion Filmworks: Video production

Organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art, Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia’s Sacred Mountain presents the story, context, and new restoration of a masterwork in the museum’s collection, Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan. The 1,500-year-old stone sculpture from Cambodia, larger than life size, depicts the young Hindu god in the superhuman act of shielding his people from destruction.

Featuring an immersive, mixed-reality HoloLens tour, the exhibition places the sculpture in the southern Cambodian landscape and sacred space from which it came. In partnership with the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh and the Angkor Borei Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art is displaying the newly restored work alongside other large-scale early sculptures from Phnom Da, generously lent from the National Museum and the Musée national des arts asiatiques–Guimet in Paris. Revealing Krishna illuminates the effect of global changes over the past 1,500 years on the discovery, disposition, and conservation of the sculptures from one of the earliest major Hindu sites in Southeast Asia.   

Creating Revealing Krishna has been an exceptional collaborative effort. Nearly every CMA staff member has shaped this exhibition in some way. Listed here are the project leads responsible for creating the exhibition’s digital components. The four digital elements of Revealing Krishna were created by a cross-departmental team, led by Jane Alexander, chief digital information officer (digital lead), in close collaboration with Sonya Rhie Mace, George P. Bickford Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art (curator), and Andrew Gutierrez, director of design and architecture (exhibition designer). Throughout the process, it was important that the technology, scholarship, and design of the exhibition space function together in order for the digital elements to be successful. This team worked closely with the exhibition and interpretation staff and others across the museum, while seeking outside expertise to support those efforts, partnering with talented firms for the UX design and 3-D modeling. The success of the digital elements is also thanks to the support of William Griswold, director and president of the museum, without whose support this project would not be possible. 

Every detail of this exhibition is significant. The individuals—too numerous to list—who have supported the digital elements through testing, promotion, visitor experience, building operations, and more have all been critical to the success of this project. These elements came to fruition thanks to the diligence of interdepartmental teams across the CMA, working through a global pandemic to create transformative digital experiences.

External Partners

Dome: Katie Lee and Lynn Kiang (digital media strategy, creative direction, UX/UI design and production)

Zenith Systems: Doug Fortney, Dominique Boaeuf, Jeremy Weatherford, and Rick Brenneman (AV planning and installation: journey, gods, immersive timeline)

DLR Group: Raymond Kent and Jim Krumhansl (sound design and production: Journey to Phnom Da, HoloLens experience, immersive timeline)

The Farm 51: Konstanty Kulik, Michał Mierzejewski, and David Korzan (photography and 3-D models)

True Edge Archive: Dale Utt (3-D art, animation: Gods of Phnom Da, artist’s rendering, Krishna)

Sears think[box]: Ainsley Buckner, Ian Charnas, Joel Hauerwas, Marcus Brathwaite, and Benjamin Guengerich 

In Cambodia: KHIN Pothai, CHUM Sokvong, DEAB Sarith, DEAN Chomreuon, KIM Vimalay, LY Polin, H. E. PRIM San, SENG Sopharab, and SRUITUE Patcharakiti (local fixer, Cambodian crew); Nicolas Josso, National Museum of Cambodia and École française d’Extrême-Orient

Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts: H.E. PHOEURNG Sackona, PRAK Sonnara, and OUK Sokha 

National Museum of Cambodia: KONG Vireak (initial director), CHHAY Visoth (director), MUONG Chanraksmey, SOK Soda, CHEA Socheat, and KHUN Sathal 

Angkor Borei Museum: CHEA Sambath 

US Embassy in Phnom Penh: Ambassador Patrick Murphy, Former Ambassador William Heidt, Arend Zwartjes, Lisa Larson, and NORN Soreimeas 

École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO): Bertrand Porte, Christophe Pottier, Charlotte Schmid, and Isabelle Poujol 

Musée national des arts asiatiques–Guimet: Pierre Baptiste, Dominique Reninger, and Adil Boulghallat 

The creative team on location in Phnom Da, including team members from the Cleveland Museum of Art, Dome, and the Farm 51

Official Technology Partner: Microsoft

Home Is Where the Art Is is the CMA’s response to the pandemic. Throughout the past year, the museum was agile and reactive to the shifting needs of our audiences, from members, to families, to students and remote workers, releasing multiple web-based collection toolsets using AI and data, an interactive Slack app, six video series, a plethora of live programs, and more. Videos and programs explore topics ranging from isolation and melancholy during quarantine to the need for a haircut. Designed to bring a moment of levity and inspiration to you at home, the CMA’s relevant virtual offerings bring art to you, wherever you are. 

