CLEVELAND — Great public art? Yep, there's an app for that. An idea born out of the pandemic has picked up momentum on your phone. The team at Land Studio made it a reality.
"Land Studio is a non-profit organization that celebrates the public art and public spaces of Cleveland and its neighborhoods," said Tara Turner.
When the pandemic shut down our iconic cultural institutions, the non-profit used social media to promote the exploration of the city's countless outdoor art and public spaces with self-guided tours.
"Go take a tour and see how beautiful Cleveland is," said Turner.
Now, just in time for summer, all that information is a swipe away.
"It was really a dream of ours for a long time to be able to offer something like this to the community and visitors of Cleveland," said Turner.
Turner is talking about the "The City is Our Museum" app.
"The City is Our Museum is a celebration of all the beauty that is Cleveland," said Turner.
And that can be public art and architecture, or any of the spaces around town that make the Land stand out.
"That's part of the app, is getting feedback from people," said Turner.
Right now, there are five tours featured.
"This is a really great way to celebrate Cleveland through a different lens," Turner said.
Gordon Square is among the neighborhoods featured.
"On the Gordon Square tour, there's 150 stops," said Turner.
People are encouraged to completely immerse themselves in the neighborhoods they're visiting.
"In Gordon Square you can get a drink at one bar, go outside, check out five murals, walk five feet go get another drink."
Over in Midtown, the mural on the side of Yonder Brunch & Vibes is a stop on the tour in that part of town.
"It gives you that sense of family, which I feel like our restaurant is about," said Zeno Jet, who works at Yonder.
Jet said he's excited that Clevelanders and visitors alike can easily consume great art with the app while also satisfying their appetite at a place they just stumbled upon.
"When they come in here it's like, 'Oh wow, I never thought to come in here, I never thought to come to Yonder or go down Yonder.' I think it'll be a great boost for our business," said Jet.
You can walk, bike, or drive the five tours on the app.
There are plans to add a few more by summer to showcase what we all love about the Land.
"A lot of artists these days, especially young up-and-coming artists don't get the recognition that they need, and I feel like this gives them a platform to broaden out their art in a big way," said Jet.
In addition to the great locations featured on "The City is Our Museum" app, don't forget News 5 has rounded up “100 Hidden Gems” across Northeast Ohio.
