Wexner Center For the Arts

We enjoyed our first visit to "The Wex." We had a bit of trouble finding the front entrance, as it is tucked away in the middle of campus and not very well marked. We ended up parking in the Campus South parking garage, and it was just a short walk over. Entrance was free. The current exhibits of modern art were abstract, and I found some of them a little challenging to understand. Nonetheless, I am glad this center exists and I do appreciate art in all its forms. Staff was very friendly and they have a cool gift shop with items you will likely not find anywhere else.

This is a really cool art gallery. It's free for OSU students.The exhibitions seem to mostly be modern art. Or at least that's all I've seen when I come. It's not a huge place, but it's worth your time. Give yourself maybe an hour to soak the whole thing in.The space itself is really open. They have security standing around as well. Probably because someone had used a gun to shoot and ruin some of the art work a few years ago. They have a coat check as well. I think because of safety. And I totally understand that.There is also a movie theatre in here for specific showings and a little cafe that is ever so popular, Heirloom.Anyway, thankful for free art galleries! It's a fun thing to do on campus.

This is the ONE place you can come and have the pleasure of a variety of cultural, relevant, educational and entertaining experiences. Sometimes Fun, really fun, too. Twyla Tharp, Philip Glass, Savion Glover, Spike Lee, Kevin Smith, Martin Scorsese, Youssou N'Dour, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and so many other national/international prominent and premiere guests in their respective fields have performed, spoken or been featured at WexArts. Events also include movies, children activities, panel discussions, Parties and lots more. The $75 annual membership is worth the costs, but you don't have to be a member to enjoy the offerings, but it could prove beneficial. One of the benefits use to be free parking 2x year, but like all good things, that came to an end. PARKING IS WHAT IS NOT GOOD about coming to the Wex on the campus of OSU. To avoid the high priced parking garages, you either have to do the meters or drive around campus til you find a free spot. Both options can be a drag. Uber, Walk, bus or bike is the best way to get there.Seeing Meshell Ndegeocello (baaad ass bassist and vocalist) and the Todd Oldham fashion exhibit in one month, remind me of the many things I like about the Wex: Intimate performance/exhibit spaces, diverse and interesting crowds, very reasonable cost and critically acclaimed artists. Unique opportunities are found here for everyone, big and small.

Hmmm, not many Wexner photos on Yelp and most, including mine, are of the building exterior. Go inside and discover why. Taking photos inside is not only strictly verboten but the Wexner posts a DO NOT list -- more akin to the ten commandments -- repeatedly on the long ramp to the galleries. I would have taken a photo of the list but different guards all paused in confusion before telling me no. You can't even take a photo of a white wall. Seriously. I wonder what state secrets this place is hiding.The two exhibitions now on display are unremarkable but that's no reason to stay away. Don't let my negative comments dissuade you from visiting and seeing something wonderful in the future.For me, however, concluding one of the most unwelcoming visitor experiences I've ever encountered in any gallery or museum, I'll stick with the countless other museums in Ohio and across the United States that are much more refreshing in their attitudes.One cautionary note: the Seattle Art Museum was one of the last major art museums in the country to forbid the use of cameras in their space. They relented because of the ubiquitous cell phone camera. A guard there told me that one person even hid a camera in a teddy bear. Go ahead, Wexner Center, keep fighting this lonely battle and continue to treat your college audience like high school students. Oh, no gum chewing, please.

A cool stop if you have some free time and are in the OSU campus area. We stopped by this time on Columbus' Big Explore Day (free COTA rides all day, and free admission to some of the educational/interactive places around downtown). This is a neat museum. Only big enough to hold one exhibit at a time, that makes it educational without being overwhelming to the senses. The gift shop is small, but houses several books and some jewelry and ceramics. The gal manning the customer service desk was very approachable and had a good attitude. The security here are sticklers for the rules, so pay attention and make sure your standing "at least 3 feet back from any installment,"

People love it. People hate it. But that's the beauty of the Wexner Center. If nothing else, it makes for interesting conversation. The Wexner Center takes as much time to explain as it does to figure out what it's all about... in a nutshell, this is a multi-disciplinary arts facility for film makers, visual artists and performing artists. It's a gallery, a museum, a theatre and a "research laboratory" for the arts located on the campus of The Ohio State University. A laundry list of "who's who" of the dance world, famous film makers and big named artists have found their way to the Wexner since it opened in 1989.From conception, the building (and the art it exhibits) has been controversial and remains such. I remember the first time saw this odd, skeletal building and wondered what it was all about. Very simply put, the building was designed with loads of symbolism and philosophy. The Wexner Center is located on the site of the former "armory," a castle-like structure built during the Gothic Revival, hence the modern turrets serving as a nod to the building's past. The white "scaffolding" looks to the future, as an ongoing and evolving project. The lines (grooves) in the sidewalk, leading toward high street, align with a runway at the Columbus airport- representing the incoming and outgoing ideas from around the world. The symbolism goes on and on, but those are the few that stuck in my brain when I researched the building for another project. I've spent hundreds of hours studying in the Fine Arts Library, housed in the basement of the center, along side the Cartoon Research Library and remain endeared to the building. One of the most memorable exhibits that I've seen were here at the Wexner, including Julie Taymor's (costume and puppet deisgner for the Lion King) amazing puppet displays and more recently, the Warhol.When I learned the Warhol exhibition was making its only US stop at the Warhol, I wasn't surprised. His diverse art forms required an extremely "flexible" building, capable of handling all sorts of multi-media and various sized paintings. a building as quirky as hte man himself. The Wexner pulled it off brilliantly! I attended the media opening of the Warhol Exhibition and had the privilege of seeing it with only 100 other people. It was interesting to see how they would approach displaying such eclectic stuff. My very first job was at the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, right when it first opened, so I had the same curious excitement to see how the Wexner would create a cohesive transition between rooms. It was fabulous and well-done. A bit of a sensory overload too. That is exactly how I describe the Wexner Center for the Arts (and it's artistic offerings): fabulous, well-done, and with a welcomed bit of a sensory overload. It is my favorite museum in Columbus.

