Help Build Trentina's Community Chandelier at MOCA Cleveland

By now you’ve probably heard about Jonathon and Amelia Sawyer’s newest restaurant project Trentina.

Team Sawyer is turning to the eastside and taking over the space that used to house Sergio’s in University Circle. Inspired by dishes from northern Italy’s Trentino region, the plan is to open by May of this year.

What sets Trentina apart from the team’s other restaurants is that this is the first one they are opening on their own. As they wrote on their Kickstarter project: No outside influences, just us.

Unsurprisingly, Trentina’s Kickstarter  funded at nearly double their original goal, netting $39,583 from 206 backers.

Disclosure: I contributed to the Kickstarter because I think it’s a great idea for a restaurant and, as someone in the process of launching a comics label with my husband, appreciate the desire to have something that’s yours.

In addition to helping raise funds for Trentina, the Kickstarter was an excellent way to include the community in the restaurant’s creation.

Although the Kickstarter may be over, you have another way to contribute to Trentina thanks to their partnership with MOCA Cleveland.

A visit to one of MOCA’s Family Nights sparked an idea for the design of Trentina. As Amelia writes on Chef’s Widow, “What if our community built an art installation that could be viewed year round at the restaurant?”

Through April 12, visit Cleveland’s Museum of Contemporary Art for INTERMISSION: Community Chandelier Project where you can help build the chandelier that will hang in Trentina.

Scott and I recently dropped by MOCA’s free first floor to add beads to the wire strings that will construct the chandelier.

When the chandelier is complete, color beads will represent the entire community who came out to show their support. A plaque will hang in the restaurant detailing the community’s effort and the history behind the project.

The Trentina chandelier project will continue through April 12 during the museum’s hours:Tuesday-Sunday, 11–5 pm; open until 9 pm Thursdays; and closed Mondays. MOCA staff confirmed late last week that the only date the project won’t be available is March 28.

While you’re at MOCA, take some time to also explore the museum’s current exhibits and upcoming events.

The 2 exhibits at MOCA through June 8 are DIRGE: Reflections on [Life and] Death and Sara VanDerBeek’s solo show looking at Cleveland’s landscape and the changes it’s undergoing. A list of the museum’s other programming, including lectures, performances, and hands-on activities, can be found here.

Admission to the museum is free for MOCA Cleveland members and children 5 and under. General Admission is $8 ($6 Ages 65+, $5  Students with valid ID).

The first Saturday of the month is free for everyone and features special programming. The next one on April 5 includes a 15 minute Target Talk, led by museum staff who share their personal reflections on the exhibits, ArtSquad activities for families with kids 10 and under, and a free bookbinding workshop offered by the Cleveland Institute of Art. And, of course, Trentina’s community chandelier and other projects on the first floor are always free.

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