These resources are made possible through the generous support of our members, donors, and public.

The majority of the Home Is Where the Art Is programs were taken on by CMA staff in addition to their regular job duties during the spring of 2020. All initiatives had input from staff across the museum, including team members from the museum’s digital, interpretation, education, design, curatorial, conservation and communications departments.

In mid-July, we received funding through an NEH cares act grant, for the Desktop Dialogues program and other educational virtual programming, to continue this through the end of the year. 

Now, in April 2020, we have been able to continue all these programs beyond the grant period and are still seeing great engagement, even as the museum reopens, and we have resumed regular duties.

We brainstormed and worked with partners from previous projects on several of our web-based toolsets, including ArtLens for Slack (Potion), ArtLens AI (Design io), Open Access dashboards (Pandata), and our web developer Jeff Schuler (substrate websoft).

The development of ArtLens Gallery, led by digital innovation, represents a true and equal collaboration among curatorial, education and academic affairs, design, photography, collections, and technology departments at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Digital innovation staff, working closely with internal and external partners, led all digital components from concept through development and implementation and on-going support. Interpretation was instrumental in curating the space and content creation. This collaborative organizational structure is groundbreaking, not just within the museum community, but within user-interface design in general. It elevated each department's contribution, resulting in an unparalleled interactive experience, with technology and software that have never been used before in any venue, content interpreted in fun and approachable ways, and unprecedented design of an interactive gallery space that intertwines technology into an art gallery setting.

The original Gallery One opened on December 12, 2012. The components of ArtLens Gallery are continuously evaluated with iterations on the back end and front end, with the most recent reinstallation in June 2019. Staff and vendor-partner contributors to the project include the following:

ARTLENS EXHIBITION REINSTALLATION, June 2019

The project team was led by Jane Alexander (chief digital information officer/project lead), with Jennifer DePrizio (director of interpretation), and Jim Engelmann (exhibition designer).

From the Cleveland Museum of Art:

Digital Innovation and Technology Services: Jane Alexander (chief digital information officer/project lead), Maddie Armitage (project manager), Ethan Holda (director of technology), Michael Dreiling (lead developer), Kelsey Ruddock (digital projects assistant), Allison Kennedy (director of support services), Andrea Bour (collection data analyst), Shawn Green (ArtLens tech), Michael St. Clair (ArtLens tech), Alex Lew (intern)
Interpretation: Jennifer DePrizio (director of interpretation), Stephanie Foster (interpretive planner), Emily Hirsch (Kress Interpretive Fellow), Lori Wienke (associate director of interpretation)
Collections: Mary Suzor (director of collections management), Howard Agriesti (cheif photographer), Jennifer Cicero (art movement supervisor)
Curatorial: Clarissa von Spee (chair of Asian art and James and Donna Reid Curator of Chinese Art), Smooth Nzewi (curator of African art), Stephen Harrison (curator of decorative art and design), Sooa McCormick (associate curator of Korean art)
Design: Jim Engelmann (exhibition designer), Jeffrey Strean (director of design and architecture), Natalie Maitland (graphic designer)
Exhibitions: Mollie Armstrong (exhibition project manager)
Ingalls Library: Matthew Gengler (head, access services)
Communications and External Relations: Caroline Guscott (director of communications and external relations), Chris Moore (digital communications manager), Kelley Notaro Schrieber (communications and external relations manager)
Research and Evaluation: Elizabeth Bolander (director of audience insights and services), Hannah Ridenour (research manager)

The Cleveland Museum of Art team partnered with several outside consultants, including Potion Design (UX photogrammetry updates), Dome Collective (Beacon), Zenith Systems (AV Integration) Thomas Flynn (3-D model lighting), Dale Utt (3-D modeling) and Jacquelyn Bickel (3-D modeling).

