Explore the Reimagining Columbus Engagement Activities
The Reimagining Columbus project was built on a foundation of extensive, inclusive community engagement to ensure the recommendations reflected the diverse voices of Central Ohio. Over a two-year period, the project deployed a multi-phased approach that combined large-scale public forums with intimate affinity-group discussions and major community events. This multi-layered approach was designed to gather broad consensus while simultaneously capturing the nuanced personal narratives essential to recontextualizing the city's symbolic landscape.
Engagement Events
Previous Events
Community Conversations
Community Conversations: World Café Events
Storytelling conversation event for residents of greater Columbus to collectively explore the complexities of our heritages and cultures.
Tuesday, March 5
Columbus Metropolitan Library (Downtown) | 6pm-8pm
96 S. Grant Avenue
Tuesday, March 26
Columbus State Community College | 5:30pm-7:30pm
Workforce Development Building Ballroom, 315 Cleveland Avenue
What is Indigenous Design and History?
Join award-winning architect Tamarah Begay as she unveils the secrets of Indigenous design practices.
Thursday, April 4
Center for Architecture and Design | 6-8pm
950 W Town Street
Story Lab: "How It Started, How It's Going and What's Possible"
Community conversations highlighting individual vignettes and facilitated dialogue designed to inspire deeper reflection by centering and uplifting true, lived experiences of people.
Tuesday, April 16
The Ohio History Center | 6-8pm
800 E 17th Ave
Columbus in the American Imagination
Unveiling Columbus - Join historian Kirk Savage as he dives into the surprising truth behind Columbus' place in American history.
Tuesday, June 18
Lincoln Theater | 6pm -8pm
The Lincoln Theatre: Lincoln Ballroom at 769 E Long St. Columbus, OH
Panel Discussion: Reimagining Columbus Year One Engagement
Let's recap our Reimagining Columbus series! We'll discuss new perspectives, challenge old narratives, and spark meaningful conversations!
Thursday, Jan 9
Columbus Museum of Art | 5:30pm-7:30pm
480 East Broad Street
The Arc of Columbus
Join Reimagining Columbus for a Film Screening and Roundtable Discussion of The Arc of Columbus: A City's Journey with its History and Namesake.
Tuesday, June 3
Fran Ryan Center | 5:30pm-8:00pm
865 East Capital Street
Reimagine the Future of Public Art
Join moderator Kendal Henry, assistant commissioner of Public Art at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and a panel of public artists who are on the front lines of creating monuments. The participating artists- Sandy Williams, Melissa Mongiat and Norman Lee- are actively working to redefine, contextualize, and create monuments that reflect our evolving narratives and aspirations in today’s landscape.
The events of 2020 fundamentally shifted our collective understanding of history, identity, and public space. As communities across the globe reevaluate how we remember and represent our past, we have the opportunity to consider the critical and complex role of our monuments.
A Q&A follows the discussion.
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
The Wexner Center for the Arts | 6:00pm
Family Workshops
Design Your Own Monument Workshops
Imagine carving your own mark on history! Forget boring statues and towering obelisks – what if you could design a monument that truly reflects your values and memories? Build, imagine, and learn about monuments in a hands-on workshop perfect for the whole family.
Saturday, April 27
Columbus Metropolitan Library - Hilltop | 1pm-3pm
511 S Hague Avenue
Saturday, April 28
Columbus Metropolitan Library - Parsons | 2pm-4pm
1113 Parsons Avenue
Nature Walks
Family-friendly Mound Walks
Explore sacred mounds throughout Central Ohio. Through this series of mound walks, explore ancient structures and learn about their cultural significance.
Saturday, April 20
Highbanks Adena Mound | 2pm-4pm
9466 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center, OH
Sunday, May 19
Voss Mound | 10am-12pm
Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park, Galloway, OH
An Evening in Community
Explore Chief Leatherlips Monument with Shelly Corbin, enjoy a cookout, and connect with community at Scioto Park!
Monday, September 16
Scioto Park | 5pm-8pm
7377 Riverside Dr. Dublin, OH 43017
Community Reflections
Leave Good Soil
Leave Good Soil examines the connections between history and the environment, as well as our approaches to managing resources and knowledge for future generations. Through collage, bead weaving, and installation, artist Abby Kamagate assumes a hands-on approach to archiving and activating our present, and imaging how the soil we leave will impact the future. From her unique lens as the documentarian of Reimagining Columbus, Leave Good Soil commemorates the transformative stories revealed through the project.
This exhibition is presented in collaboration with Reimagining Columbus.
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Pecha Projects at Brandt Gallery | 5:30-7:30pm
76 N High St, Columbus, OH 43215
Columbus Reimagined
Join the Reimagining Columbus Team to celebrate the outcomes of community conversations surrounding our past identity and our collective desire for one that is more inclusive, honoring of our full story, and one that tells the truth.
Take a nature walk through meadows and wooded areas of Whetstone Park to the Adena Brooke while viewing the project recommendations for the future of the City’s Columbus statue and installation of new works of art at City Hall.
This is a guided activity with groups leaving every 30 minutes to walk through the experience, leaving ample time for conversation, free play at and near the creek, and relaxation. Dinner will be provided!
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Whetstone Park, Shelter House 1 | 4:30-7:30pm