Janet Echelman and Ann Hamilton in Conversation

The convening will focus on site-specificity, immersive public art, and environmental installations, through an engagement with Janet Echelman’s Current (2023), a soft sculpture installed in downtown Columbus. Earthquakes, tsunamis, subways, and city infrastructure are at the core of Echelman’s practice. She creates sculptural installations through intentional engagements with landscapes, geographies, the impacts of climate, and communities. Informed by the geography of the city’s waterfront and grid, Current cascades over 220 feet along Gay Street. In dialogue with Ann Hamilton, Professor Emeritus, Department of Art, The Ohio State University, who was a Distinguished Professor in the department for a decade, and an artist whose work is also deeply committed to impactfully working with communities and at varying scales. The conversation is moderated by curator Allison Glenn and will be followed by a public reception with the artists.

Part of Confluence: Public Art, Experimentation, and Engaged Communities, taking place October 8-9, 2026.