Symposium to highlight art and design in Columbus

The first major event in a new project to focus attention on the art, architecture and design in Columbus is taking place this weekend.

The Foundations and Futures symposium will kick off Thursday with a gallery opening at the IU Center for Art and Design on Jackson Street. Following that, symposium will be held Friday and Saturday at The Commons. It is part of the new Exhibit Columbus project.

Richard McCoy, director of Landmark Columbus, explains the purpose of Exhibit Columbus.

“It is really an initiative that is meant to catalyze and to spark new ideas in Columbus about the value of good design,” McCoy said. “What I mean by that is all the great things that Columbus is internationally recognized for – architecture, art, landscape architecture and community planning.”

The initiative will also include a new design award named in honor of J. Irwin and Xenia Miller that will have 10 design teams vying for the prize.

“Architects, artist and designers that we have selected compete one-on-one to win a Miller Prize,” McCoy said. “And that Miller Prize is going to be a cash award to build a temporary installation that will be on display all next year. All 10 of those Miller Prize finalists have been selected and they will be in town in a couple of days to take part in the symposium.”

The work of the finalists will be featured in the gallery display at the IU Center for Art & Design.

“It kicks off with a free event at the IU Center for Art and Design — a gallery exhibition of those 10 Miller Prize finalists,” McCoy said. “And then it goes into a two-day symposium. And when I say ‘symposium’ it sounds boring but it is really not going to be boring.

“It is going to be an exciting time to hear from international experts and then your friends in the community and then some really famous designers that got their start in Columbus.”

This weekend’s symposium will also include high-profile participants in Columbus design history including Deborah Berke, Will Miller, Robert A. M. Stern, and Michael Van Valkenburgh.

For more information: www.exhibitcolumbus.org