Revolutionary Public Installation Reimagined In Grand Scale

Press release from Renaisssance Toledo Downtown Hotel:

Sept. 22, 2021

TOLEDO, Ohio – A total reboot of the only permanent outdoor installation of its kind in the U.S. is now on display at Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel. The dazzling 6,000-square-foot digital mural was first unveiled in 2018 as a project of the hotel’s owner, First Hospitality Group and is made possible through support from ProMedica. The fantastical new work is once again born of the artistic vision of Atlanta-based Integrated Visions Productions Artists Michelle and Bryan Dodson. Titled “MindBlown Toledo,” it has been completely reimagined with a brand-new design, dubbed “Amorphous.” This monumental public art piece was the nation’s first-ever projection mapping installation to cover a hotel façade

Featuring state-of-the-art technology that weaves together graphics and animation with mind-bending video, this newest iteration of the one-of-a-kind, 90-foot-tall installation will begin showing nightly on the hotel’s façade. Elements will be visible every night until midnight, with the five-minute main show starting half an hour after sunset Wednesday-Saturday and replaying at the top of each hour. With dazzling imagery, stunning sound and visual effects and spellbinding illusions, “MindBlown” explores the glittering beauty of Toledo’s glass culture and history. Playing on its amorphous theme, the new work bends and folds glass across the building, shapeshifting from massive visuals of elegant crystal, to geometric glass blocks that seem to literally pop on and off the building, then turn to fluid, molten glass that appears to melt and pour down the front of the hotel.

The project was the brainchild of Renaissance Toledo’s ownership and management group, industry leader First Hospitality (FH). Led by Chairman Stephen Schwartz and Chief-of-Staff Sam Schwartz, the work was inspired to create a one-of-a-kind artistic installation on the Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel as it opened

“We understand that the art of hospitality means creating experiences unlike anything else that pique our guests’ senses, including sight and sound,” said Sam Schwartz, who spearheaded the project. “Beyond operating a beautiful hotel for Downtown Toledo visitors and local residents, we wanted to create a place that’s an icon for the beauty of this city and is reflective of its rich art glass history.”

Using cutting-edge video projection mapping, First Hospitality engaged artists at Atlanta-based Integrated Visions to design, photograph and implement the groundbreaking work. In this ambitious public art project, Integrated Visions seamlessly merges imagery from six high-powered projectors, effectively turning Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel into a massive digital canvas.

Complete information about “MindBlown Toledo,” including show schedules, is available at marriott.com.

This press release was produced by the Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel. The views expressed here are the author’s own.