NE Franklin News

Published on June 26, 2024

The City of Columbus has announced a $3.5 million plan to transform the city’s commemorative landscape to celebrate its diversity more fully. The “Reimagining Columbus” initiative includes a record $1.5 million investment in new public art on the City Hall campus and efforts to promote diversity in public art and spaces.

The Mellon Foundation also revealed that Columbus will join eight other cities funded by its Monuments Project, which will provide $2 million for the community to collaboratively design a space that re-contextualizes the Christopher Columbus statue. This project aims to explain his legacy as understood today and uplift stories of underrepresented residents.

“Today, we take the next step in rewriting our narrative. We take responsibility to tell the truth about colonialism and racism, and to tell the stories of the people who have been overlooked and erased from the telling of our history. I invite the entire community to join us in an inclusive discussion that will allow us to re-envision how we project ourselves to the world and create a symbolic landscape that more closely resembles our shared values and aspirations for our future,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther.

Elizabeth Alexander, President of the Mellon Foundation, stated, “Through the monuments and memorials that mark them, our civic spaces are where many of us first learn about the American Story. These grants strengthen new possibilities for commemoration in American cities so we can better understand that story and the history that informs it, and so we can celebrate the collective achievements and extraordinary acts these new monuments and memorials will honor in civic spaces across the country.”

Reimagining Columbus establishes funding and a work plan following Mayor Ginther's directive when placing the Columbus statue into storage. With support from a $2 million Monuments Project grant, residents will engage in research into colonial and contemporary history while leveraging best practices in placemaking to determine future actions regarding the statue given by Genoa in 1955.

Residents will collaborate on creating a public space narrating those impacted by Christopher Columbus’ legacy. Led by historians, indigenous architects, designers, diversity advisors, this project aims at sharing personal narratives from residents through conventional and restorative practices.

Public engagement through Reimagining Columbus will gather feedback on how public art and city symbols can reflect community values for future aspirations. The City commits $1.5 million – its largest single public art investment – for new art at City Hall expressing this vision.

Additional equity work in public art is part of “Greater Columbus. Greater Art.” funded by city/county initiatives led by Greater Columbus Arts Council developing its first-ever public art plan with diversity strategies aimed at depicting diverse subjects cultivating artistic talent across neighborhoods.

“It is exciting to share this multi-million dollar investment into public art and engaging discourse from Mellon Foundation,” said Councilmember Emmanuel V. Remy. “I believe this investment into our public art plan will help move our city forward while creating thoughtful interactive spaces for our community.”

Further details about Reimagining Columbus are available at www.reimaginingcolumbus.com.

City Hall

90 West Broad Street

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Phone: (614) 645-3111