Wexner Center for the Arts

Enjoy your holidays at the Wex! Share your love of art, film, and music in the place that has them all. ❄️ Here are a few things you can do this holiday season at the Wex: 1. Explore free photography exhibitions featuring the work of Rotimi Fani-Kayode and Ming Smith. On view through January 5. 2. Bring your little ones to our Zoom Family Film and Book Festival for a weekend of free art, activities, and cartoons. December 13-14. 3. Stop by @theWexStore and shop our latest arrivals, including the Alex Proba Assembly Throw, Afropop Socks, and new Cubebot® sets! 4. Escape the cold with some seasonal drinks in @theheirloomcafe. Heirloom will have reduced hours (9 AM to 2 PM) December 16 through December 20 and will be closed for winter break December 23 through January 6. The center will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, December 24 and 25, and on January 1 for New Year's Day. Plan your visit to the Wex at WexArts.info/VisitTheWex

This #GivingTuesday, help us share the gift of art by supporting arts access at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Join us in the galleries, shop in the store, attend an upcoming program or film screening, grab a bite in Heirloom Café, or donate today—however you choose to support the center helps make a difference! Support arts access year-round through a Wexner Center for the Arts membership. Your membership contributes to our latest events, community programs, and work with emerging artists. Enjoy discounts in the store, cafe, and on tickets for film, music, theater, and dance. To donate today, visit WexArts.info/Donate. Thank you for all your support!

“It is photography, therefore – Black, African, homosexual photography – which I must use not just as an instrument, but as a weapon if I am to resist attacks on my integrity and, indeed, my existence on my own terms.” —Rotimi Fani-Kayode In the early 1980s, Fani-Kayode (1955–1989) developed a photographic practice that refused categorization, cutting across cultural codes, gender norms, and artistic traditions. His explorations of Blackness, masculinity, and sexuality remain a potent source of inspiration today. Rotimi Fani-Kayode: Tranquility of Communion on view @WexArts through January 5. Visit https://lnkd.in/eJmcw-5F to read an interview between curator Mark Sealy and Rotimi’s friend and model, Dennis Carney. — Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Untitled, c. 1985. Silver gelatin print, 30 x 30 in. Courtesy of Autograph, London. Rotimi Fani-Kayode: Tranquility of Communion, installation view at the Wexner Center for the Arts. Image Courtesy of the Wexner of the Arts. Photo: Matthew Pevear.

Hilliard Innovative Learning Hub middle school students visit the Wexner Center for the Arts to explore Ming Smith's exhibition and write in the galleries. Students worked with OSU Creative Writing MFA, Misha Ponnuraju, and Wex Path Fellow, Catalina Bode, to respond to creative prompts related to the artwork in the galleries. 📸: Sarah Robinson

Golden hour by Mershon Auditorium ☀️ The Wexner Center for the Arts is closed Wednesday through Saturday in observance of the holiday weekend and the Ohio State home football game. 📸: Abid K.

When art and music meet... 🖼️🎶 Our Counterpoints series invites students from Ohio State's School of Music into the Wexner Center for the Arts to perform creative works inspired by the art in our galleries. Following visits to the fall exhibitions, students responded to the themes found in works by Nancy Holt, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, and Ming Smith with performances in front of the pieces that inspired them. You can read each of the students' artist statements at https://lnkd.in/eZu4QKdK. Keep an eye out for the next Counterpoints event in April!

News from GCAC this week: Tom Katzenmeyer, their president and CEO, will retire next year. Tom is a tireless champion of the arts in Columbus and has been a longtime supporter of the Wexner Center for the Arts. We’re grateful for that support and his strong, steady leadership over the years. We wish him well!

Join interdisciplinary artist and writer Katherine Behar and writer and scholar Jennifer Rhee for a discussion about artificial intelligence (AI), digital culture, and art. Learn about Behar’s recent exhibition Ack! Knowledge! Work!, which explores labor and digital technology in a contemporary context. This dialogue is part of the Arts, Technology and Social Change series, a micro-residency program sponsored by Global Arts + Humanities Discovery Theme. Learn more about the event and get free tickets at: https://lnkd.in/gZaKPapW

We're excited to announce that April Homolak will join the Wexner Center for the Arts as the new Head of Finance and Administration. April comes to the Wex from Ohio State’s Department of Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences, where she has served as the department’s business operations manager. In this role, April will support the center's strategic initiatives and customer service, guiding the Wex's finance, facilities, technical operations, and visitor experience teams. Currently pursuing a doctorate in higher ed and student affairs, April also has a master’s degree in public policy and management and a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accountancy. Welcome, April!

Please join us in welcoming Audrey Rush to the Wexner Center for the Arts as the new Director of Donor and Corporate Programs. A proud graduate of The Ohio State University's Department of Theater (now the Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts), Audrey is an artist and fundraiser committed to making contemporary art accessible and sustainable for all. She brings to her new role a robust background in Columbus’s performing arts sector as well eight years of experience in development and special event management within New York’s nonprofit arts world. She is thrilled to return to Ohio State and share her talent with the Wex. Welcome Audrey!