Wexner Center for the Arts

The Wexner Center for the Arts is a multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art. Located in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of the Ohio State University, it functions as a public gallery and experimental forum rather than a traditional collecting art museum. Through exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and educational programs, the center provides a space where established and emerging artists can test ideas and diverse audiences can engage with the art of their time. It opened in November 1989 and balances a commitment to artistic experimentation with the university's broader missions of research, education, and community service.

The institution originated as the University Gallery of Fine Art, curated by the university's fine art director. Under Director Betty Collings in 1970, the gallery began hosting major contemporary artists and acquiring art in response to student grievances regarding the Kent State shootings. In the 1980s, Director Jonathan Green expanded the acquisitions to include art expressing activism. The gallery's final exhibition was AIDS: The Artists' Response in 1989, just prior to the opening of the Wexner Center. The new center was commissioned by Ohio State University, with Limited Brands founder and alumnus Leslie H. Wexner pledging $25 million of the $43 million total construction cost. The building was named in honor of his father, Harry Wexner. A design competition was launched in 1983, and the center officially opened on November 17, 1989. The institution underwent a three-year renovation starting in 2002, temporarily relocating its galleries to a former coffin factory two miles away while film and performing arts programs continued on site, before reopening in November 2005. Following the release of the Epstein files, which revealed Leslie Wexner's close ties with Jeffrey Epstein, protesters submitted a formal name review requesting the removal of the Wexner surname from the center. Sherri Geldin concluded a 25-year directorship in 2019, followed by Johanna Burton, and Gaetane Verna assumed the role of executive director in November 2022.

Although the Wexner Center is not an art museum and does not actively collect art, it assumed possession and stewardship of the permanent collection of its predecessor, the University Gallery of Fine Arts. This collection consists of roughly 3,000 artworks. The holdings serve a secondary role in the center's visual, media, and performing arts programs. Rather than serving as a primary exhibition draw, the collection is primarily made available to Ohio State University students and scholars for academic study, while remaining accessible to the broader public.

Beyond the inherited permanent collection of approximately 3,000 works, the center is associated with significant site-specific commissions. In 1993, the Wexner Center installed Groundswell, a large-scale, site-specific installation by Maya Lin. The work reinterprets Eastern and Western landscape forms using shattered tempered glass to fill three sites within the building's architectural design. Additionally, the center has hosted notable temporary exhibitions, including Chris Marker: Silent Movie, Julie Taymor: Playing With Fire, Shirin Neshat: Suite Fantastique, and As Painting: Divisi.

The 108,000-square-foot, three-story building was designed by architect Peter Eisenman of New York, the late Richard Trott of Columbus, and landscape architect Laurie Olin of Philadelphia. It was the first major public building designed by Eisenman, who won the 1983 design competition over finalists Cesar Pelli, Michael Graves, Kallmann McKinnell & Wood, and Arthur Erickson. Eisenman and Trott rejected four site options provided by the university, choosing instead a site between Weigel Hall and Mershon Auditorium. The deconstructivist design alternates between the mismatched street grids of the campus and the city of Columbus, which vary by 12.25 degrees. A large white metal grid suggests scaffolding to impart a sense of incompleteness, while brick turrets reference the castle-like Ohio State University Armory and Gymnasium that previously occupied the site until 1958. The interior features a film and video theater, a performance space seating 2,500, a post-production studio, a bookstore, a cafe, and 12,000 square feet of galleries arranged linearly to emphasize progression. The lower-level Fine Arts Library, devoid of natural light, uses alternating warm and cool fluorescent lighting to mimic daylight. The building won the American Institute of Architects' National Honor Award in 1993. The 2005 renovation, carried out with engineering firm Arup, upgraded the building envelope, HVAC, lighting, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems with minimal impact on the original design while improving environmental and climate control.

The Wexner Center for the Arts is located on the campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. It operates as a public gallery and laboratory open to general audiences, drawing between 200,000 and 250,000 visitors annually prior to its renovation. The institution relies heavily on external incentives, investments, and public donations to sustain its operations alongside university support. It continues to fulfill its role as a multidisciplinary forum for contemporary art, offering exhibitions, film screenings, performances, and educational programs to both the university community and the wider public.