Mike Wolanin | The Republic Lindsey Bailey, left, and Erin Hawkins get a closer look at model of Exhibit Columbus installation Inside Out by University Design Research Fellows Kelley Van Dyke Murphy, Constance Vale and Chandler Ahrens, of Washington University in St. Louis, during the 2025 Exhibit Columbus design presentations program at Columbus City Hall in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
Exhibit Columbus’s 2025 exhibition titled Yes And will be opening in downtown Columbus Friday, Aug. 15 with festivities continung Saturday, Aug. 16, according to Landmark Columbus.
The exhibition will feature 13 outdoor and site-responsive installations that are each inspired by partnerships across the diverse communities of Columbus and connected to the theme of the 2024-25 cycle Yes And. This two-day event offers the rare opportunity to experience the installations in the company of the architects, artists and designers who created them, in addition to curators, Columbus residents and global visitors.
Five free key events will be held to celebrate the opening of the exhibition. On Aug. 15 from 8 to 11 p.m., the Sunset Preview Party will give visitors a chance to preview the exhibition as the sun sets over Columbus, and will feature music from a DJ, local food and drink.
On Aug. 16 from 9 to 11:30 a.m., an Exhibition Walking Tour, guided by the designers themselves, will be held starting with breakfast and coffee at the Columbus Area Visitors Center. The tour will visit all 13 installations before ending at The Crump Theatre.
From 1:30 to 3 p.m. Aug. 16, join the Curatorial Partners for a deep dive into the making of this cycle and its power to inspire other communities at the Curatorial Conversation at First Christian Church.
From 5:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, the Avenue of Architects Celebration on Fifth Street will see one of America’s most celebrated streets come alive as everyone celebrates the opening of the exhibition. The evening will include food trucks, specialty drinks, activities and live performances, concluding with a Variety Show and a ceremony honoring all 2025 participants.
Visitors are also welcome to explore the installations all day Saturday as each installation activates through collaborative events created with community partners. Each of these events are free and open to the public.
This exhibition serves as the fifth cycle of Exhibit Columbus after its launch in 2016 as a program of the nonprofit Landmark Columbus Foundation, an exploration of community, architecture, art and design. Over the past four cycles, Exhibit Columbus has elevated dialogue around how art and design can meaningfully improve cities and public life.
“Opening the fifth exhibition of Exhibit Columbus feels like a historic moment for our community and everyone that is a part of this cycle,” Landmark Columbus Foundation Executive Director Richard McCoy said. “We are so proud to produce, yet again, an event in Southern Indiana that gathers global attention. And we get to offer this cultural experience without charging admission.”
The theme of this cycle, Yes And, invites everyone to explore the legacy of Columbus, Indiana by adding to the multiple and overlapping lives of its buildings and public spaces. The phrase, drawn from improvisational theater, is a strategy for affirmation and expansion, saying “yes” to what exists and “and” to what could be. In this cycle, it acts as a participatory call to build from existing conditions toward shared visions of positive change.
“In just two months, visitors and community members will have the opportunity to experience Yes And for the first time during Opening Weekend, whether by dipping their toes into a purple wading pool, pausing to smell the flowers on the old Irwin Block site, or taking in the view of the city from atop the parking garage,” the seven-person team of Curatorial Partners, including Could Be Design, Mila Lipinski, Rasul Mowatt, Preservation Future and Too Black said in the release. “Together, the 13 contributors of ‘Yes And’ celebrate and expand Columbus’ public spaces, re-imagining what forms of togetherness and collaboration can take root.”
Curatorial Partners form the core of the curatorial team, with additional support from Landmark Columbus Foundation staff, and are responsible for developing and advancing the theme for this cycle of Exhibit Columbus. The Curatorial Partners selected the 2024-25 Exhibit Columbus participants through a collaborative process, and for the first time, Exhibit Columbus also issued an open call for community partners, pairing participating organizations with UDRF teams to deepen local collaboration.
United by the curatorial theme Yes And, this exhibition features the work of four J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize recipients, six University Design Research Fellowship teams, two Design Education Teams and Communication Designers.
Each design team brings a unique perspective and contributes to a collaborative process. As Yes And participants, they build on existing ideas, places and relationships to imagine new possibilities for public space in Columbus, the release says. To learn more about each participant, their site and partner, visit exhibitcolumbus.org.
