Ohio State unveils new arts website, app

Megan Cavanaugh has been busy. In addition to her work as campus art collection manager at The Ohio State University, she has spent the last month hanging QR codes near most of the university’s public art, with just a few remaining.

“I will admit, as I’ve been putting these signs up, I’m making a little bit of a ruckus,” Cavanaugh said about her recent project. “I’m hoping people will notice and wonder what I’m doing, then come over, look at the sign and scan the QR code.”

What are the codes for? The university’s partnership with the Bloomberg Connects app to create a guide to the public art of Ohio State. Bloomberg’s app is currently used by more than 550 institutions – zoos, museums, galleries and landmarks – around the world.

“They want to support the arts,” said Cavanaugh. “They want to help institutions get their content out. They want people to take advantage of it as a resource.”

In addition to information about art pieces on campus, the app also contains campus maps and information for visitors. And it’s not limited to the Columbus campus.

“We have the regional campuses, too,” Cavanaugh said. “Lima, Marion and Mansfield all have gallery space and Newark has public art sculptures.”

The app is just one project that Lisa Florman has taken on since being named the university’s vice provost for the arts in September 2022. Another goal: an arts website. 

“That was at the top of my wish list when I started this job,” Florman said.

One of Florman’s charges is raising the visibility of the arts at Ohio State. The issue is not a lack of art but rather a lack of awareness, she said.

“We’re quite good in the arts,” she said. “It’s been surprising to me, though, that people who’ve lived in the area for a long time aren’t aware of that. So, we want to do whatever we can do to bring awareness to all that good work. If we can tell those stories in one place, I think the overwhelming evidence will make it clear that we have a lot of impressive things going on.”

The website has information about special initiatives, public art and a university-wide arts events calendar, which is a first according to Cavanaugh.

“This includes all the College of Arts and Sciences areas – dance, theater, music, visual arts – but it also includes the Knowlton School, the libraries and the Wexner Center for the Arts. It will include non-academic areas like Urban Arts Space. Anything that feels arts-adjacent, we’re happy to put it on there.”

Another role that the website will fill is as a place to share news that doesn’t fit on individual college websites. For example, Cavanaugh said, three Ohio State faculty members recently won Guggenheim Fellowships.

“We have all these people doing amazing things outside of their work on campus,” she said. “But it’s not really academic news. It’s not departmental news. But it’s a big deal. Three [Guggenheim Fellowships] is a lot!”

Florman and Cavanaugh agree that the website and the app are meant to encourage interactions with the arts across Ohio State’s campuses. Cavanaugh found herself thinking about that as she hung QR codes.

“I think you have to have curiosity, to want to learn more about something,” Cavanaugh said. “There’s a lot of stimuli in people’s worlds; we’re fighting through many things for people’s attention. But if we can pull one strand of curiosity, that can lead to learning so much.”

“Check out the website,” Florman urged. “Check out the app. I think people may be surprised by what they find there.”