Wednesday | September 26
The symposium begins in Indianapolis at Newfields. Join us for exclusive tours of the newly reinstalled design galleries at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, as well as the first reception and Evening Conversation of the symposium.

 

Thursday | September 27
Events continue in Columbus with Morning Conversations in St. Peter's Lutheran Church, exclusive walking and bus tours, a documentary screening and Q&A, an Evening Conversation at North Christian Church, and the Opening Night Party at Upland Brewing Co.

 

Friday | September 28
Events continue in Columbus with Morning and Evening Conversations in First Christian Church, the AIA Trade Show in The Commons, and more chances to experience exclusive walking and bus tours.

 

Saturday | September 30
The symposium events come to an end with a look to the future as we meet the 2018–19 Miller Prize Winners, celebrate with a party on 4th Street, and experience exclusive walking and bus tours.

 

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Wednesday | September 26

2:00-5:00 pm – Afternoon Tours at Newfields

 

Design Gallery Tour

 

The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s 11,000-square-foot Design Gallery is the largest collection gallery devoted to modern and contemporary design of any museum in the country. Join Shelley Selim, Associate Curator of Design and Decorative Arts, for a tour of the recently renovated gallery, now featuring a thematic reinterpretation that offers fresh insights into the versatile design process—from inspiration to production. A rotation of more than 150 new objects will be on display, many of which are recent acquisitions being shown for the first time. Newfields’ famed Miller House and Garden assumes a greater presence in the gallery with a fully immersive virtual reality experience. This joins several other new interactive spaces, including an 800-square-foot Design Lab where guests can design prototypes using analog and digital tools and try out some of the furniture on display.

 

Miller House and Garden Archives Tour

 

The Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Indiana, is one of the country’s most highly regarded mid-century Modernist residences. The Miller House was designed by Eero Saarinen, with interiors by Alexander Girard and landscape design by Daniel Urban Kiley. When Newfields acquired the home in 2009, its comprehensive records were transferred to the IMA Archives. Join Alba Fernandez-Keys, Head Librarian, and Lydia Spotts, Associate Archivist/Librarian, for a tour of the archives’ “greatest hits,” including original design drawings, floor plans, and color stories.

5:00-6:00 pm – Evening Reception

6:00-7:30 pm – Evening Conversation: Foundations for Design

As corporate foundations seek innovative ways to build the communities with which they are connected, what roles do architecture, art, and design play? This session examines the design-focused approaches to corporate philanthropy implemented by leaders in the field. Speakers include Mary Chandler of the Cummins Foundation, which has fostered Columbus’ architectural excellence since 1957, and Holly Davidson from IKEA, discussing the global retailer’s philanthropic impact through the IKEA Foundation. This conversation is moderated by Shelley Selim, curator of Design and Decorative Arts at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

 

All events on Wednesday take place in Indianapolis at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.

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Featured Speakers

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Thursday | September 27

9:00-10:30 am – Morning Conversation (1): Never Built Columbus

 

For every iconic landmark in Columbus, many more were projected but never constructed. How do they linger in the community’s collective memory and alter the terrain for future projects? In this session, researchers and practitioners discuss some of the most innovative ideas that never came to fruition and trace the ways they have shaped Columbus. What can Columbus, or any community that values design, learn from exploring their unbuilt past? Speakers include Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin, authors of Never Built New York and Never Built Los Angeles. This conversation will be moderated by independent architectural historian Enrique Ramirez.

 

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Featured Speakers

11:00 am - 12:30 pm – Morning Conversation (2): Interpreting Residential Modern

What happens when the house of the future becomes a historic landmark? This session explores the interpretation, adaptation, preservation, and use of iconic modern homes as they age. Learn from the current stewards of these homes about innovative approaches to building a sustainable future for modern homes. Speakers include Jorge Otero-Pailos, the director of Historic Preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, whose project at Philip Johnson’s Glass House reconstructed the scents of the iconic home; and Ben Wever from the Miller House and Garden, who is charged with caring for Dan Kiley’s landscape at Eero Saarinen’s midcentury masterpiece in the 21st century.

 

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Featured Speakers

1:30-2:30 pm – AIA Indiana Design and Service Awards

2:00-4:00 pm – Afternoon Tours in Columbus

2:00-4:00 pm – Documentary Screening and Q&A with Eric Saarinen

Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future explores the life and visionary work of Finnish-American modernist architectural giant Eero Saarinen. Best known for designing National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch, North Christian Church and the Miller House in Columbus, and the General Motors Technical Center in Michigan. Following the screening, participate in a Q&A with Saarinen’s son, director of photography and co-producer Eric Saarinen, ASC. Eric will also preview his upcoming documentary project that explores the work of his grandfather, Eliel Saarinen. This event is ticketed and takes place at Yes Cinemas ($10).

 

3:00-5:00 pm – Afternoon Conversation: States of Design Education in the Region

Presented by Ball State University and Indiana University

 

Leaders from the six universities that participated in the inaugural round of Exhibit Columbus discuss the state of architectural design education, followed by an introduction of the 2018-19 Exhibit Columbus University Design Research Fellows. Speakers include:

 

• Todd Gannon of The Ohio State University Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture
• Sharon Haar of the University of Michigan Taubman College Architecture Program
• Jeffrey Johnson of the University of Kentucky School of Architecture
• Edward Mitchell of the University of Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design
• Andrea Swartz of Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning
• T. Kelly Wilson of Indiana University’s J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program

 

 

5:00-6:00 pm – Evening Reception at North Christian Church

6:00-7:30 pm – Evening Conversation: The Past is Present

This conversation places adaptive re-use, preservation projects, and global strategies in the context of a wider dialogue about the afterlife of the original designers’ intention and approach. Hear from leading voices working to connect, maintain, and protect design heritage while also addressing current and future building needs. Speakers include Susan Saarinen, principal of Saarinen Landscape Architecture, who shares her perspectives on continuing a family legacy dedicated to architecture, art, and design. This conversation is moderated by Theodore Prudon, president of Docomomo US.