I am happy that Ohio State has something like the Wexner Center. It's underappreciated by many students and by people in Columbus. The place has hosted exhibits for some of the most important art figures. It also has an auditorium where both established and rising talent have performed. The center needs to be visited by anyone interested about the university. I have a hard time reviewing this since the exhibits will always change. There's always something new there every season. Among the most memorable events have been the Annie Leibovitz and Andy Warhol exhibits. As for the building itself, the exterior was inspired by the old Armory which sat at the site. The white rods outside are imitations of scaffolding, which represents the changes in art. It's certainly quite unique looking. The architecture has it's critics, but that's one of the beautiful things about art. There always will be mixed opinions. Another part of the Center is the Box, which shows some very experimental films. The Mershon Auditorium has featured solme great bands. I wish I had visited more when I was a student. There were some great exhibits or shows I had the pleasure of seeing. Admission is not too bad. It's free for students and $8 for the public. There is a membership option, and you get 10% off the Heirloom Cafe. I have been in a few times. It's a great place for seeing great art and learning about the history of art at Ohio State. You can get in free as a student and it's not that expensive for the public so this is a value.

I always have mixed feelings about the Wexner center. On one hand, it's a true gem in the City of Columbus. Most days, I would be proud to take out-of-towners here and show them what private citizens give to the art community. As a theatre person, their line-up of visiting acts is usually stunning. I am at most of the performances during the year and am impressed who they get to play here (Richard Maxwell, SITI Company, etc...). I have been to the Wexner a lot for various galleries (Andy Warhol was truly an amazing transformation of the space). There is no lack of "cool" here from the outside scaffolding design to the choice of interior materials and stunning graphic design and marketing.The Wex is set up to be pretentious, designed by an architect who wanted to make the journey to the art part of the experience, hence the ridiculously long walk to the black box space, where most of their performances are held. I won't go into my spiel about how art should be accessible by many, open-minded, and community-building (I don't have to, I co-founded my arts company on these principals because they are so important to me), but I will say that the Wexner Center is rarely any of these things. But I get why - galleries, in general, with their stark white walls and invisible barriers between the audience and the art - are created to set the art apart and make it special. It is not lost on me that the Wex is an art gallery of the highest caliber and in every sense of the word.My reservations enter when I think about the less-than-warm-welcome I receive almost every time I visit. They have an army of black-clad volunteers and employees guiding you down the paths to where you're going, making you feel as if they are expecting you to pull a can of spray paint out of your coat and just go nuts on the white walls and pergo floors. No warm smiles, no hello's, no hospitality. Just suspicion. Also, having received my MA in Theatre at OSU, I had occasion to make connections there, and was startled when I received, almost at every turn, the response that they were not connected to the Ohio State University or any of the art departments in any way. So, don't let their location ON the OSU campus fool you. They are their own entity. The Wex has done some awesome things for this city, and with their Pages program, has really shown that they are willing to reach out to the community as a whole. But I suspect that is due to a few incredible individuals employed there rather than the institution encouraging this attitude. I will keep going back, mainly because I am addicted to incredible theatre, but every time I make that walk down the elitist hallway amongst suspicious glares I know I will be reminded that I just might not measure up.

The Wex is a great feature for Columbus art. The location on OSU's Columbus campus makes for easy access if you are in the university area, and they offer free entry for students all the time, and free entry for the public on Thursday evenings and the first Sunday of the month.This is most definitely not the largest art museum you will encounter, but they have made creative use of the space that they do have. There are outside exhibits, including one by Maya Lin - designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC, a changing exhibit in the front of the side that faces towards the Oval, and a rooftop garden.There is no real permanent exhibition here, so they feature a lot of changing exhibits and a wide variety of performances, making it pretty likely that you're bound to find something you like at some point - be sure to check the website to see what's going on. The current exhibit, Annie Leibovitz's photos, is really neat and seems likely to appeal to even those who are more interested in popular culture than traditional photography, as she took many photos for Rolling Stone. Previous exhibits have included Andy Warhol and William Wegman (the guy with the Weimaraners).The Wex is also involved with the community, offering changing cafes, often featuring local foods, inside, and a farmer's market during the summer. They also feature Wex "Drive-In" outdoor movies during the summer, and a variety of events for students, faculty, and staff on campus.Certainly worth a visit!

Museum Day! http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/Having worked 3rd shift the night before and not waking up until 3pm, I didn't show up to Wexner until after 5pm. Parking is available at the campus garage right next door. It's normally just a few dollars, but since it was a game day, I didn't have to pay.The museum itself was clean and polished, as it should be, with 1-2 security officers in each room. It was actually smaller than I anticipated, as it was probably only 5-6 rooms total. You should be able to see everything within an hour, if not an hour and a half.Because of this, they only had a single artist on exhibit (Mark Bradford), which was slightly disappointing. However, I was told that they're bringing in a new exhibit late October, which will be up early November (something about sculptures).Still, I enjoyed my time there, and the black room with the music was definitely my favorite.Tips:1. Parking in garage next door (1759 N High St)2. Free admission for students, Thursdays 4-8pm, and first Sundays of the month; otherwise $53. Thursday and Saturday walk-in tours4. Self-guided cell phone tours