Adam Hernandez
As the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, Ohio is celebrating its contributions to culture and history across a variety of domains, including arts and entertainment.
With events occurring throughout the year, central Ohio is commemorating America 250 through programs including the Creativity Trail, Murals Across Ohio and Ohio Goes to the Movies.
Artistic road trip
Robb McCormick Photography
Watch House and Circle Mound by Todd Slaughter
Foremost in America 250-Ohio Commission’s celebration of arts and entertainment is the Creativity Trail, one of six experiential trails that are part of the commission’s Trails & Tales program. It features more than 100 sites across the state, showcasing the work of artists, writers and musicians, past and present.
The trail, which launched in February 2025, commemorates the state’s artistic contributions and has six themes: literature, music, glass and pottery, visual arts, folk and traditional arts, and carousel art. It includes a mix of historical sites, studios, galleries, public art and more.
In central Ohio, there are a dozen sites to explore, each offering unique works.
For instance, the Riffe Gallery and the Columbus Museum of Art feature Ohio artists, while the Ohio Statehouse rotunda features a permanent 9 foot by 12 foot oil painting, Ohioans in Space by Bill Hinsch, installed in 2024.
Meanwhile, Grandview Heights’ Ohio Craft Museum has a collection of more than 250 works in various media, including glass, clay, wood, fiber and metal.
For literary lovers, the trail includes the Thurber House, the historic home of renowned humorist, author, cartoonist, playwright and journalist James Thurber, and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, which has the world’s largest collection of material related to cartoons and comics.
The trails also features public art, such as Dublin’s Watch House and Circle Mound by Todd Slaughter, a copper house and spherical observatory placed atop a 220-foot diameter mound honoring early Indigenous American culture.
Other spots on the trail in central Ohio include:
- Richard M. Ross Art Museum (Delaware)
- The Grand Carousel at the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium
- Wexner Center for the Arts
- Ohio History Center
- Columbus Commons Carousel
Commemorating community art
In partnership with the Ohio Arts Council, America 250-Ohio’s Murals Across Ohio Program features murals across all 88 counties, including both major cities and small towns.
The program debuted last year with 47 murals and has expanded to more than 400 murals on its interactive map, with more pieces still being added through the end of the year.
The murals – each unique in style and size, commemorate history, culture and community pride or envision a brighter future – and feature both local and out-of-state artists.
Columbus is home to at least a dozen murals on the map, such as Nichole “Nicki” Burton’s An Ode to the Historic Eastside at the Lincoln Theatre, and several others throughout the Short North Arts District, including The Journey by Los Angeles artists Ryan Sarfati and Eric Skotnes, Bellaire-born artist Dion Johnson’s Intersecting Energy, Short North Gothic by Steve Galgas and Mike Altman (from Cleveland and Cincinnati, respectively), as well as central Ohio artist Adam Hernandez’s Be the Light.
Surrounding communities including Grove City, Hilliard, Delaware and Westerville also have a handful of murals featured in the program.
Photos courtesy of Adam Hernandez, Amanda Stevens and Short North Alliance
Lights, camera, Ohio
For film buffs, Ohio has no shortage of connections to blockbusters, with a plethora of movies shot here and starring native on-screen talent and behind-the-scenes crew, including directors, writers, producers, designers and more.
Ohio Goes to the Movies, a signature America250 event, highlights Ohio’s connections and contributions to filmmaking by providing free showings of more than 250 movies across the state through October.
The films included span genres and decades.
Showings in central Ohio include action flicks such as Ready Player One, which was directed by Steven Spielberg (Cincinnati) and based on a novel by Ernest Cline (Ashland), and which sets much of its action in a futuristic Columbus.
There are also superhero films such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which filmed in Cleveland and is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo (Cleveland), and James Gunn’s Superman, which was filmed in Cleveland and Cincinnati, stars Isabela Merced (Cleveland) and is based on a character created by comic duo Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (Cleveland).
For younger audiences, showings include animated features such as The Princess and the Frog, which features actors Jim Cummings (Youngstown) and Terrence Howard (Cleveland); Despicable Me, which features Denison University alumnus Steve Carell; and Inside Out 2, which was animated by Kristina Kovacs (Cleveland) and written by Meg LeFauve (Warren).
Audiences can also look forward to classic comedies, such as A Christmas Story (filmed in Cleveland); Boomerang, which features Ohio Wesleyan University alumnus Melvin van Peebles; and National Lampoon’s Vacation, starring Columbus-born actress Beverly D’Angelo.
Amanda Stevens is a contributing writer for CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
