Exhibit Columbus Announces 2023 Opening Weekend Events

The fourth Exhibit Columbus exhibition, Public by Design, opens on Saturday, August 26 with 13 new works of art and architecture designed to invigorate, entertain, and challenge while expanding the legacy of one of America’s most celebrated cities.

Columbus, Indiana — Landmark Columbus Foundation announces the Opening Weekend of the 2023 Exhibit Columbus Exhibition, Public by Design, with the Opening Celebration on Friday, August 25, and a day of free, public events on Saturday, August 26. The Exhibit Columbus community (including the  Curatorial Team, Landmark Columbus Foundation Staff and Board, Participants, volunteers, and supporters) has been working together for over a year to create what will be a ground-breaking exhibition that showcases how art and architecture can help build a sense of belonging while revitalizing and reimagining historic downtowns as equitable, beautiful, and joyful places.

This is the only exhibition of its kind that engages in an international dialogue connected to the biennial exhibition structure while exploring the challenges that cities around the globe are facing today. The process of creating this cycle de-centers the idea that art and architecture are created by singular entities or curators; this exhibition highlights the fact that the best work is built with a broad belief in the collective power of community work and engagement.

“We are really excited to celebrate the collaboration between the Columbus community and designers that build a new sense of belonging and connections downtown,” said the six Curatorial Partners. “This exhibition is about revitalization and imagination with a commitment to equity, beauty, and joy while creating new forms of public space.”

This community-focused event opens as downtowns are rebounding from a post-pandemic reality to attract and retain visitors and businesses. Opening Weekend will activate downtown Columbus with thirteen installations of architecture, art, landscapes, and graphic identity and wayfinding. This weekend is the only opportunity to see the exhibition alongside the entire Public by Design team, including six Curatorial Partners, four J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Recipients, seven University Design Research Fellows, High School Design Team, and Communication Designer, as well as residents of Columbus and visitors from around the world.

The 2023 Exhibition kicks off on Friday, August 25 with Exhibit Columbus’sOpening Celebration at The Commons. The public opening day is Saturday, August 26, beginning with an Exhibition Tour, followed by Curatorial Conversations, and concluding with Rock the Block, a block party and dance show at the center of downtown at the intersection of 4th Street and Washington Street.

“This exhibition shows how working together in the public realm with art and architecture allows us to achieve a purpose much greater than we can do alone,” said Richard McCoy the Executive Director of Landmark Columbus Foundation. “Our Curatorial Team has taken a unique approach to get here, one that combines deep connections within our community with international expertise to shepherd this exhibition into existence."

Opening Weekend Events

Friday, August 25
Ticketed event

• Opening Celebration
  5 pm – 11 pm, at The Commons

Saturday, August 26
Free, open to the public

• Public by Design: The Exhibition Tour
  9:30 am – 11:30 am, tour begins at Hotel Indigo
   

• Curatorial Conversations
  2 pm – 3:30 pm, at First Christian Church
   

• Rock the Block: Party and Dance Show
  7 pm – 10 pm, at 4th Street and Washington Street

Exhibit Columbus Participants

J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Recipients

Awarded to renowned national and international design practices who share J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller’s commitment to the transformative power of designing with public spaces, four J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Recipientswere commissioned to activate the public spaces of popular downtown Columbus sites and create the most highly anticipated installations of the exhibition.

• Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO
  Mexico City
  Installation: Designed by the public
  Site: Library Plaza at Bartholomew County Public Library
  Community Curator: Jason Hatton

• PAU
  New York City
  Installation: Interoculus
  Site: The Commons
  Community Curator: Dave Hayward

• PORT
  Philadelphia and Chicago
  Installation: THE PLOT PROJECT
  Site: Mill Race [Senior] Center
  Community Curator: Dan Mustard

• Studio Zewde
  Harlem
  Installation: Echoes of the Hill
  Site: Mill Race Park
  Community Curator: Mark Jones

University Design Research Fellowship

Awarded to leading professors of architecture, landscape architecture, and design from North American universities, seven University Design Research Fellows were selected to respond to recommendations from the 2021 Downtown Activation Study developed by James Lima Planning and Development (JLP+D) that looked at ways to activate the historic core of downtown Columbus. JLP+D’s work is supported by the City of Columbus and a National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town Grant”.

• Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture
  Urbana-Champaign and Chicago, IL
  Installation: A Carousel for Columbus
  Site: Ovation Plaza

• Esteban Garcia Bravo and Maria Clara Morales
  Purdue University Department of Computer Graphics Technology
  West Lafayette, IN
  Installation: PRISMA
  Site: Cummins Parking Garage

• Jessica Colangelo and Charles Sharpless
  University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design Fayetteville, AR
  Installation: Ground Rules
  Site: Cummins Office Building Headquarters

• Deborah Garcia
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Architecture
  Cambridge, MA
  Installation: RECORDAR
  Site: Bartholomew County Public Library

• Molly Hunker and Greg Corso
  Syracuse University School of Architecture
  Syracuse, NY
  Installation: Side Effects
  Site: The Commons

• Katie MacDonald and Kyle Schumann
  University of Virginia School of Architecture
  Charlottesville, VA
  Installation: Sylvan Scrapple
  Site: Columbus Area Visitors Center

• Halina Steiner, Tameka Baba, Forbes Lipschitz, Shelby Doyle
  The Ohio State University Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture and Iowa State University School of Design Columbus, OH and Ames, IA
  Installation: PIPE UP!
  Site: Hotel Indigo

High School Design Team
街 Machi
Students: Oliver Bush, Trinity Carter, Haniel Cruz, Anushka Damle, Mariana DeLuca, Alexander DePaul, Isabel Garduno, Derik Gratz, Owen Hebert, Eli Kirkland, Brooke Leslie, Eddy Lin, Sam Loheide, Nettie Meeks, Max Nash, Judah Nickoll, Bryce Olson, Ashley Perez, Gloria Phillips, Grishma Pitkar, Joycee Redman, Cameron Rusin, Beatriz Santana, Trent Tyree, Vaughan Williams; Instructor: Darin Johnson

Communication Design
Signals, Chris Grimley
Public by Design

Curatorial Partners

• Paola Aguirre
  Urban Designer, BORDERLESS

• Chris Merritt
  Landscape Architect, Merritt Chase 

• Lauren M. Pacheco
  Civic and Cultural Artist, Steel Studio Foundation 

• Bryony Roberts
  Designer, Writer, Educator, Bryony Roberts Studio

• Raymund Ryan
  Curator at Large, The Heinz Architectural Center at Carnegie Museum of Art

• Holly Warren
  Assistant Director for the Arts, Economic and Sustainable Development Department, City of Bloomington

UDRF Site Representatives

• Bartholomew County Public Library Staff

• Chris Chandler, Ovation Technology Group

• Ashleigh Fisher, Hotel Indigo

• Erin Hawkins, Columbus Area Visitors Center

• Shanda Sasse, The Commons

• Elizabeth Powers, Cummins Inc.

• Cindy Waddle, Hotel Indigo

The Exhibition will be on display until November 26, 2023, with additional projects and events occurring throughout, including Miller Prize Conversations with each team and special guest, Next Generation Day, an event geared toward youth and families, and Activations in Space: the 2023 University Design Research Fellowship Colloquium, created in partnership with Ball State University and Indiana University to highlight the work of UDRFellows.

Visit exhibitcolumbus.org for the ongoing schedule of projects and events.

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Media Contact
Jamie Goldsborough
jamie@landmarkcolumbus.org

About Exhibit Columbus
Exhibit Columbus is a program of Landmark Columbus Foundation and an exploration of community, architecture, art, and design that activates the modern legacy of Columbus, Indiana. It creates a cycle of programming that uses this context to convene conversations around innovative ideas and commissions site-responsive installations in a free, public exhibition. exhibitcolumbus.org