Fit to be art
Art x Fitness from CCAD Mar/Comm & Student Agency on Vimeo.
Imagine a design-conscious fitness park that is as beautiful as it is functional.
Such was the was the idea behind Art x Fitness, an event recently held at Columbus College of Art & Design’s MindMarket that saw creatives across multiple disciplines — art, design, architecture, and fitness — join together to design models of spaces that could serve as public art while also providing outdoor activity facilities.
The two-day hack-a-thon-style competition was conceived by the firm Warhol & WALL ST. Partners included Kaufman Development, which awarded $1,500 to the winning team; CCAD’s MindMarket worked with Warhol & WALL ST. to develop, organize, and facilitate the event. Columbus-based Designing Local Ltd. contributed additional consultation in the area of public art policy and planning.
In all, the event brought together local fitness experts, students at CCAD and Ohio State University’s Knowlton School of Architecture. Additionally, local design and community development experts, city planners, and artists served as mentors in the challenge.
About 30 creatives from different disciplines were placed on four teams and given a design brief and the tools to create their vision, said Yohannan Terrell, Warhol & WALL ST. co-owner and CEO. At the end of challenge, each team presented their work and a winner was selected.
The four teams, which were not organized until the day of the event, mixed students and professionals with various backgrounds.
“We wanted to test the theory of innovation by mixing the teams up and having a representative from each discipline on each team. … It led to thoughtful design with all points of view involved,” Terrell said.
The teams were tasked with designing a fitness space at Kaufman’s newest project, at 500 W. Broad St. in Franklinton.
“The designs that came from this challenge were beautiful, creative, innovative, and, to our surprise, very tech savvy and sustainable. We loved the innovation that came from this event, especially in such short time,” Terrell said.
The winning team featured Raya Hage (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2017), Ohio State student Travis Casper, designer Lara Weeks of FRINGE22, and fitness instructor Alisha Allicock. While there were notable trends across the teams — such as fitness equipment that would itself power the park — team LIVE distinguished itself by the thought that went into their work, their project's narrative, and its use of space, said Terrell.
The concept of Art x Fitness was born from a conversation Terrell had with then Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman. “We were discussing the growth of Columbus' urban core and the need for more social space downtown to help connect all of the new residents moving to the area,” Terrell said.
“My team did a little research and we discovered some really cool things being done in other countries and we developed the concept from there. We knew that Columbus has strong art community and a renewed focus on fitness so we thought this would be the perfect way to showcase our creativity,” he said.
And, said Terrell, expect more such showcases in the future.
“We believe that Columbus is starting to really stand out to the rest of the country and the world, and we believe it's because of our collaborative efforts and entrepreneurial spirit. This design challenge was the first of its kind and we're excited to do more projects like this,” he said.