If you’re ever stuck in your Columbus apartment on a rainy day, and have run out of stuff to do inside, why not visit a world-class art museum? Wait a minute, you ask, Columbus has a world-class art museum? As a matter of fact it does. The Columbus Museum of Art prides itself in combining a focus on local community with global perspective and connections. U.S. News & World Report ranks CMA as the eighth Best Thing to Do in Columbus, Ohio. While first or second would be better than eighth, just think of how many zillions of activities fall below number eight?
Located downtown at 480 E. Broad St., the Columbus Museum of Art is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It has extended hours till 9 p.m. on Thursdays.
The CMA has both permanent collections and rotating exhibits, so there’s always diverse assortments of art to view and appreciate, with the non-permanent exhibits changing every few months. As a way to appeal to all ages, the museum offers the Wonder Room, with hands-on art education activities for children.
An Inclusive Artistic Mission
The Columbus Museum of Art’s mission is simple, according to the “about” page on its website: The museum wants to “create great experiences with great art for everyone. Whether we are presenting an exhibition, designing an art-making activity, or giving visitors directions, we are guided by a vision to connect people and art.”
In order to accomplish that goal, the CMA encourages bringing people and art together, while eliminating impediments to folks appreciating the art that’s exhibited there. The museum is a “community hub” that inspires creativity, the exchange of ideas, diversity of voice, and building ties between cultures.
Permanent collections at the museum include late 19th and early 20th century Western (American and European) artworks; the globe’s biggest art collections by renowned local artists George Bellows, Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson and Elijah Pierce; and well-reviewed collections such as the Philip and Suzanne Schiller Collection of American Social Commentary. The CMA showcases a variety of art media and styles, including glass, photography, folk art and contemporary art.
The museum’s self-description goes overboard in seeking to link the quality and creativity inside the museum with the vibrant, diverse creative community outside its doors: “From the quality of our collections and exhibitions to the quality of life in our community, we strive for the ideal – celebrating the diversity of our people and our city.”
Of course, all this lofty lingo might not be so persuasive from the vantage point of your one-bedroom apartment in a Columbus off-campus neighborhood. Which is all the more reason to check out the Columbus Museum of Art. Here’s some of what CMA has to offer.
CMA Collections
• The Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson Legacy. This project preserves and displays the art work of its namesake, a native of Columbus who was honored with a prestigious MacArthur Award. Robinson died in 2015, leaving her estate to the CMA. According to the museum website, Robinson’s work “celebrates the cultural identities of African Americans and confirms human commonalities among all people.” Different works of art reflect her memories as a child, what she went through as a Black, single mother, memories of growing up in Poindexter Village in Columbus, and her trips to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
• Gender, Power, and Creativity: The Josef Floch Memorial Collection. Each item in this exhibit was taken from West Africa during the early 20th century, when European colonial rule held sway in much of the African continent. Detached from the people and communities who made and used them, “these artworks nevertheless keep alive their makers’ creativity and retain the power to inspire,” according to CMA’s description. Challenges and affirmations of gender’s role in West African culture is a special focus of this collection.
• Big Idea Gallery: Home. This exhibit can be viewed in the JPMorgan Chase Center for Creativity at the Columbus Museum of Art. It combines a wide range of work in CMA’s collection that share one goal – exploring the concept of home. The gallery offers hands-on activities that explore this theme.
Current Exhibits at the CMA (as of summer/fall ’21)
• Raggin’ On: The Art of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson’s House and Journals. This is the first major exhibit of Robinson’s work since her death in 2015, celebrating her “work, vision and the home, and neighborhood she cherished.” It does this by presenting 70 years of the artist’s writing and art. In addition, “Raggin’ On” includes books from Robinson’s library; her collections of dolls, thimbles, buttons, canes and fabrics; furnishings she made for her home; and enlarged photos depicting Robinson’s living spaces and studios.
• Present Generations: Creating the Scantland Collection of the CMA. This exhibit of contemporary visual art showcases the work of “some of the most exciting and thought-provoking artists practicing today” – all representing the “first wave” of promised contributions inaugurating the museum’s Scantland Collection.
A number of other exhibits are on view at the Columbus Museum of Art, but we won’t take any more of your time. If you have a lazy afternoon in your off-campus Columbus housing with no urgent need to study or socialize, drive or take a bus downtown and check out what the Columbus Museum of Art has to offer. You have nothing to lose.