Columbus Arts Festival participants don’t minimize the pain that accompanies what might be the darkest chapter in the history of the annual three-day event.
Even as last year’s event went virtual and this year’s event was canceled outright, both because of the pandemic, participants have been optimistic that the event will come back stronger when it returns – hopefully, next year. They also appreciate how far the festival has come over its nearly six decades of existence.
“Producing the festival is definitely a point of pride for the greater good,” says Jami Goldstein, vice president of marketing, communications and events for the Greater Columbus Arts Council. “And it aligns with our mission, because we really do want to be accessible to all and to be enjoyed by all. … That’s an important part of our identity, of who we are.”
The festival began on the Ohio Statehouse lawn in 1962, and the Columbus Arts Council was formed to coordinate it. The council modeled the event on the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh.
After the Columbus Art Council went inactive, the Greater Columbus Arts Council emerged in the early 1970s to take over organizing the festival. Over the past 15 years, GCAC has worked to more closely connect the festival to the organization, Goldstein says.
After leaving the Statehouse, the festival has moved to the downtown Columbus riverfront, then to the Discovery District while the riverfront was transformed into the Scioto Mile, then back to the Scioto Mile once the transformation was complete. As the festival has grown, the city has grown, too, becoming more than the state capital.
“We’re growing into a wonderfully diverse and welcoming city,” Goldstein says. “We’ve seen that in the evolution of the arts, as well in terms of the kind of groups and collaborations and performances that have come to the festival."
Due to construction, the festival will move away from the riverfront again. Its presumed return next year will be in the Arena District.
“We welcome any neighbor and people, and we feel like this is an opportunity for people to get out and explore that neighborhood in a new way,” Goldstein says.
Festival attendance grew from about 50,000 people in the 1970s to about 500,000 people by the mid-1980s. The festival continues to entertain about half a million people over the course of three days in recent years if the weather is good. Organizers have embraced change over the life of the festival, adding beer sales, new technologies and new exhibition ideas.
“We’re always kind of evolving the space, the people coming in, the art,” says Patty Matthews, a longtime festival volunteer.
More than 10 years ago, the festival introduced its emerging artist program for artists living in Franklin and surrounding counties who have limited or no experience exhibiting at national festivals. Accepted artists pay lower fees and a have access to a boot camp on how best to present their work.
Goldstein says the experience helps artists determine if the festival circuit is the right place to showcase and sell their work. Some previous participants found it wasn’t the right fit, she says, but others have thrived.
With the festival receiving 1,000 applications from artists throughout the world for about 250 spots, the program allows less experienced artists in the community a chance to participate.
“The competition is high,” says Kate Morgan, a 2-D mixed media artist and one of the early emerging artists.
Morgan has attending to the festival since her childhood, but never saw it as a place to make a living. After she was accepted in the program in her first year, she received an automatic invite for the following year. For her third year, Morgan had to apply like the other artists, but was rejected – only to try again and be accepted.
“It was a wonderful experience,” Morgan says.
In contrast with the monthly Short North Gallery Hop, Morgan says, the festival’s atmosphere is more open and inviting, meaning greater engagement between the artists and attendees.
When the pandemic hit, the unexpected break in the festival circuit forced Morgan to become the “most stationary” she’s been in a decade, she says, allowing her to focus on other aspects of her life.
Morgan picked up her art again in January and hopes the arts festival can come back in full next year. She doesn’t want to see a “half-breed (version) of what it was.”
“You want it to be the Columbus Arts Festival,” Morgan says.
Brandon Klein is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at bklein@cityscenemediagroup.com.
