Location:  Huntington Center, 41 S. High St. Columbus, OH 43215

People have been protesting for days in downtown Columbus, Ohio after white police officer (Derek Gauvin), knelt on George Floyd’s neck while he was handcuffed with his hands behind his back lying face down on the street for almost 9 minutes. As a result, he died.

Some protestors damaged storefronts and looted during the citywide curfew. As a result, many businesses boarded up with plywood.

The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) and the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) partnered to hire artists to paint murals on the plywood covering the windows.

Interview with Emily Toney, Director of Development for the GCAC

We created a website with a link to an application for artists to add themselves to a database if they were interested in connecting with businesses looking for artists. We had nearly 20 property management companies or businesses that we connected with our database. There are almost 200 artists who have added themselves. We worked with the Hines Company who manages the Huntington Center and utilized our database to hire artists. They engaged all of their tenants in the process.

We have a fund where people can make donations on behalf of public art and this project. We’ve granted three businesses support for these efforts and raised $1425 thus far. That’s enough to help a few people get the ball rolling.

Sidebar: I love this piece! Click the following link to see the article: Huntington Center Art Highlight.

My take:  

I love seeing artists create live. One of my favorite festivals was cancelled (Columbus Arts Festival). I know, I know they had virtual activities. But, to me it’s not the same. I love being able to interact with the artists.