Newsroom: Janet Echelman’s “Current” to be Reinstalled for Spring 2024 Season
COLUMBUS, Ohio — March 28, 2024 — The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is pleased to announce that Janet Echelman’s monumental sculpture Current (2022) will once again be installed above Gay and High Streets. Reinstallation is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 6, 2024, if weather permits. The artwork, which has been a fixture of downtown Columbus since June 2023, will now emerge from a period of scheduled hibernation, which occurs each winter to prevent ice accumulation.
Constructed from 78 miles of richly-colored twine woven into over 500,000 knots, Current reflects upon various aspects of Columbus’ history and contemporary life, bridging the streetscape with the waterfront in a glorious, suspended procession. Each evening, the sculpture is illuminated, reflecting the city’s evolving role as a leader in innovation, from Columbus’ early adoption of street arches illuminated by gas lighting following the Civil War, to its present status as a technological hub.
Its evocative form constantly changes shape, melded by wind currents, emblematic of the work’s symbiotic relationship with the city’s ecology. Echelman designed Current with close consideration of wildlife safety, collaborating with a bio-engineering firm to ensure that the structure and materials of the work are safe for birds and other animals to navigate without harm. Blending seamlessly into the skyline, Current invites contemplation and wonderment, serving as an anchor for the growing Gay Street District.
Through support from the Edwards Family, the Columbus Museum of Art stewards Current as part of the museum’s permanent collection. The Edwards Family’s funding of the sculpture’s design and installation represents the largest private contribution to public art in the history of Columbus to date, and the family continues to provide financial resources for its maintenance, deinstallation, and reinstallation.
The Spring 2024 installation of Current coincides with the launch of UnderCurrent, a new event series convened by Downtown Columbus, Inc. (DCI). Taking place from May–October 2024 on Gay Street, west of High Street, UnderCurrent was developed to expand the diversity of events offered downtown, bringing together community members and enhancing the district’s cultural vibrancy beneath the uniting emblem of Current.
Event organizers, creatives, and artists are invited to apply to facilitate programming for UnderCurrent, with applications due April 5, 2024. Up to five events will be selected, for which DCI will provide grants of $10,000 each, in addition to street closure and permitting assistance. More information on the series and the grant application can be found at www.downtowncolumbus.com/projects-initiatives/undercurrent/. Event dates and details for UnderCurrent will be announced later this spring.
About Janet Echelman
Janet Echelman has transformed urban environments on five continents through significant artworks that defy categorization, using unlikely materials from atomized water particles to engineered fiber 15 times stronger than steel by weight. Echelman lived in a Balinese village for five years after graduating from Harvard College. She then completed separate graduate programs in painting and psychology. She has taught at MIT, Harvard and Princeton Universities and received an honorary doctorate from Tufts University.
About Columbus Museum of Art
Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is where creativity and the daily life of its community intersect and thrive, as the museum champions new and different ways of thinking and doing. CMA celebrates the creative process and sets the stage for people to experience art, ideas and relationships that spark creativity and nurture collective, courageous imagination. For more information, visit www.columbusmuseum.org.
