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Columbus Itineraries
- Celebrate the Arts in Columbus
- Columbus Hotspots
- Columbus in Bloom
Experience for yourself why Columbus is ranked as one of the top U.S. arts destinations by AmericanStyle Magazine.
Day 1
Start your tour at the Wexner Center for the Arts, an internationally known contemporary arts center located on The Ohio State University campus. There’s always plenty to see and do here with a packed schedule of exhibits, independent films and cutting-edge performances. The building itself is a work of art. Considered a postmodern landmark, it was designed by esteemed New York architect Peter Eisenman.
Feel what the long journey to the New World was like for slaves through the interactive art exhibit “Cargo: The Middle Passage” at The King Arts Complex, a cultural center devoted to promoting African-American heritage. See works by acclaimed African-American artists, learn about the Civil Rights Movement through engaging exhibits and return in the evening for one of the frequent performing arts events.
Explore the Short North Arts District, one of the best collections of art galleries between New York and Chicago. Nestled between the galleries are boutiques, nightclubs and some of the top restaurants in the city. For more museum-caliber art, head downtown to Hawk Galleries, which features works by internationally acclaimed glass masters including Dale Chihuly, Christopher Ries and Lino Tagliapietra.
Spend an evening enjoying performances by professional groups such as BalletMet, Opera Columbus, The Columbus Symphony, the Contemporary American Theatre Company, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. Downtown’s Theatre Row showcases the city’s performing arts in a trio of lavishly restored historic theaters and the Riffe Center for the Arts.
Day 2
Step inside a painting at the Topiary Park, the world’s only painting re-created in topiary. Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” is brought to life with 54 topiary people, eight boats, three dogs, a monkey and a cat.
Get a peak at the future of art at the Columbus College of Art & Design, one of the largest and oldest private art colleges in the United States. The exhibition schedule features the work of professors, visiting artists and students every May through August. Finding CCAD is easy: Look for the 100-foot tall red ART sculpture.
See works by masters such as Monet, Degas, Picasso and more at the Columbus Museum of Art, located adjacent to CCAD. The CMA is known for its outstanding collection of works by Impressionists, German Expressionists, Cubists, American Modernists and contemporary artists. Get hands-on at “Eye Spy,” an interactive exhibition for children and families, featuring works by internationally acclaimed Columbus natives Elijah Pierce and George Bellows. Enjoy lunch surrounded by sculpture at the Palette Cafe.
Find out why some of the most colorful displays at Franklin Park Conservatory never need watering. Vibrant glass art by Dale Chihuly can be found throughout the conservatory — the only public botanical garden in the world to own a signature collection of Chihuly’s artwork. Two Chihuly chandeliers hang in the glass Palm House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and modeled after the Glass Palace from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
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