 

8:00-11:00 pm – Opening Night Party at the Columbus Pump House

Attendance is included with your purchase of a complete 4-day complete symposium package and 3-day symposium package. Tickets to this exclusive event are also available for individual purchase ($75).

 

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Featured Speakers

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Friday | September 28

9:00-10:30 am – Morning Conversation (1): Cultural Heritage and the Sustainable City

What role can historic architecture, art, and design play in making cities more equitable and sustainable? This conversation explores city-wide strategies from the perspective of heritage organizations, planners, developers, and designers. We take our cue from the United Nations “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which includes the goal to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” Speakers include Carol Coletta, who is leading the Memphis Riverfront Concept and a senior fellow with The Kresge Foundation, Melissa Dittmer of Detroit-based Bedrock, and Tracy Souza of Heritage Fund––the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County. This conversation is moderated by Elizabeth Kubany of Kubany Judlowe.

11:00 am - 12:30 pm – Morning Conversation (2): Connecting Heritage and Communities through Technology

How can new technologies be leveraged in service of communities and cultural heritage that are at risk? Can reconnection with cultural heritage through technology effect positive change? This conversation showcases practitioners that employ new technological approaches to renew communities’ connections with their heritage. Each presenter applies innovative practices to diverse problems of preservation, renewal, and access to resources. Speakers include Barry Threw from #NEWPALMYRA, a community platform dedicated to the virtual remodeling and creative use of architecture from the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. 

12:00-6:00 pm – AIA Trade Show in The Commons

See the latest design and building industry products and services at this lively trade show in the Performance Hall of The Commons. A series of 15-minute educational sessions will be presented throughout the afternoon offering architects up to 1.5 AIA Learning Units.

 

2:00-4:00 pm – Afternoon Tours in Columbus

5:00-6:00 pm – Evening Reception at First Christian Church

6:00-7:30 pm – Evening Conversation: Designing for Future Communities

What is the role of the arts in contemporary communities: to commemorate the past, envision new futures, or raise awareness for current issues? Meet practitioners who are forging paths that connect all three goals. In this conversation, featured practitioners in architecture, art, and design articulate visions for the future that are balanced with respect for the past of the communities they serve, and discuss the challenges and opportunities inherent in attempting to effect positive change through their work. This conversation is moderated by Matt Shaw, senior editor of The Architect’s Newspaper.

 

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Featured Speakers

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Saturday | September 29

9:00-10:30 am – Morning Conversation (1): Exhibition as Civic Action

Architecture, art, and design biennales and festivals are defining new ways to raise issues with communities and bring attention to city’s identities. Who are these events for and what do they do for participants, visitors, and host cities? How do these events communicate the unique qualities of communities and historic resources? Moderated by curator Sarah Urist Green from The Art Assignment, this conversation addresses these issues at different scales and from a variety of perspectives.

 

11:00 am - 12:30 pm – Morning Conversation (2): Envisioning Washington Street

Like many main streets in small American cities, Columbus’ Washington Street has traditionally been a center of civic and commercial transactions and exchanges. During this conversation, a selected group of organizations and industrial designers that use architecture, art, and design to improve quality of life for people in cities discuss their practices. As part of the 2019 exhibition, they will create temporary sites of activation and interaction that show design’s ability to be an avenue for positive change and collaboration in public space. Their work will explore ways design can act as a connection between individuals and their communities, and also be a catalyzing effort to help make cities more equitable and sustainable..

 

1:30-3:30 pm – Afternoon Tours in Columbus

2:00-3:30 pm – Afternoon Conversation: Engaging the Next Generation

How can architects and designers involve future users and future creators in more inclusive conversations around design? In collaboration with the Council for Youth Development Bartholomew County, this conversation invites professionals and practitioners working in creative fields to share their experiences with high school students and symposium attendees. Participants include Yugon Kim of IKD, whose Miller Prize installation “Conversation Plinth” pioneered the use of cross-laminated timber from Indiana hardwoods; Sarah Urist Green, the creator and host of The Art Assignment, an educational video series with PBS Digital Studios on the creative process and the act of making, and Columbus native Matt Shaw, senior editor of The Architect’s Newspaper. 

4:00-6:30 pm – Evening Conversation: Introducing the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Winners

The J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize forms a connecting thread between Exhibit Columbus’ symposium and exhibition years. It honors two great patrons of architecture, art, and design by inviting renowned architects, artists, and designers to participate in the symposium and create innovative installations and experiences that make up the core of the exhibition. Meet the 2018-19 J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize Winners in their first public conversation as a group. After experiencing Columbus, its architectural heritage, and its community, the Miller Prize Winners will begin designing installations for the 2019 Exhibit Columbus exhibition. This conversation is moderated by Sean Anderson, associate curator for the Department of Architecture and Design of MoMA New York. 

6:00-10:00 pm – Closing Party on 4th Street

 

Events on Saturday take place in downtown Columbus at The Commons.