From Potion Design
Nikolai Soudek, Filippo Vanucci, Cathy Sun, and Drew Radtke

From Dome Collective
Katie Lee and Lynn Kiang

From Zenith Systems
Doug Fortney

ARTLENS EXHIBITION LAUNCH, June 2017

The project team was led by Jane Alexander (chief digital information officer/project lead), with Lori Wienke (associate director of interpretation), and Jeffrey Strean (director of design and architecture).

From the Cleveland Museum of Art
Digital Innovation and Technology Services: Jane Alexander (chief digital information officer/project lead), Emily Hirsch (project manager), Allison Kennedy (assistant director of support services), David Shaw (event technology manager), Michael St. Clair
Collections: Mary Suzor (director of collections management), Howard Agriesti (chief photographer), Jennifer Cicero (art movement supervisor)
Curatorial: Mark Cole (curator of American painting and sculpture/content adviser), Heather Lemonedes (chief curator/content adviser), Barbara Tannenbaum (curator of photography/content advisor)
Design: Rusty Culp (associate director of design and architecture), Jim Engelmann (exhibition designer), Jeffrey Strean (director of design and architecture), Tom Barnard (senior graphic designer), Mary Thomas (graphic designer)
Interpretation: Lori Wienke (associate director of interpretation/curator/interpretation lead), Bethany Corriveau, Stephanie Foster (interpretive planner), Cyra Levenson (director of education and academic affairs)
Research and Evaluation: Elizabeth Bolander (lead), Hannah Ridenour  
Development: Michael Ferry (lead), Cynthia McGrae

The cross-collaborative museum team at the CMA partnered deeply with award-winning outside consultants to realize the project. Potion Design is responsible for all media design and collaborated with the CMA team on concept-design development. The other outside consultants involved in the project were Zenith Systems (AV integration), Piction (CMS/DAM development), Dome Collective (Beacon), and Local Projects (ArtLens App).

From Potion Design

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Phillip Tiongson, principal
Design: Matthew McNerney, Edyta Lewicka, Rhea Laroya, Ruth Chung, Cathy Sun
Technology: Steve Varga, Filippo Vanucci, Cameron Browning, Ritesh Lala, Luobin Wang
Production: Abby Palmer, Holly Houghton, Claire Bradley, Drew Radtke 

From Zenith Systems
Doug Fortney, principal

From Dome Collective

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Katie Lee and Lynn Kiang

From Local Projects

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Ethan Holda, Keeli Shaw, Karen Vanderbilt, Michael Dreiling 

From Piction
Erick Kendrick, Marcelle Kaye, Amy Hawkes, Martin Channon

ArtLens is funded by the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation.

ARTLENS APP REDESIGN, September 2016

From the Cleveland Museum of Art
Digital Innovation and Technology Services: Jane Alexander (cheif digital information officer/project lead), Adam Gall (technical project manager), Emily Hirsch (project manager), Tom Hood (director of technology operations), Niki Krause (director of application services)
Design: Tom Barnard (senior designer), Jeffrey Strean (director of design and architecture), Mary Thomas (graphic designer)
Interpretation: Lori Wienke (associate director of interpretation), Bethany Corriveau (audience engagement specialist), Stephanie Foster (interpretative planner), Kevin Kelly

The CMA collaborated with Local Projects on the ArtLens App. Local Projects is the firm that took the app to the next and highest possible level of technical fidelity, ensuring a rapid initial download, optimizing the interactive, real-time wayfinding maps and streamlining the design.

