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 details for its fourth free symposium that will highlight the theme “Public by Design” on Oct. 21 and 22.
The event will unfold at a variety of Columbus venues in a format designed to inspire engagement and involvement locally, statewide, and far beyond, according to organizers.
The symposium will feature sessions with the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Recipients, University Design Research Fellows, High School Design Team, graphic designer, curatorial team and feature three keynote events.
This two-day event will be “one of the most significant gatherings of contemporary artists, architects, thinkers, and arts administrators in the country,” according to Richard McCoy of Landmark Columbus Foundation, Exhibit Columbus’ umbrella agency.
“We’re excited to have the Exhibit Columbus Symposium return in-person with all of these amazing participants,” said Mayor Jim Lienhoop. “It’s going to be a rare moment to interact with some of the most inspiring people in the country, and we get to do it all in southern Indiana, when this area is full of beautiful fall colors.”
The symposium will kick off at The Commons with a keynote presentation from Trinity Simons Wagner, the executive director of the Mayor’s Institute on City Design, who will talk about the importance of mayors’ being the chief urban designers of their cities and the recently launched Just City Mayoral Fellowship.
The day will continue with two types of sessions that will run at the same time: Explore sessions will allow attendees to visit the public institution and site with which each Miller Prize Recipient is paired during this cycle of Exhibit Columbus. Connect sessions will take place at The Commons and allow attendees to hear from each Miller Prize Recipient and learn about the history, community, and design challenge for each site.
This day will culminate in a keynote conversation with all of the Miller Prize participants moderated by Julie McClure, editor of The Republic newspaper. McClure has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for Indiana newspapers.
Those participants are:
- Practice for Architecture Urbanism | PAU – New York
- Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO – Mexico City
- Studio Zewde – Harlem
- PORT – Philadelphia and Chicago
Oct. 22 will begin at Columbus City Hall with a keynote conversation with Rachel Kaplan-David, the director of the Chicago Architectural Biennial, and Jenny Gil Schmitz, the eecutive director of Desert X — two of the country’s leading cultural programs that create site responsive art and architecture installations.
The conversation will be moderated by Rasul Mowatt, Department Head of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University. Sessions will continue throughout the day with the University Design Research Fellows in conversation with James Lima Planning + Development, a leading urban strategy consultancy.
The University Design Research Fellows are:
- Joseph Altshuler School of Architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL and Zack Morrison Chicago, IL
- Esteban Garcia Bravo and Maria Clara Morales Department of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
- Jessica Colangelo and Charles Sharpless University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, Fayetteville, AR
- Deborah Garcia Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Architecture, Cambridge, MA
- Molly Hunker and Greg Corso Syracuse University School of Architecture, Syracuse, NY
- Katie MacDonald and Kyle Schumann University of Virginia School of Architecture, Charlottesville, VA
- Halina Steiner, Tameka Baba, Forbes Lipschitz Austin E. Knowlton School at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, and Shelby Doyle, Iowa State University College of Design, Ames, IA
Saturday will conclude with a session about graphic design and wayfinding systems with Chris Grimley, a principal at the firm OverUnder in conversation with Rick Valicenti, an independent producer, designer, and collaborator. The day will conclude with introductions to the High School Design Team and Elementary STEM Students. Each of the sessions will be moderated by one of the six Curatorial Partners who are:
- 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, City of Bloomington
“We are very excited to have organized this symposium and to create opportunities for everyone working on this cycle of Exhibit Columbus to come together and work in Public by Design,” said Richard McCoy, executive director of Landmark Columbus Foundation, the organization that produces Exhibit Columbus. “We couldn’t be more proud to make this world-class content free and available to all. It’s going to be a great moment to be in Columbus.”
Other events
The symposium is being produced at a time when other major events related to art and architecture are taking place. Some highlights include:
- ● 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 20: The J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program will host a lecture by Julia Wolf of Studio Grang.
- ● All day Oct. 20: The Indiana Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture, which will be hosting their Annual Conference with special guest Julie Snow of Snow Kreilich Architects.
- ● All day Oct. 21-23: The Columbus Area Arts Council will host an artist-led workshop with long popular glass blowing artist Lisa Pelo on the Sixth Street Arts Alley.
- ● 7:30 p.m.: October 22: The Columbus Indiana Philharmonic will host a concert with Maestro Timothy Verville.
- 3:30 p.m. Oct. 23: The Columbus Symphony Orchestra kicks off its historic, centennial-year season.
