Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of stories highlighting the five Miller Prize winning installations for the Exhibit Columbus exhibition opening Friday and Saturday downtown.
Perhaps when architect Bryony Roberts completes her work for the upcoming Exhibit Columbus exhibition by late this week, her temporary installation can provide her a respite from a flurry of intense recent activity.
She chuckled at the thought.
“Let’s hope so,” she said.
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Her colorful installation, “Soft Civic,” will include a myriad of hammock-oriented, multi-colored, rope-style seats and lounge areas bedecking the City Hall plaza and part of the lawn at 123 Washington St. On Friday, assembly began on the concept that she unveiled at a community meeting in January.
The design is meant to enhance the space that, especially for the past five or so, has served as a primary location for rallies, protests, vigils and related gatherings, ranging from several dozen people to as many as 400.
In fact, Roberts, working out of her New York City office, did exhaustive research about that background and talked with a number of residents to shape her installation idea.
“I think city government here seems pretty remarkably open and accessible to people,” she said. “So I wanted to do something to make that space also very interactive and welcoming and inviting.”
The local exhibition, held every other year, focuses on art, architecture and design, and uses new, pop-up installations from the world’s leading designers to highlight existing structures and landscapes in a city known globally for its Modernist legacy.
Weavers with the Brooklyn-based Powerhouse Arts have created the rope for Roberts’ exhibit, while the Indianapolis-based Ignition Arts has been responsible for fabricating steel frames to be part of the surroundings. Someone asked recently if the multi-colored, macrame-knotted ropes could represent intermingling diversity.
“Oh, I like that,” Roberts said. “I think everything in a work is meant to be open to interpretation. And I always love hearing people’s perspective and responses.
The colors (from blue-green to rose) that I include come in part from the colors of the (City Hall) building.”
The colors of Roberts’ design background are varied, too. Though her studio began only in 2011, her projects now extend worldwide.
“It took me a long time to find my own path in architecture, since I do somewhat unconventional work,” she said, adding that this kind of effort “is exactly the kind of thing I really want to be doing.”
Bartholomew County Indivisible, a local issue-oriented group, will christen the exhibit, if you will, with a free public gathering, “We the People” scheduled at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Cate Hyatt, a Bartholomew County Indivisible member, said that group’s leaders worked to form a program dovetailing with Roberts’ design.
“We wanted to show others one way that the (installation) space can be used for a public forum,” Hyatt said.
Local actresses Jill Tasker and Jan Lucas are working alongside other area performers to feature dramatic recitations or readings from American history, all done at various stations around the plaza. Plus, a community choir led by music teacher Kathy Dell will sing the whimsical-yet-educational song “The Preamble” from the classic cartoon “Schoolhouse Rock.”
“People should know that this isn’t partisan,” Hyatt said. “It’s simply a celebration about being American.”
Roberts mentioned that she is happy to know her work can form a backdrop for people’s voices for freedom.
“This is simply celebrating the fact that this installation is designed to be a part of a civic space for conversation and participation,” Roberts said.
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The Exhibit Columbus exhibition is a once-every-two-years display of a wide variety temporary architectural installations meant to highlight or somehow connect to nearby, permanent structures and buildings in Columbus.
The exhibition is set for Friday to Dec. 1 and is an exploration of art, architecture, and design.
Exhibit Columbus seeks to celebrate Columbus’ heritage while making it relevant in new and modern ways, according to organizers. It is the signature project of Landmark Columbus, which was created in 2015 to care for the design heritage of Columbus, and is under the umbrella of The Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.
To learn more, visit: exhibitcolumbus.org
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