Exhibit Columbus announces theme

Mike Wolanin | The Republic Exhibit Columbus signage is on display outside Helen Haddad Hall for the Exhibit Columbus Community Kickoff event in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, June 14, 2022.

Exhibit Columbus has announced the curatorial theme for the 2022-23 cycle of events, Public by Design, which will be the focus of the 2022 Symposium planned for Oct. 21 and 22 and the free Exhibition, which will take place in downtown Columbus next fall.

This is the fourth cycle of Exhibit Columbus, which was first launched in 2016 as a program of the nonprofit organization Landmark Columbus Foundation, and an internationally-recognized exploration of community, architecture, art, and design.

The program celebrates and advances the modern legacy of Columbus through a two-year cycle of events. For this cycle, Exhibit Columbus is working with six Curatorial Partners, including:

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

The Curatorial Partners created the theme to explore how collaborations between communities and designers can revitalize and reimagine historic downtowns as equitable, beautiful, healthy, and joyful places, Exhibit Columbus officials said. Public by Design serves as a platform for other communities around the country to become energized by the values of inclusivity, care, and generosity. This cycle celebrates creative methods of collaboration that communities and designers can use to grow a sense of belonging and connection in public spaces.

These ideas extend through every aspect of this cycle of Exhibit Columbus, from shaping the curatorial team and process, selecting participants, and creating the format and goals of every event, organizers said. Starting with the 2022 Symposium, the voices, memories, and dreams of the many communities of Columbus will be amplified and celebrated in the design process. There is a belief that this collaborative effort and the process of co-creation will resonate far beyond the city limits of Columbus.

The 2023 Exhibition will feature temporary installations throughout downtown. They will grow from the ideas explored in the Symposium, collaborations with community partners, and the creative imaginations of the participants. The installations can serve as prototypes for permanent change in the urban core of this city and examples for other communities to consider.

“Our organization is proud of this curatorial direction because it captures so perfectly what the curators and our community want to explore,” said Richard McCoy, executive director of Landmark Columbus Foundation, the organization that produces Exhibit Columbus. “We are moving in a new direction and we are doing it together. It feels like a very special moment in Columbus.”

During the upcoming symposium in October, organizers plan to move away from the tradition format of a symposium, and instead create specific opportunities for engagement between the designers and the citizens of Columbus.