When classes resume at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) on August 25, students will have access to the new Interactive Media Lab, which opened with a soft launch in March. It’s a $13 million project that’s been in the works since 2019.
The 14,300 sq. feet lab is housed inside the Cleveland Foundation’s 98,000 sq. feet MidTown Collaboration Center on E. 65th and Euclid Avenue. Most of CIA’s operations are on the second floor, directly across the hall from JumpStart, an entrepreneurial support organization that operates the complex. Other neighbors include the University Hospitals Diabetic Center, Case Western Reserve University, Tri-C, the Assembly for the Arts, Pearl’s Kitchen restaurant and BlackFrog Brewery.
“CWRU, Jumpstart and CIA work all within a couple of 100 square feet of each other,” said Matthew McKenna, associate vice president of Information Systems and Technology for CIA. “The college is the second largest institution inside the Collaboration. We are an anchor tenant here, and we’re the only tenant that has ownership. We have equity in our space. As far as I understand, all the other tenants have a more traditional landlord-tenant type relationship, and that’s partially because, as you’ll see, we’ve had to make a lot of customizations to our space.”
The Interactive Media Gallery, on the second floor, is a multi-purpose space. It can be used as a classroom, meeting space and, when needed, students can move the furniture out for augmented reality experiences. The walls were designed for projection use. Back in June, the lab was approximately 80% completed. It is now 100% ready to receive students.
Moving around the gallery, McKenna explained how they took traditional gallery lighting and exhibition walls and melded the same technology you would see in a black box theater.
“Students can come in with glasses or with iPads, and they are able to see the digital animals or objects and how they interact with the physical world that can happen here,” he said. “And then we can use the wall space for displaying prints.”
Although the college is about guiding students into the new age of visual technology, much attention is also paid to the actual student.
“We have assertive goals in not just student access, but also in terms of removing barriers, such as financial, ” Kathryn Heidemann, president and CEO of the Cleveland Institute of Art said.. “We have several systemic support resources as we have a growing population of first-generation students, minority students, and a lot of socioeconomically diverse students. We have new initiatives, from accessibility and wellness initiatives to mosaic, pre-orientation, and mentorship programs. What’s really become transformative is how to help our faculty navigate the challenges of today’s classroom. Many of our students are neurodiverse and have learning differences, and those students tend to thrive in creative careers.”
As McKenna moves further down the vibrantly colored orange walls, he points out an area where students can borrow various pieces of equipment, like virtual reality goggles and handheld printers.
A recording studio was specially designed for students to do voiceovers for animation projects. The space was designed with the help of an acoustician. According to McKenna, what really differentiates this space is their work with the acoustician and the acoustical properties of the physical space. We expect to do some podcasting from here, too, he said.
Tim Wise, a junior at CIA, loves telling stories that show emotion in ways that words can’t perfectly describe. He became an Animator to create characters that could express the same emotions he feels. Wise just finished up a summer internship at the college.
“I hope to be a 3D animator for either a large videogame company ushering in the next generation of game or on a film crew handling any computer generated imagery(CGI) assets they may need,” he said. “Whether it’s a character, person, or animal, there will always need to be animators to breathe life into those things. The IML’s technology is relatively new, and as more and more studios begin to adopt it, it becomes increasingly important to know how to use it effectively. Jobs will open up using that equipment and being able to navigate it effectively is extremely helpful towards getting a job”.
What would a media lab be without a studio? One of them at IML rises above two floors. Entering the space is like walking onto a smaller version of a major motion picture soundstage.
When The Land toured the space, about a dozen people were moving around the studio, working cameras, creating digital set designs and watching as the 36 ft. video screen, with the assistance of recessed LED lights, changed backgrounds each time the camera moved.
Heidemann is happy about being a part of the Midtown Collaboration and its effort to bring economic relief to the Hough community.
“CIA’s plan to be here was deliberate,” she said. “We want to send a loud message about creating economic development, along with driving technological innovation through art and design.”
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