Through our three program arms—Exhibit Columbus, Progressive Preservation, and Columbus Design Institute—we offer talks, tours, gatherings, and celebrations that connect our many communities with work that pursues design excellence and recognizes cultural heritage.
2025 is an Exhibit Columbus exhibition year, so this fall is especially full of opportunities to experience the installations, conversations, and events that make Exhibit Columbus a one-of-a-kind celebration of art, architecture, and community.
Upcoming Events
Progressive Preservation Talks Schools Edition: Smith Elementary
This Progressive Preservation Talk with Glenda Winders will feature information about the historic Smith Elementary School, which was designed by John M. Johansen and completed in 1969. His son, Christen Johansen, designed the expansion and renovation in 1997. In a public discussion, Winders, a Columbus-based writer, will share her work researching the school and archives.
Miller Prize Conversation: Studio Barnes
A conversation with Germane Barnes (Studio Barnes) and Joseph Zeal-Henry (City of Boston), featuring poet Mitchell Douglas
YES Design—AND Research: 2025 University Design Research Fellowship Colloquium
Two days of dialogue uniting the six current UDRFellows, past Fellows, and guest experts to explore how design research activates public spaces and strengthens communities.
Miller Prize Conversation: Studio Cooke John
A conversation with Nina Cooke John (Studio Cooke John) and Julia van den Hout (Art Omi), featuring poet Rosalie Moffett
Miller Prize Conversation: AD—WO
A conversation with Emanuel Admassu and Jen Wood (AD—WO) and Billie Tsien (TWBT Architects), featuring poet Mánon Voice
Progressive Preservation Talks Books Edition: What a Building Does
Join authors Phillip Cox and Niall Cronin to explore their new publication What a Building Does: The Hoosier Modernisms of Evans Woollen, published by the Indiana University Press.
Progressive Preservation Talks Schools Edition: Southside Elementary
This Progressive Preservation Talk with Glenda Winders will feature information about the historic Southside Elementary School, which was designed by Eliot Noyes and completed in 1969. In a public discussion, Winders, a Columbus-based writer, will share her work researching the school and archives.
Progressive Preservation Talks: Bartholomew County Jail
Featuring Curt DeClue will feature information about the historic Bartholomew County Jail which was designed by Don M Hisaka and completed in 1990. In a public discussion, DeClue, a Columbus-native, will share his work researching the jail and archives.
Progressive Preservation Books Edition: Eventually Everything Connects with Cranbrook Art Museum
Join Curators Andrew Satake Blauvelt (Director, Cranbrook Art Museum) and Bridget Bartal (MillerKnoll Curatorial Fellow, Cranbrook Art Museum) to explore the groundbreaking publication Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the US, a 464-page catalog published by Phaidon to accompany Cranbrook Art Museum's exhibition of the same name.
Miller Prize Conversation: Adaptive Operations
A conversation with Charlie Vinz (Adaptive Operations) and Shannon Stratton (Oxbow Arts), featuring poet Eugene Gloria
Rock The Block: Live in Color
Rock the Block: Live in Color features dance performances under the iconic InterOculus installation and culminates in downtown’s largest dance party.
Exhibit Columbus Next Generation Day
Next Generation Day is a full-day celebration of creativity and inclusion. It starts with youth-led performances and hands-on design activities and ends with the city’s biggest block party.