New Columbus art installation the work of city school students

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Anyone going to be downtown for Red, White and BOOM! or the upcoming Picnic with The Pops concerts might want to spend some time taking in the latest Columbus arts installation.

It’s a mural covering the pedestrian walkway from High Street to the Columbus Commons through the Highpoint building.

The project is called Columbus Underwater and is the creation of some talented Columbus public school art students -- senior art portfolio students from the Fort Hayes Career Center. The students graduated a few months ago and thanks to their senior project, they left their mark on Downtown Columbus.

“We had to prime everything with white first, so we basically painted this twice,” student Amelia Jones said.

Gallons of paint, two weeks of manhours, and an in-class team competition with students trying to sell their designs to a real client.

“My group wanted something more of an underwater theme with a giant goddess statue and have it swirling around, having it be more magical,” student Levi Nagy said.

“So this was an exciting living experience for them to get those real-world hours because many of them are heading off to art school next year,” Fort Hayes art teacher Megan Evans said.

Evans was a previous recipient of a Teachers’ Dream Grant from the Weiler family. The grant is awarded to Columbus City Schools teachers who show innovation in teaching and give them the opportunity to “implement amazing projects.”

“We wanted to beautify some of our properties and we thought the walkway was a good place to start,” Dawn Weiler Barkley said.

It was also a good idea, through the family’s Oakwood Management Company, to team up with Columbus schools.

“It’s always been in our blood to support Columbus City Schools and through the Dream Grant, I have met so many amazing teachers, I could give you a story every day for a year,” Barkley said.

As you enter the walkway from the Commons, you are greeted by a goddess. At the High Street entrance, a giant octopus is embracing the Columbus skyline.

From the ceiling to the floor, it’s a colorful creation from promising and proud students.

“A lot of people take pictures next to it because it’s fun,” Jones said.  “It’s a way to support Columbus, you know, come around and take pictures and say, ‘Oh, I was at blah blah blah and found this cool thing.'"