Weekend Getaway - Exhibit Columbus

This past weekend we took a small trip down to Columbus, Indiana, about a 45 minute drive, to see the extensive outdoor art installations that were a part of Exhibit Columbus. I had already heard about how artsy the town was when I learned about the Miller House owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields during an internship there. We headed out of Indy around noon and arrived in time to walk around for a bit and explore a book store before realizing we were starving. We found an amazing restaurant called Thai Connection that served our favorites, massaman curry with pork and Thai-hot pad thai (along with Thai iced coffee, obviously).

The main street of Columbus is where most of the art pieces are so it is easy to see a lot of amazing works in a decent amount of time. Of course, it took us longer than normal because of all the photo opportunities! One of my favorite Exhibit Columbus pieces was "The Exchange," designed by Jenny Wu and Dwayne Oyle. It had lots of seating so you could enjoy the art, or walk around to take in all its angles. Art wasn’t just happening in these areas alone, however; we saw a glass blowing station set up near The Commons on the sidewalk and got to see the amazing process of glass making. We even popped in to the cutest ice cream shop called Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor with the best vintage vibes and some artifacts that told the history of ice cream shops in America.

There was so much more art as you can see in the pictures below. I love that this town is not too far out of reach from most Indy dwellers and how dedicated to art it is. The idea of having a town that advocates and exhibits art in such a way brings it out of museum walls and into public conversation which is so great. In my museum classes, we talked a lot about accessibility in all of its forms so seeing art in this way made me think over these discussions again.

Overall, Columbus is definitely worth the day trip and I would take a Saturday so you can really take it all in and enjoy what the town has to offer. Exhibit Columbus is happening until December 1st and is free and public. I will say that if you are looking to tour the Miller House, make sure to book a tour! I definitely need to go back and see it. Have you been to Exhibit Columbus? What kinds of ways do you enjoy viewing art?