The new version of “Designed by the Public” debuted this month at the Ivy Tech Community College campus in Muncie. (Hadley Fruits photo provided by Landmark Columbus Foundation)
After an interactive art installation titled “Designed by the Public” occupied the plaza of the Bartholomew County Library during the 2023 edition of Exhibit Columbus, a new iteration of the artwork has a home on the Muncie campus of Ivy Tech Community College.
“Designed by the Public,” created by Mexico City-based architecture firm Tatiana Bilbao Estudio, debuted Oct. 2 on the east plaza of Ivy Tech’s John & Janice Fisher Building. The installation offers tools, art supplies and sports equipment as a way to nudge visitors to play and create.
Richard McCoy, executive director of Landmark Columbus Foundation, said “Designed by the Public” addresses a challenge faced by Indianapolis.
“If you want people to live somewhere, you need to have interesting places for them to do interesting things 24 hours a day that are free and open to everyone,” McCoy said. “We see downtown Indianapolis looking to figure some of this out. It’s figured out what a family of four can do for $500 at an Indianapolis Colts game. But it hasn’t figured out what you can do for free on Sunday morning along the Indianapolis riverfront.”
The Landmark Columbus Foundation operates Exhibit Columbus as a biennial showcase of site-specific artworks with a goal of connecting design to daily life.
This year’s edition of Exhibit Columbus, which will be on display through November, features 13 outdoor installations. One highlight, titled “Joy Riding,” is a jumbo sound system placed on the top of the Jackson Street Parking Garage.
Designed by Miami-based Studio Barnes, “Joy Riding” is made up of audio speakers controlled by the public via Bluetooth technology.
“We invite anybody to come up and play whatever they want,” McCoy said. “Naysayers might say, ‘People would disagree about what music is played if you’re standing next to someone.’ But I can’t tell you how many people have told me, ‘I was up there and I figured out how to do it. Then the person next to me made requests and I played their songs and we had a great time together.’ If you put interesting, creative things in the public realm, it’s a way to build an impromptu community that can lead to lasting change.”
Although the new edition of “Designed by the Public” is smaller than the original Columbus version, a bit of Columbus is present in Muncie.
“Ivy Tech Columbus brought a part from an airplane engine to put out there,” McCoy said.
Students in a Ball State University immersive learning group known as iMADE, led by instructor Kevin Klinger, created items that can be borrowed from “Designed by the Public.” Brose Partington, an Indianapolis-based artist, worked on the fabrication and installation of both editions of “Designed by the Public.”
McCoy noted a parallel between “Designed by the Public” and Spark on the Circle, a summer pop-up park that debuted in downtown Indianapolis in 2015.
“One of the things I love about Spark is it’s actually a place downtown where moms and dads can take kids and hang out,” McCoy said. “Spark also shows us how to activate a place that could be more pedestrian-friendly. It’s the same move in Muncie. We’re showing how you can activate an open plaza in downtown Muncie and make it family-friendly, interesting and worth a bit of your afternoon.”
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