CCAD assistant professor creates construction sculptures for the Short North

Columbus College of Art & Design Assistant Professor Carol Boram-Hays' Cascades on view in the Short North Arts District.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s construction season everywhere in central Ohio, but it is particularly noticeable in the Short North Arts District.

And to mark the occasion, local artist and Columbus College of Art & Design Assistant Professor Carol Boram-Hays was commissioned to create two pop-up art installations using construction materials for ShortPop, a new temporary sculpture program of the Short North Alliance. 

One sculpture, called Erosion, includes four mounds of stacked orange barrels at the corner of North High and West Goodale streets (near Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse). The other sculpture, called Cascades, is a waterfall of some 80 traffic cones near Skully’s Music-Diner on High Street. 

“I am very pleased to have this opportunity to work with the Short North Alliance,” Boram-Hays says. “It has been an exciting challenge to work with new materials and explore the opportunities they present to reflect on the rapid changes going on in the Short North.”

Both sculptures use retired construction materials donated by The Paul Peterson Company, with support from The Ohio Arts Council, Greater Columbus Arts Council, and Columbia Gas of Ohio. They will be on view Aug. 1 through at least Oct. 31 during part of the High Street Streetscape Improvements Project in 2018.

“Carol is just a gifted artist,” says Betsy Pandora, Executive Director of the Short North Alliance. “We are thrilled to host her work on and off of High Street throughout the Short North Arts District for ShortPop, a new program that infuses temporary sculptures into public spaces. In addition to creating sophisticated artworks out of very unsophisticated materials, Carol’s profound expertise has enabled us to imagine ways that ShortPop could continue beyond the construction year.”

About Columbus College of Art & Design

Columbus College of Art & Design teaches undergraduate and graduate students in the midst of a thriving creative community in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1879, CCAD is one of the oldest private, nonprofit art and design colleges in the United States, offering 12 four-year undergraduate programs and two graduate programs in art and design that produce graduates equipped to shape culture and business at the highest level. For more information, visit ccad.edu.

About the Short North Arts District & Short North Alliance

The Short North Arts District is the most vibrant spot in the City of Columbus and is home to over 300 exciting businesses, the majority of which are locally owned or headquartered. It has received numerous national accolades, is considered a model for urban revitalization, and is known as the art and soul of Columbus. The Short North Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving both the property owners and business owners of the Short North Arts District. Its mission is to nurture the Short North Arts District as a vibrant, creative, and inclusive community and leading arts destination. For more information, visit shortnorth.org. 

About Carol Boram-Hays

Carol Boram-Hays is an Assistant Professor at Columbus College of Art & Design. She teaches African art history and contemporary art and design and culture. A sculptor and installation artist, Boram-Hays has exhibited work nationally and internationally and has been featured in The New York Times, Landscape Architecture, and Sculpture. Boram-Hays has won a number of national and state awards and completed an artist residency in Dresden, Germany. For more information, visit carolboramhays.com. 

Media contact

Jeannie Nuss
Director of Public Relations
Columbus College of Art & Design
614.222.6162
[email protected]

High-res photos are available upon request.