Yes And: Exhibit Columbus 5
Location
Columbus, IN
Status
Opening August, 2025
Partners
Landmarks Columbus Foundation, Could be Architecture, Mila Lipinsky, Rasul Mowatt, Too Black
Yes And is an invitation to explore the legacy of Columbus by adding to the multiple and overlapping lives of buildings and spaces.
Originating in improv theater, Yes And is a technique for affirming and building upon an idea to create a shared narrative. It is a participatory call to work from existing material to shape positive change.
Through a cycle of events, Exhibit Columbus will encourage the public to collaborate in the creation of the ongoing performance of the city. Whether we’re recovering architectural remnants, reflecting on cultural legacy, staging a dramatic spectacle, or reimagining public play, Yes And invites everybody to the public spaces of Columbus to expand what forms of togetherness and collaboration are possible.
Starting with the Community Kickoff in June and continuing into the 2024 Symposium in late October, the public will have opportunities to map their “favorite places” of Columbus through engagement exercises, voice memos, notecards, and forms. The place-based, personal, and iconic reflections of the community will be amplified and celebrated in the design process. This act welcomes and encourages the public to play a part in the ongoing creation of the city in one or more ways to mark history. Through this work, the theme represents a collaborative effort to make the most of what exists to create better outcomes for all.
The 2025 Exhibition will feature temporary installations throughout downtown by J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Recipients, University Design Research Fellows, High School Design Team, and Communication Designer. The installations will grow from the ideas explored in the 2024 Symposium, site studies, collaborations with community partners, and the participant’s interpretation of the theme, Yes And. The installations will be inventive destinations that will serve Columbus’ downtown core in ways that embrace positivity and reciprocity. This cycle will model how cities can provide community, art, and design support by working from what exists to shape positive change.
Images Courtesy Exhibit Columbus