This winter, Landmark Columbus Foundation is going beyond Columbus.
The organization has announced a series of talks, lectures, an exhibition and national convenings taking place across the next few months both in and outside of Columbus. These events will take Landmark Columbus to New Harmony, Chicago, Illinois and Palm Springs, California, advancing their mission to care for, celebrate and advance the cultural heritage of Columbus and like-minded communities.
To fulfill its mission, Landmark Columbus Foundation directs three locally engaged and globally connected programs that are interwoven in their impact and networks, Progressive Preservation, Exhibit Columbus and Columbus Design Institute, according to a press release.
“We are creating opportunities for people to connect with place and explore the tradition of design excellence in Columbus,” Landmark Columbus Foundation executive director Richard McCoy said in the release. “These events may appear straightforward on the surface, but they open the door to deeper conversations about design, history and what it means to belong to a community.”
A couple of events this winter will also be held in Columbus and in celebration of Black History Month. For more information, visit landmarkcolumbusfoundation.org.
Progressive Preservation Talks School Edition: Southside Elementary
6:30 p.m. Jan. 29, Columbus Area Visitors Center
Continuing Landmark Columbus Foundation’s Progressive Preservation Talks series, this public talk will focus on Southside Elementary School, designed by Eliot Noyes and completed in 1969. Cultural researcher Glenda Winders will also share insights from her research into the school’s history and archival materials, according to the release.
The evening will begin with a reception and light refreshments, followed by the talk and time for audience reflection and discussion. The event is produced in partnership with the Columbus Area Visitors Center and registration is free.
This series invites the community to engage in conversation about educational architecture, preservation and the lasting impact of modern design in Columbus. To register to free, visit eventbrite.com.
Black History Month Columbus Progressive Preservation Talks: Goins Hotel
4:30 p.m. Feb. 10, Columbus Area Visitors Center
Cameryn Kent and Paulette Roberts, who have been conducting research on the Goins Hotel together since last February, will have their research and insights shared during this special edition of the Progressive Preservation Talks series. This event is produced in partnership with Black History Month Columbus and the Columbus Area Visitors Center.
Kent, an undergraduate intern at Landmark Columbus Foundation and a Comprehensive Design student at Indiana University, and Roberts, the original creator of Columbus’ Black Heritage Trail, have been researching the Goins Hotel together since last February. The pair will highlight the site’s layered history and its role within the Black Heritage Trail, which opened last summer.
Located on Fourth Street, the Goins Hotel was established in 1928 by Elmer and Lydia Goins as a 23-room boarding house serving Black travelers during segregation. It is one of several stops along the self-guided Black Heritage Trail walking route that traces the history of Black land ownership, businesses and cultural life in Columbus from the late 1800s through the early 20th century.
The talk will explore the building’s evolution from its early years through 2023, the release says. The evening will begin with a reception and light refreshments, followed by the talk. There will be time for audience reflection and discussion as well. Registration is free and is available at eventbrite.com.
Palm Springs Modernism Week, Small Towns + Great Architecture: Modernism’s Untold Stories
11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) Feb. 13, Annenberg Theater, Palm Springs, California
Landmark Columbus Foundation, as part of Palm Springs Modernism Week, will be participating in “Small Towns + Great Architecture: Modernism’s Untold Stories.” This panel presentation and discussion will examine the architectural legacies of Palm Springs, California, Sarasota, Florida and Columbus, Indiana.
Despite their populations of approximately 50,000, each of these cities have become internationally recognized for innovative modern architecture and ambitious civic design. The event will explore the conditions and individuals that contributed to these architectural renaissances, including the roles of architects, developers, governments and clients, as well as the ways each community continues to steward and preserve its built legacy while planning for the future, the release says.
McCoy will be joined by Alan Hess, architect, author and historian with the Palm Springs Architectural Alliance, and Morris Hylton III, the president of Architecture Sarasota. The panel will be moderated by Katie Horak, principal at Architectural Resource Group.
Panelists will share historical context, behind-the-scenes perspectives and pivotal moments that shaped each city’s design identity, highlighting both shared movements and distinct approaches to modern architecture and preservation. A book signing will follow the event, which is presented by the Palm Springs Architectural Alliance. Tickets for the event cost $25 and can be purchased at go.modtix.com.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Mitchell Lecture Series
6 p.m. CST (7 p.m. EST) Feb. 18, Leroy Neiman Center, Chicago, Illinois
McCoy and Nora Daley, co-chair of the Chicago Architecture Biennial Board of Directors, will participate in a public lecture as part of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s, or SAIC, Mitchell Lecture Series. This series introduces students and the broader public to leading voices in architecture, design and preservation, offering insight into contemporary practice and critical discourse across disciplines.
The lecture provides an opportunity to engage with ideas shaping the future of biennial exhibitions through the perspectives of practitioners working at the intersection of design and civic life, the release says. It is hosted by SAIC’s Architecture, Interior Architecture, Designed Objects and Historic Preservation department and is free and open to the public to attend.
Black History Month Columbus Progressive Preservation Talks: Granville Lee Edition
6:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Crump Theatre
Produced in partnership with Black History Month Columbus, this talk with retired University of Indianapolis vice president Michael Cartwright and Indiana University Columbus professor Kevin Jones will feature research and information about Columbus’ local historic figure Granville Lee.
Cartwright and Jones will narrate what happened before, during and immediately after the Columbus High School commencement at the Crump Theatre on May 28, 1901. This landmark occasion has been remembered, somewhat inaccurately, as the occasion when the first African American male Granville Lee graduated, according to the release.
Although stories of the 1901 commencement have circulated for the past 125 years, this event will bring it into sharper focus by placing it in the context of American civic struggles to uphold the values of equity and independence. On this occasion, the legal doctrine of “separate but equal” disrupted the Columbus community’s quest for excellence in public education, blurring the memory of Granville Lee’s significance in the process.
A reception will be held at 6:15 p.m. with light refreshments, followed by the talk at 6:30 p.m. There will be time for feedback from those in attendance. To register for free, visit eventbrite.com.
New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Exhibition
Opening Reception at 3 p.m. CST (4 p.m. EST) Feb. 28, on view through April 11, New Harmony Gallery for Contemporary Art
Landmark Columbus Foundation will be presenting a retrospective exhibition examining 10 years of the Exhibit Columbus J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art. The exhibition brings together 23 commissioned installations realized through Exhibit Columbus between 2016 and 2025, offering a comprehensive look at the prize’s evolution and its contributions to public life, design discourse and community practice.
The J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize honors designers whose work reflects the Millers’ belief in the power of architecture, art and design to strengthen communities. Awarded through Exhibit Columbus, a biennial exploration of community, architecture, art and design that activates Columbus’ modern architectural legacy, the prize supports site-responsive installations that engage history, place and contemporary civic questions.
The retrospective, organized by exhibition cycle and presented in a gallery setting, is presented through the perspectives of current Landmark Columbus staff, reflecting on how the Miller Prize has grown over time and how its ambitions, methods and impacts have shifted in response to changing ideas about design, civic engagement and place-based work.
Rather than focusing solely on individual projects, the exhibition positions the Miller Prize as a cultural legacy, one that extends beyond temporary installations to influence long-term thinking about public space and community-centered designed. The exhibition expands access to the work of Exhibit Columbus while reinforcing Landmark Columbus Foundation’s role as a steward of design knowledge and institutional memory.
The exhibition also examines the Miller Prize as a platform for experimentation across architecture, art and civic life, asking how temporary public works can generate lasting cultural impact. The opening reception is free and open to the public to attend.
