ARTifacts: Created at Home, an exhibition that recognizes the challenges presented by the pandemic and celebrates the creativity that has flourished, will be on view at Dublin Arts Council, 7125 Riverside Dr., in Dublin, March 9 – April 16. The exhibition will encompass highlights of a two-year exploration of art and wellness, featuring artwork from artists of all ages and abilities who live, work, visit, play and learn in Dublin. The exhibition will take place inside and outside the gallery with in-person and online components to make the exhibition available to a larger audience.
A bubble tent on the Dublin Arts Council grounds will be activated by Erin Suman’s 8th grade art students from Dublin’s Davis Middle School, including the tableau of a single desk and highlighting how adolescents are experiencing and exploring the world. The artwork is highlighted by suspended imagery of daily life during the pandemic. The tent is transformed into the image of a globe, representing individual connections to the world during the global health crisis.
Dublin Arts Council will also place a Wishing Tree on the plaza near the building’s entrance. Visitors are encouraged to inscribe a biodegradable tag with their wishes for the coming months and either hang it on the tree or place private thoughts in a receptacle. The tree will later be planted on the Dublin Arts Council grounds with the wishes, to nurture, heal and grow, both literally and figuratively.
Dublin-based artist Matthew Mohr will install a series of six, solar-powered, kinetic sculptures called Lightning Sprites to activate the Dublin Arts Council interior sunporch gallery during the exhibition. The installation is intended to acknowledge hardships, celebrate creativity and inspire the community for a new day. The Lightning Sprites will be launched as an interactive public art project in late summer.
According to Dublin Arts Council Executive Director David S. Guion, “The ARTifacts exhibition celebrates our remarkable community resiliency and the creativity that keeps us inspired, connected and moving forward.”
Gallery visits will be scheduled at https://visitdublinartscouncil.as.me in accordance with the prevailing COVID-19 protocol.
The project is underwritten by City of Dublin, Ohio, USA, Ohio Arts Council and Cardinal Health, Inc., with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Cardinal Health Foundation, the Dublin Community Foundation and Puffin Foundation West, Ltd.
Learn more about the impact of art on community wellness, including videos of three Dublin Art & Wellness community events, at https://www.dublinarts.org/visual-arts/artandwellness/
Virtual content
View all of the submitted artworks and read about their inspirations in this online gallery.
Check out a 360-degree tour from inside the Davis Middle School bubble tent. Click on the icons to learn more about the students’ artwork: https://www.thinglink.com
View videos of three Dublin Art & Wellness community events to learn more about the initiative that informed the creation of this exhibition: PLAY, FLOW, CONNECT
Listen to a radio interview about the exhibition and its components with CD929FM
Read a feature article about the exhibition in Dublin Life magazine
Watch a sneak peek inside the gallery with Good Day Columbus