Founder Landmark Columbus | Begins 2016 Inaugurated 2017 | |
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Exhibit Columbus is an "annual exploration of architecture, art, design, and community," that alternates programming between symposium and exhibition years. Exhibit Columbus has been compared to the Chicago Architecture Biennial, ArtPrize, and Prospect New Orleans. The 2016 inaugural symposium, "Foundations and Futures," took place in fall 2016 and the inaugural exhibition will open in August 2017.
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History
Early planning work for Exhibit Columbus began in late 2014 and the project was officially launched on 5 May 2016 in Columbus as a program of Heritage Fund—The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County. It receives funding from a number of local and regional individuals, foundations, and corporations. The project was recognized by NUVO as a "2016 Best Of Editors Pick."
100 Variations
An exhibition was created in the fall of 2014 as a pilot project that featured designer Jonathan Nesci who created 100 unique tables for an installation in front of First Christian Church. This exhibition, "100 Variations," was produced by Indianapolis-based curator, Christopher West with support from the Columbus Area Visitors Center, Columbus Museum of Art and Design, and the Haddad Foundation. Each of the tables was made by Noblitt Fabricating in Columbus, Indiana under the leadership of Curt Aton.
Graphic identity
The Chicago based graphic design firm, Thirst, was hired in 2016 to create the Exhibit Columbus identity with the goal of creating a system that was aligned with Paul Rand's designs in Columbus, along with Alexander Girard's work at the Miller House and Garden. This identity was immediately recognized with an award from the Society of Typographic Artists, and has gone on to considerable critical acclaim. The identity was primarily created by Rick Valicenti, a 2006 AIGA medalist and a 2009 National Design Award winner.
The J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Competition
The Miller Prize was created to honor J. Irwin Miller and his wife Xenia S. Miller, two of the twentieth century’s greatest patrons of architecture, design, and art, and a "family whose visionary commitment to community remains unparalleled." The ten selected designers will be paired at one of the five sites in a competition to see which team is selected by a jury for the opportunity to build an installation that is in conversation with the past while exploring the future of design and fabrication.
2016 symposium
The 2016 symposium took place September 29 to October 1 and was entitled "Foundations and Futures." It featured a sold out keynote session with Deborah Berke, Will Miller, Robert A. M. Stern, and Michael Van Valkenburgh and sessions with experts on the history of Modern architecture, Columbus, Indiana, fabrication, and the community.
The symposium was billed as the first step to launch the first exhibition which is slated to take place in August 2017. All ten of the 2016 Miller Prize Finalists were featured in panel discussions.
2016 Miller Prize Finalists
2016-17 Miller Prize sites
2016 Miller Prize Juried Presentations
On 10 December the 10 Miller Prize finalists presented their concepts to a jury that will decide the winners. The presentations took place at Columbus City Hall.
2016 Miller Prize Jury
2017 exhibition
The 2017 exhibition will open in August and feature more than 15 site-responsive installations in downtown Columbus, including: