Submitted photo An artist’s rendering of the mural and the rotating platform to be a part of the Exhibit Columbus installation “A Carousel for Columbus.”
Fittingly, an Exhibit Columbus installation featuring a space for people and groups to share and collaborate will come together soon in part largely because of extensive collaboration.
University Design Research Fellows Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison are working with Exhibit Columbus leaders, the Columbus Area Arts Council and volunteers, Chicago multidisciplinary artist Andrea Jablonski, and with support from the Columbus Museum of Art and Design.
A screamingly hued mural, inspired by designer Alexander Girard’s vibrant color palette, will be done for the installation titled “A Carousel for Columbus” on the back of two large walls of the Ovation Technology Group building and amid a parking lot at 421 Fourth St. downtown. And that city scene will become permanent after the architectural exhibition completes its Aug. 25 to Nov. 26 run.
The mural is a whimsical hodgepodge of silhouetted, abstract representations of a few of the city’s better known structural gems, from the First Christian Church tower to the Bartholomew County Public Library.
Brooke Hawkins, the local arts council’s executive director, appreciates all the teamwork, including efficient recruitment of volunteers to implement the mural on Aug. 13 and 14.
“This is a perfect example of what Columbus does very well,” Hawkins said. “And that concept is several groups working together to make something great happen. I think the project could bring a dramatic change to very underutilized area.”
After the mural is complete, the installation will include a 10-foot diameter rotating platform for small entertainment gatherings or for play as part of the overall upcoming exhibition carrying the theme “Public By Design.”
“For us,” the designers wrote, “Public By Design suggests working toward collective spaces that welcome diverse audiences—spaces to encounter and interact with people different from yourself. “
Altshuler said in a phone discussion from his Could Be Design Chicago office that nearly every detail of the mural and the overall installation is specifically intentional and symbolic.
“For sure,” Altshuler said. “We don’t get to work in a place like Columbus every day.”
He said he has been amazed at the outpouring of support from the community to help with the installation, adding that enough volunteers for the mural were gathered in little more than a couple days. Plus, Driftwood Builders Inc., which played a significant role in the Ulrich Block Building renovation last year across the street, is donating artsy wooden benches for the space.
Artist Jablonski, who has worked with Could Be Design in the past, is excited to be part of the effort here, where she has visited.
“This opportunity is kismet,” Jablonski said. “Working in Columbus absolutely means something important to me.”
Hawkins mentioned that the mural becoming permanent can boost the space’s use in the future.
“I think that it can bring a dramatic change to what previously has been a very underutilized area,” she said.
Altshuler, who would like to see the rotating platform retain a local home somewhere after the exhibition, goes one step further. He does so in part because he has read architect James Lima’s 2022 study about elements that can activate and revitalize Columbus’ downtown.
“I would like to think that that idea (of Hawkins’) is not quite dramatic enough,” he said, adding that he hopes it can become a regular gathering place for socializing or more. “Our hope is that this kind of intervention can be seen as a prototype for a longer-term and permanent activation of this area as a public gathering and civic space — and a space that can be regularly programmed.
“Even if a space is owned by a private company, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to leverage its use for public benefit.”
