Exhibit Columbus 2023, Public by Design, is a ground-breaking exhibition in Columbus, Indiana, showcasing how art and architecture can help nurture community belonging while reimagining historic downtowns as equitable, beautiful, and joyful places.
Six curatorial partners directed the exhibition’s 13 public artworks, created by independent designers, art studios, university design fellows, and a high school design team. View the complete list of participants here.
![SYLVAN SCRAPPLE by Katie MacDonald and Kyle Schumann | University of Virginia School of Architecture; Exhibit Columbus 2023, copyright Hadley Fruits](https://i0.wp.com/www.printmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-EC-UDRF-Sylvan-Scrapple_028.jpg?resize=1000%2C771&quality=89&ssl=1)
![MACHI 街 by the high school design team | Columbus, Indiana; Exhibit Columbus 2023, copyright Hadley Fruits](https://i0.wp.com/www.printmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-EC-HSDT-Machi_003.jpg?resize=1000%2C678&quality=89&ssl=1)
Exhibit Columbus is unique because it engages in an international dialogue connected to the biennial exhibition structure while exploring the challenges that cities around the globe are facing today. This year’s cycle, Public by Design, de-centers the idea of singular artists and curators for art and architecture and, instead, turns the focus on the friction of public art and architecture with the community. With this focus, the installations got their inspiration from curatorial questions such as: What is civic identity? How does nature connect us? How do we interpret the past?
We wanted to demonstrate the basic idea that the best work is built with a broad belief in the collective power of community work and engagement.
Bryony Roberts, 2023 curator and former Exhibit Columbus Miller Prize Recipient
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.printmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-EC-MP-THE-PLOT-PROJECT-PORT_007.jpg?resize=1000%2C772&quality=89&ssl=1)
![A Carousel for Columbus by Joseph Altshuler and Zack Morrison | University of Illinois School of Architecture; Exhibit Columbus 2023, copyright Hadley Fruits](https://i0.wp.com/www.printmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-EC-UDRF-Carousel-for-Columbus_035.jpg?resize=1000%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1)
![Echoes of the Hill by Studio Zewde Harlem | Harlem, New York; Exhibit Columbus 2023, copyright Hadley Fruits](https://i0.wp.com/www.printmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-EC-MP-EOTH-Zewde_038.jpg?resize=1000%2C625&quality=89&ssl=1)
Public by Design opened to huge crowds on the weekend of August 25. Free events included a public walking tour narrated by the artwork creators, community games, live music, dance performances ranging from Bollywood to swing to salsa, and a 15-minute history of the Black Experience performed to gospel, seventies soul, and hip-hop. A public dance party capped the opening weekend’s festivities.
![InterOculus by Practice for Architecture and Urbanism | PAU New York City; Exhibit Columbus 2023, copyright Hadley Fruits](https://i0.wp.com/www.printmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-EC-Rock-the-Block_024-1.jpg?resize=1000%2C680&quality=89&ssl=1)
![PRISMA by Esteban Garcia Bravo and Maria Clara Morales | Department of Computer Graphics Technology at Purdue University; Exhibit Columbus 2023, copyright Hadley Fruits](https://i0.wp.com/www.printmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-EC-UDRF-PRISMA_015.jpg?resize=1000%2C664&quality=89&ssl=1)
![PIPE UP! by Halina Steiner, Tameka Baba, Forbes Lipschitz, and Shelby Doyle | Austin E. Knowlton School at The Ohio State University and Iowa State University College of Design; Exhibit Columbus 2023, copyright Hadley Fruits](https://i0.wp.com/www.printmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-EC-Opening-Tour_041.jpg?resize=1000%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1)
Exhibit Columbus 2023, Public by Design, will be on display until November 26, with additional projects and events occurring throughout. Visit exhibitcolumbus.org for the full schedule.
All photos are copyright Hadley Fruits.