Cleveland Museum of Art and Bidwell Foundation Transform Historic Space

In the words of Transformer Station co-founder Laura Ruth Bidwell, "It's about time photo had its own space."

Nestled on the corner of Church Street and West 29th, this minimalist space is bringing a new vibe to the art scene in Ohio City.

Open to the public from noon to 9 pm today, with extended hours through the weekend, the Transformer Station invites visitors to explore the world of photography, as well as a piece of Cleveland history, free of charge. Where Cleveland Railway Company once powered streetcars running on Detroit Avenue, only the crane that once lifted the company's transformer into and out of the space remains.

Fittingly named, the Crane Gallery now holds the works of Vaughn Wascovich for its first exhibition, Bridging Cleveland. Using a handmade pinhole camera, Wascovich photographed the various bridges over the Cuyahoga then manipulated them with a mix of chemicals and creativity.

"They’re a love song to the Cuyahoga River," says co-founder, and Laura's husband, Fred Bidwell.

 

In the main gallery of the museum hang pieces from their collection, which Fred calls a personal overview of what's happening in photo-based art.

"Many of the works in here were delivered straight into storage," he says of the Light of Day exhibition. "So now they're seeing the light of day."

Viewers will find themselves amidst the works of established artists such as Hiroshi Yugimoto and Adam Fuss as well as young and upcoming artists. The Transformer Station, owned and operated by the Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Foundation,  established in 2011 to support artists and arts institutions, will create half of the gallery schedule. The Cleveland Museum of Art, a partner in programming the space, will develop the rest.

The visual experience is pure, with natural light streaming in from horizontal rectangular windows near the building's high ceilings and no wall labels or other adornments to distract. Even the benches, made from the re-purposed pecan floor of an old Chrysler plant, keep it simple.

"The building has to get out of the way of the art,” says Laura. “Simplicity is good.”

Cleveland Museum of Art announces Ohio City gallery

Come this time next year, Ohio City will have a more contemporary feel.

The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Foundation will open the exhibition space Transformer Station on West 29th Street. Built in the 1920s as a power station for the Detroit Avenue streetcar line, the Transformer Station will be renovated and expanded into an 8,000-square-foot space for art programs, exhibitions and installations.

“It’s an opportunity to extend our reach to more Northeast Ohioans, specifically to this important and vibrant West Side of the city,” said David Franklin, the art museum's director, in a press conference this morning.

The Transformer Station will be the museum's first separate space outside University Circle. “Fundamentally, it strengthens our ancient mission of benefiting all the people forever,” Franklin said.

Fred Bidwell, co-founder and co-director of the Bidwell Foundation, said they chose the building to showcase art because of its industrial feel. And there's an huge crane on the ceiling that can lift 15 tons. Who doesn't need that?

“The diversity, the grit, the intimacy, the urbanity of Ohio City, with its dynamic art scene, we felt was a perfect place for this showplace for the contemporary art,” said Bidwell in the press conference.

The hopes are to have the Transformer Station open in late 2012. Franklin wants to encourage curators and collaborators to use the space as a laboratory and set up installations more spontaneously. This space will also allow young and local artists to show their work on the same floor as international artists.

City councilman Joe Cimperman, who represents Ohio City, thanked the Bidwells for opening the Transformer Station. “This neighborhood takes this gift very seriously,” he said. “We take you as gifts very seriously. We cherish what you’re doing here, and we are all too well aware that you could have done this anywhere.”

Cimperman predicted the gallery would become important to the neighborhood's future. “One day, in this building there will be children like me — who grew up on East 74th Street — [who,] but for the arts, would not be able to live the life they lived. So, if you want to know what you are doing today for this community, look 20 years from now to the generation that you are fostering.”