Ever since the art-centric bicentennial birthday celebration in 2012, the City of Columbus has made more and more of an effort to incorporate public artwork displays into our daily lives. Those projects come in all forms — large and small, temporary and permanent, commissioned and guerrilla — and collectively they add up to making our experiences a little bit more interesting in the city where we live.
When we asked our readers and contributors this year to select the best public art displays of 2016, the temporary art installations from the Independents’ Day celebration was chosen for the top of the charts. While artwork has always been a component of the local festival, this year’s outdoor exhibition was stepped up thanks to an interactive contribution from event sponsor Orange Barrel Media, who erected several life-size subway cars in an alley for local graffiti muralists to decorate in real-time during the festivities. While the displays are no longer set up in the alley, the experience left a lasting impression on local arts aficionados.
For more information, visit www.thisisindependent.com.
The Top 10 Columbus Public Art Displays of 2016:
- Independents’ Day Installations
- Franklinton Murals
- Welcome to Olde Towne East Mural
- Short North Murals
- Outdoor Sculpture at the Columbus Museum of Art
- West Cherry Street
- Origami in the Garden
- Grand Illumination
- Riverfront Deer
- Bold Booths
Flashback: Best Public Art in Columbus of 2015: Bronze Deer Statues on Riverfront
Note: Our “Best of 2016″ lists are published as the combined results of our annual Reader Nomination Survey and Editor’s Choice picks.