Mike Wolanin | The Republic Landmark Columbus Executive Director Richard McCoy, left, and Landmark Columbus Director of Partnerships Laura Garrett offer a toast as they welcome guests to a panel discussion with Exhibit Columbus Miller Prize recipients during the Exhibit Columbus Symposium at The Commons in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Oct. 21, 2022.
Landmark Columbus executive director Richard McCoy and Landmark Columbus director of partnerships Laura Garrett are shown at a past event.
Through the years of the Exhibit Columbus architectural events, the University Design Research Fellows have provided some of the more creative and eye-catching installations.
The University of Tennessee’s 30-foot, carbon fiber “Filament Tower” in 2019 on the lawn of then-North Christian Church was among those.
And Exhibit Columbus leaders are once again accepting applications until a Sept. 12 deadline for those collegiate creators/builders. In the past, some of those creator/builders have taken ideas or concepts that they have designed for other efforts and transferred them to the three-month Exhibit Columbus gathering that has earned worldwide attention and media coverage.
Laura Garrett, director of partnerships for umbrella agency Landmark Columbus Foundation, said university interest thus far has been as strong or stronger than in the past.
For the last exhibition in 2023, more than 50 universities or professors applied for seven spots. This year, because organizers are giving $15,000 budgets to the teams instead of the previous $10,000, there will be six teams selected by the Exhibit Columbus curatorial partners.
“We’re also asking for bit more commitment from them this time,” Garrett said.
Exhibit Columbus is a free, public exhibition highlighting the city’s Modernist architectural legacy. It features temporary landscapes or structures complementing local, downtown area buildings or sites. The event has become one of the more popular local summer/fall activities, lending itself to a wide range of gatherings, concerts, and more.
Locally, it has drawn anywhere from an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people in past years for tours, visits or events that it sometimes refers to as “activations.”
University Design Research Fellows spots will be awarded to full-time university/college professors in any area of design, architecture, art, and landscape architecture.
Upon application and acceptance, participants are required to participate in the 2024 Symposium, 2025 Design Presentations, and ultimately, in the 2025 Exhibition to design/build a public installation that showcases their research.
The research fellows are required to attend all key Exhibit Columbus events:
- The 2024 symposium slated Oct. 24-25.
- The 2025 Design Presentations Feb. 21-22.
- The 2025 exhibition opening weekend Aug. 15-16.
- The 2025 University Design Research Fellows Colloquium in the fall of 2025.
The selections center on a full-time university or college professor(s) in the United States, and a person or persons who can showcase a body of research that will form the basis of their concept, and eventually shape a project/installation proposal for the 2025 exhibition. Curators also are seeking those people or teams interested in connecting “with a community that loves the modern legacy of Columbus,” the guidelines state.
Information and to apply: https://www.exhibitcolumbus.org/2024-udrf-competition.
