As the downtown renaissance continues, we have seen an increased focus on public art opportunities. Public art projects nourish our city, fostering creativity, expressing our values and simply making us happy. The Finding Time Public Art series of 2012 helped us celebrate our bicentennial and in 2013, the Long Street Cultural Wall will add art and beauty to an important infrastructure project.

Designed by artists Larry Winston Collins and Kojo Kmau, the Long Street Cultural Wall will be erected on the south side of the Long Street Bridge, which is part of the Columbus Crossroads construction project.  The artwork will celebrate the history of the Bronzeville (King Lincoln District) with a mixture of black and white photographs and wood carvings. Each of the 60 four by eight foot panels will feature digitally reproduced art mounted to the 240-foot long wall. The panels will also have night-time lighting.

The project received final approval from the Columbus Arts Commission on January 24 of this year and completion of the wall is expected by late fall.