From Local Projects

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Ethan Holda (director of technology), Keeli Shaw (project director), Karen Vanderbilt (senior graphic designer), Danny Well (visual experience designer), Edward Blake (user experience designer)

From Enharmonic
Dillan Laughlin and Jonathan Saggau

ARTLENS STUDIO (formerly Studio Play) REDESIGN, June 2016
 

From the Cleveland Museum of Art
Digital Innovation and Technology Services: Jane Alexander (cheif digital information officer/project lead), Adam Gall (technical project manager)
Collections: Mary Suzor (director of collections management)
Curatorial: Stephen Harrison (curator of decorative art and design), Sooa McCormick (assistant curator of Asian art)
Design: Rusty Culp (associate director of design and architecture), Jeffrey Strean (director of design and architecture), Mary Thomas (graphic designer)
Education: Seema Rao (director of intergenerational learning)

In order to create this innovative space, the Cleveland Museum of Art partnered with Design I/O, a creative design studio in Cambridge, MA.

From Design I/O

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Theodore Watson (partner/creative director), Emily Gobeille (partner/creative director), Nick Hardeman (minister of interactive art)

GALLERY ONE, December 12, 2012

The development of Gallery One, led by digital innovation, represents a true and equal collaboration among curatorial, education, design, photography, collections, and technology departments at the Cleveland Museum of Art. An atypical and noteworthy approach among museums in the design of interactive technology spaces, the development process was advised by the CMA’s former chief curator and deputy director C. Griffith Mann. Digital innovation staff, working closely with internal and external partners, led all digital components from concept through development and implementation and ongoing support. Education was instrumental in curating the space and content creation. This collaborative organizational structure is groundbreaking, not just within the museum community, but within user-interface design in general. It elevated each department’s contribution, resulting in an unparalleled interactive experience, with technology and software that have never been used before in any venue, content interpreted in fun and approachable ways, and unprecedented design of an interactive gallery space that intertwines technology into an art gallery setting.

The project team for Gallery One was led by the following at Cleveland Museum of Art: Jane Alexander; Caroline Goeser, director of education and interpretation (curator/interpretation); and Jeffrey Strean, director of design and architecture (design oversight). Members of the department of digital innovation and technology services who were instrumental to the development of the first iteration of ArtLens Gallery and ArtLens include Andrea Bour, Jeanne DeBonis, Will Hannah, Tom Hood, Niki Krause, Scott Pollack, Dave Shaw, Michael St. Clair, and Linda Wetzel. In the department of education and academic affairs, content was developed by Seema Rao, Patty Edmonson, and Hajnal Eppley. ArtLens content was developed by Jennifer Foley, Lori Wienke, and Bethany Corriveau. Design services staff who worked on the project include Thomas Barnard III and Andrew Gutierrez. Collection staff included Howard Agriesti, David Brichford, Elizabeth Saluk, Bruce Shewitz, Tracy Sisson, and Mary Suzor.

Designing through Collaboration
The museum partnered deeply with award-winning outside consultants to realize the project. Local Projects was responsible for all media design and collaborated with the CMA team on concept design development.

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Local Projects Team
Jake Barton (principal), Katie Lee (creative director), Keeli Shaw (project manager), Tiya Gordon (project manager), Angela Chen (interaction designer), Ian Curry (director of interaction design), Erika Tarte (graphic designer), Lynn Kiang (graphic designer), Miriam Lakes (content coordinator and developer), Jen Choi (motion graphics artist), Eric Mika (creative technologist), Philipp Rockel (creative technologist), Matt Wright (creative technologist), Caitlin Morris (creative technologist), Josh Silverman (creative technologist), David Scharf (creative technologist), Ethan Holda (director of technology), Sundar Raman (director of creative engineering).

The other outside consultants involved in the project were Gallagher and Associates (exhibit design), Zenith Systems (AV integration), Piction (CMS/DAM development), Earprint Productions (app content development), and Navizon (wayfinding). Through this new collaborative development methodology, the Cleveland Museum of Art lead the way not only in the robust blend of art and technology throughout the gallery experience but in museum practice itself.

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Gallery One was generously supported by the Maltz Family Foundation, which donated $10 million to support the project. Additional support for the project came from grants and other donations.